Sports Psychology

Sports are most often associated with physical fitness and well-being. However, it has great benefits on our mental health. When one participates in physical activity, the brain releases endorphins, giving us a positive, euphoric feeling. It also reduces the levels of stress hormones which provides us with an overall relaxed feel. Hence, it is not surprising to believe that our mental state before physical activity significantly impacts our performance.

Sports psychology is an interdisciplinary practice that explores the link between the psychological and physical factors affecting performance in competitive sports and athletic activity. It aims to help athletes and players achieve mental well-being and have the right mindset on their big day. It includes helping them deal with performance anxiety and burnout. Intense practices and nervousness calls for a need to relax and reset before the game. Sports psychology also focuses on helping athletes recover after sports injuries and restore their confidence when returning to the sport.

Renowned Australian swimmer Elka Graham once said, “In training, everyone focuses on 90% physical and 10% mental, but in the races, it’s 90% mental because there's very little that separates us physically at the elite level.” This shows us the importance of sports psychology in the higher levels of competition. However, it is also imperative in junior and academic levels as it helps the sportsperson gain the psychological strength required to advance in their field.

Sports psychology includes training in cognitive and behavioural skills to enhance performance. This means guiding them in goal setting, performance planning, attention control, emotion management, sportsmanship, leadership skills, and more. It also includes counselling, a clinical intervention that deals with athletic motivation, eating disorders, substance abuse, overexertion, aggression, and burnout. Another part of it is counselling and training, team-building exercises, talent development, and educating coaches to recognize the early symptoms of psychological difficulties and learn how to deal with them.

We often hear commentators say that a player didn’t seem to be in the best mental state or that the team lacked coordination. Even in sports matches, we sometimes see players get overly emotional when they miss a goal or accidentally hit a wicket. One must understand that playing a sport in front of a large crowd in a stadium has the player pumping with adrenaline, and it requires great mental strength not to get overwhelmed at the moment. Blocking out the crowd’s roaring cheers, sometimes for the team or player opposite you, requires focus and paying attention only to your game. The preparation for this starts off the field and often requires close attention to the players’ life outside the sport.

Sports psychology grew increasingly popular since the 1960s, as it was influenced by physical education and sports sciences. Today it includes principles from physiology, kinesiology, and biomechanics and links it to general psychology. The global sports market was valued at $388.28 billion as of 2020 and is expected to grow much more, and sports psychology is a highly valued field. Sports psychologists are required to apply their theoretical knowledge on the subject and cater it specifically to their clients’ needs. Each client requires personalized help ranging from sports enhancement to overall psychological well-being. Their life outside sport must be given equal importance as their general mental well-being plays a prominent role in their performance. Trained and accredited consultants understand their clients’ needs and guide them to achieving their level best.