When it comes to sports, physical training is always the top-of-mind activity people think about athletes, but there is more to just training and working hard. To win in a sports game is to learn how to balance all essential components together. That includes physical abilities and power, determination, and balanced mental and emotional health. When any of these is not in its peak condition, the athlete may not be able to give their best.

Playing sports is not just tiring physically. It can also wear you down emotionally and mentally. Athletes play sports because they enjoy doing so and they love challenging themselves, but at the same time, they also want to win and be better than their past selves. These factors can trigger pressure and cause a lot of stress that can be too much for them to handle. For this reason, sports psychologists exist. 

What Are Sports Psychologists?

Sports psychologists study how psychology can influence sports and use it to improve people’s performance. They not only focus on working with athletes, but they also serve as coaches and referees who all feel the same pressure for the sport they are working hard on. Anyone can get the service of a sports psychologist. Whether they are neophytes in the field or already professional athletes, they can benefit a lot from a sports psychologist. 

These psychologists teach their clients various ways to cope with their performance fears, overcome their performance anxieties and fear of embarrassment, enhance their mental performance, mentally prepare for the competition, and a lot more. 

Nowadays, more and more professional athletes and teams seek the services of sports psychologists to prepare for their competitions, not just as a luxury but as a routine to help them be mentally and emotionally ready. 

How It Started and How It Is Going

In the 1920s, dedicated sports psychology labs started sprouting in countries like Germany, Russia, and the USA. One of the first topics they studied was how the athletes’ mental and emotional landscape affects their athletic performance. 

Dr. Coleman R. Griffith was considered the founder of sports psychology. He created a research lab and also taught about the subject at the University of Illinois. He, later on, published two books that discussed the concept of sports psychology. 

Currently, the school of learning is divided into academic and practical branches. These arms focus on creating standards when it comes to training, researching, and implementing concepts. As of writing, the field is continuously growing and conducting research. It mainly focuses on these core aspects:

• Performance Enhancement

Sports psychology helps athletes improve their performance by focusing, visualizing, and mentally preparing for their competition. They teach techniques to help athletes manage their anxiety, reduce their distractions, center their attention, and improve their sports performance. 

• Resilience and Injury Recovery

Part of the athlete’s journey is losing the competition and getting injuries. Not everyone can be a winner, and the athletes need to learn and accept that. Another focus that this branch of psychology deals with is managing all the emotional stress brought by competitions and helping athletes improve how they deal with these kinds of challenges. 

Conclusion

Athletes need to overcome a lot of things to win in their endeavors successfully. They need to train hard in their respective sports. They also need to be mentally and emotionally prepared to beat their competition. Just like you, they are ordinary people who feel exhausted, unmotivated, and emotionally unstable sometimes. They also need a coach to help them get through this phase and focus on winning the competition.

Meg Parker is an intentional health and wellness coach who can help athletes empower themselves through self-awareness and living an active lifestyle. Her goal is to help her clients reclaim their inner champion. Contact us to learn more about how she can help you.