其他摘要：During the last years, the interest in studying the excellent athlete has increased (Williams & Ericsson, 2005). Several authors talk about some interesting topics, even though they deserve further research. This way, it becomes urgent to further investigate this issue, so that it becomes possible to gather more data concerning the athlete's interpretation of his own experience, the principles which guide his actions and the meaning of his behaviors. The aim of this study was to identify the values and the references that guide Willian Reffatti da Costa, a Brazilian volleyball player. As player of the Infantile/Juvenile Male Selection of Brazil (under 17 years old) he won the South American Championship (2004 and 2006) and as player of the Juvenile Male Selection of Brazil (under 19 years old) he won the World Championship in 2007. The research technique used was "life stories". The data was collected by carrying out in-depth interviews and non-participative observation. The technique employed for this qualitative analysis was the content analysis as well the software QSR NVivo 8 to code the transcripts of the interviews. Among the concerns that have followed his career, we can highlight his great passion for his activity and proud to play in Selection of Brazil. In terms of ambitions, we can point out the will to do his best every day, with training and suffering, looking for his goals in the way to win all championships. He regards difficulties that arise as being indispensable to a process of perfection. The absence of his family distressed him when he was younger. The most important moments of his career were when he achieved good results and the ones that generate more suffering are those when he had injuries. For him, the sport was and still is a school, where he learns a lot of things important for the life, like responsibility, sincerity and humility.
