SPORTS PSYCHOLOGY:  Questions and Answers

What is sports psychology?

It’s the application of psychological science to the athlete in the performance arena. Everyone understands that there are physical, technical and tactical components to sport performance. For example, athletes need to develop better technique, explosive strength and follow a nutrition plan that will allow them to improve their performance in their respective sports. However, there is a mental and emotional side of competition as well, and that is where applied sport psychologists can help the athlete. Sports psychology is the science of behavior and understanding how the athlete’s behavior affects his or her athletic performance. Sports psychology deals specifically with the mental and emotional side of competition.

What does a sport psychologist do? How do they help an athlete?

Our first goal is to determine what the problem is and what are the dynamics that are occurring relative to the problem. The idea is to get an accurate “big picture” of what is going on. Is the athlete nervous? Are there coaching/parental issues and/or pressures? Does the athlete have lapses in concentration or decision-making and if yes, when do they occur? Is nutrition an issue? Are there emotional problems or lack of emotional control? Does the athlete have motivational or arousal problems? What are the team dynamics? What level of self-confidence does the athlete exhibit (etc.)?

What are the different types of interventions do you use?

The solutions are just as varied and unique to each individual using what we call a “person-situation interaction model.” During the assessment phase with the athlete we will want an accurate picture of the strengths and weaknesses of their psychological skills set. We may then want to evaluate the athlete’s strategies they are using such as pre-performance routines. The solutions can sometimes emphasize developing individual strategies for each athlete leading up to competition. We generally use an educational approach (e.g. cognitive-behavioral), whereby the athlete will write out their strategies and plans so that they can refer to them and make changes to them as they grow as athletes and individuals.

What are some of the specific exercises you use to enhance an athlete’s psychological skills?

Although each sport has its own demands, the psychological skills for all sports used in mental toughness training are similar. Some examples are concentration (focusing on something specific), muscle relaxation (performance is negatively affected when muscles are tight), breath control (your breath differently when your calm and in control as opposed to when your in fear), visualization (to improve technical skills), mental rehearsal (to improve overall performance and confidence), goal setting (to direct motivated and purposeful behavior) and positive self-talk (to encourage yourself).

The good news is that these psychological skills and strategies can be learned.

What types of pressures, challenges and fears are common among different sports?

One of the most common challenges facing an athlete is self-confidence. When self-confidence is high, sport performance is optimal; however, when self-confidence is low, sport performance is directly affected. In contact sports, there can be problems in dealing with fear when there has been an injury and players have fears about returning to competition. In individual sports like golf, the long length of time between shots can be challenge for some golfers while others may not be quite sure on what specifically to focus on during their routine and begin to think too much and lose their focus as a result. And finally, one of the most common problems is an athlete who plays below their athletic potential or their ability under pressure.

Are there differences between team sport athletes and individual sport athletes?

Yes, for the team sport athlete, the awareness of group dynamics and the athletes understanding of their role on the team are critical to team performance. Here, the sport psychologist, can work behind the scenes with the coach to ensure that team motivation is positively affected; while in other cases, the sport psychologist works with the individual athlete to ensure the athlete takes active steps to fulfill their role. In this way, the athlete, coach and sport psychologist are work in concert together towards their desired goals. In an individual sport, the communication between the coach, athlete and sport psychologist can be very important towards improving performance. In sports like golf, tennis and skiing, there is no one else performing except the athlete. Consequently, there is no room for self-doubt as confidence in your abilities and execution of your competition plan can make the difference between finishing on the podium or fiftieth in the field. The margin for error is so small that an athlete’s attention to detail is critical for peak performance.