SCOPE OF SPORTS
PSYCHOLOGY. HOW TO
ENHANCE SPORTS
PERFORMANCE OF ELITE
PLAYERS?
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Introduction
Sport psychology is a specialty that combines psychological knowledge and skills with sports
knowledge and skills to address athletes' optimal performance and well-being, developmental and
social elements of sports participation, and systemic difficulties in sports contexts and
organizations.
Sports psychology can be viewed from a variety of perspectives. Athletes and other sportspeople
(e.g., coaches, administrators, parents) from a variety of settings, levels of competition, and ages
benefit from sport psychology interventions, which range from recreational youth practitioners to
professional and Olympic athletes to master's level performers.
Sports psychologists assist players in utilizing psychology to enhance their athletic performance
and mental health. However, they don't only work with professional athletes. They also assist
regular individuals in learning to like sports and adhere to a fitness regimen. They use sports and
exercise to improve people's life and well-being.
It is concerned with athletes' mental health and well-being, as well as assisting them in reaching
their full athletic potential. Sports psychologists examine how people think (thoughts), feel
(emotions), and act (behavior) in sports situations.
The purpose of sports psychology is to assist individuals and teams perform at their best by
enhancing the mental skills required to succeed in a sport. It include researching how psychological
factors influence performance, as well as how sport and exercise alter psychological and physical
variables.
History
At the time of its creation, sport psychology was primarily the domain of physical educators, not
researchers, which explains the lack of a solid history. Despite this, a number of professors
established sport psychology laboratories to explain the various phenomena associated with
physical activity.
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Coleman Griffith began his career as an educational psychologist at the University of Illinois,
where he did considerable research and applied sport psychology. He tested the vision and
attentiveness of basketball and soccer players, as well as their reaction speeds, muscular tension
and relaxation, and mental awareness. Griffith established and taught the first sport psychology
university courses ("Psychology and Athletics") at the University of Illinois in 1923, and he
became known as "The Father of Sport Psychology" in the United States as a result of his
pioneering contributions to the discipline.
Scope
Sports psychologists can help athletes improve their performance while also developing their
careers if they can help them overcome mental and physical challenges. Sports psychologists teach
skills to help enhance their learning process and motor skills, cope with competitive pressures,
fine-tune the level of awareness needed for optimal performance, and stay focused amid the many
distractions of team travel and in the competitive environment. Students can pick from a number
of different specializations under Sports Psychology.
After graduation, those who select applied sports psychology can work as an applied sports
psychologist. This is a role where professionals work with athletes to help them improve their
performance by using mental tactics like visualization.
A career as a clinical sports psychologist is another option. These experts work with sportsmen to
help them overcome mental health issues that can occur as a result of the game's stress.
Professional athletes frequently suffer from eating disorders, depression, and performance anxiety.
Cognitive therapy and other therapeutic methods can help with these issues.
Sports rehabilitation therapists frequently work with a team of professionals to help injured
athletes get back in shape. A physical therapist will focus on treating injured muscles, while a
sports rehabilitation therapist will focus on the mental side of recovery. This entails assisting
players in overcoming frustration, anxiety and depression so that they may mentally return to their
game.
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Working as a sports research specialist at a research laboratory, either as part of an academic team
or in private laboratories, is a career option for sports psychologists. They might run tests in an
athletic setting to learn more about human behavior, motivation, and endurance.
At the university level, sports psychologists are frequently hired as assistant university team
coaches or head coaches to work with teams as members of the squad. Those with a strong sporting
background will find that sports psychology studies can assist them advance.
Sports psychology graduates could work as guidance counselors in elementary, high school, or
university settings with a degree in this subject of psychology. They can assist in the promotion of
positive self-esteem while also providing health and fitness tips.
How to improve sports performance of elite players?
Elite athletes are professional players or national/international level players. If one takes part in
high-level activities in sports and has gained significant success, they are considered as an elite
player/athlete.
The way in which sport participation is analyzed is called sport performance. Biomechanical
function, emotional considerations, and training strategies all have a role in sport performance. In
the context of sports, performance is often associated with the aim of excellence, with an athlete
measuring his or her performance as a path toward excellence or achievement.
By identifying limiting beliefs and adopting a healthier philosophy about your sport, sports
psychology aims to improve your attitude and mental skills, allowing you to perform at your best.
There are many ways in which an elite athlete’s skills can be improved:
1. Instructions should be centered on assisting athletes in remaining present in the moment
and letting go of results. Athletes' focus must be improved, and all distractions must be
eliminated. Many sportsmen can concentrate, but their focus is frequently shifted to the
wrong areas, such as when a football striker says, "I need to score a goal," which is a result-
oriented focus.
2. Because of its importance and correlation to other mental skills, confidence is considered
a key mental game skill. Improving the confidence of athletes who have concerns is a key
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component. Confidence is the polar opposite of doubt. If you have a lot of doubts before
or throughout your performance, it means you have low self-confidence or are destroying
any confidence you had before the game. For example, if a basketball player believes he
cannot play as well as the rest of his team or opponents, his self-doubt will lower his
motivation to play, severely impacting the team's overall performance.
3. It's critical to address these expectations while also assisting athletes in remaining calm
under pressure and when they make mistakes or grow frustrated. Athletes who have high
and strict standards have a hard time dealing with little mistakes that are unavoidable in
athletics. Athletes must learn coping abilities to deal with failures and blunders. Getting
into the zone necessitates emotional control. An athlete, for example, who works a rigid
schedule from morning to night without receiving any personal time to do things they enjoy
will be under a lot of mental and physical stress, which could lead to burnout.
4. It's critical to strike a balance between being enthusiastic about something, without
becoming overly enthusiastic. It's critical to think about intensity in a broad sense when
determining the level of arousal or mental activation required for each individual to
function at their best. This varies depending on the individual and the sport. It's necessary
to feel "energized" and upbeat, but it's also important not to get too worked up. Athletes
must determine their sport's optimal intensity zone. For example, as a football player, I
recall my teammates and I being ecstatic when we learned that the team we were playing
against was rather rookie. This had a negative impact on our performance because we were
pretty relaxed and needed to step up our game in order to win.
5. Helping teams enhance cohesion and communication is a big aspect of sports psychology
and mental training. As a result, it's critical to assist teams in developing communication
skills and cohesion, because the more a team works as a unit, the better the outcomes for
everyone involved. When I play volleyball and football, for example, the necessity to call
out and coordinate with one another is vital to ensure a smooth game.
6. A healthy belief system must be developed in athletes, and all erroneous notions must be
discovered and eliminated, in order to help them identify inefficient beliefs and attitudes
such as comfort zones and negative self-labels that prevent them from performing
successfully. No matter how much you practice or how hard you try, unhealthy or
unreasonable thoughts will keep you stuck. Being an elite athlete, for example, may entail
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a lot of publicity and press. A negative name given to an athlete may have a greater impact
on them than one may believe.
7. It's essential to consider your degree of motivation and why you want to participate in your
sport. Some motivational techniques are more effective in the long run than others.
Extrinsically motivated athletes, such as those who only participate in sports because of a
parent, frequently play for the wrong reasons. Sport psychologists work with athletes to
help them develop a healthy level of motivation and to be motivated for the appropriate
reasons in order to achieve their best results.
8. Athletes can use sports psychology to build confidence, emotionally heal from injuries,
and deal with the fear of re-injury. Physically, some athletes are ready to return to
competition and practice, but psychologically, some wounds remain. Injury can undermine
confidence, induce doubt during competition, and result in a lack of focus.
9. To help athletes mentally prepare for competition, all outstanding coaches must use game
plans, race strategies, and course management abilities. A mental coach can assist athletes
and teams in areas other than fundamental mental skills development. In sports like
combative, golf, racing, and many team/individual sports, this is critical for developing
game-specific strategies and game plans.
Conclusion
Sports psychology is a branch of psychology that bridges the gap between mental and physical
well-being. It is vital to gain a better understanding of mental processes and actions in order to
succeed in sports. This could include both group and individual encounters. Sports psychology
professionals are in charge of assisting athletes and athletic teams in overcoming any mental stress
that may emerge as a result of their participation in the activity. They may also work with children,
teenagers, or members of the general public in order to increase motivation and encourage them
to live a fit and healthy lifestyle, which includes mental wellbeing. To summarize, sports
psychology has a broad reach, and there are several strategies to improve a top player's
performance.
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References
https://mastersinpsychologyguide.com/articles/10-awesome-masters-in-sports-psychology-jobs/
https://www.verywellmind.com/careers-in-sports-psychology-
2795657#:~:text=Sports%20psychologists%20typically%20perform%20a,scientific%20research
%20and%20athletic%20consulting
https://www.apa.org/monitor/2018/11/cover-sports-psychologists
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