What is Sport Psychology?
Many coaches and athletes hear the word 'psychology' and become apprehensive about implementing sport psychology training into their program or routine. Psychology is defined as the 'science of the mind or of mental states and processes.' Sport psychology, therefore, refers solely to the mental state of a person's sport performance.
Sport psychology training is designed to assist athletes with issues related to their sport performance such as:
- How to deal with distractions and focus their attention on the task at hand.
- How to build and maintain self-confidence that is not based solely upon their last game/competition.
- How to perform successfully and consistently under pressure.
- How to maintain and manage emotions when negative things occur before or during competition.
- How to set the right goals for themselves.
- How to develop pre-competition routines that will foster the right environment for preparing for competition.
Sport psychology training focuses almost exclusively on obtaining the optimal mental state to achieve peak performance in sport. It very rarely involves concerns unrelated to sport and is, in no way, a substitute or replacement for mental health counseling services.
For additional information regarding sport psychology consulting, please see the FAQ page.
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