Sport+Psychology

​  Sport psychology is the study of the physiological and mental factors that influence participation and performance in sports, exercise, and physical activity. Sports psychologists assist coaches in working with athletes and helping improve athletes’ motivation.

Sport psychology focuses a lot on the topic of motivation and performance. It deals with increasing athletic performance by managing emotions of athletes and lowering emotions caused by sports injuries. They help athletes reduce the risk of injury by teaching and assisting them in focusing their energy and mind on their particular sport. Sport psychologists also teach skills like relaxation, concentration, confidence and awareness.

 Sport psychologists study skills such as goal setting, relaxation, visualization, self-talk, awareness and control, concentration, and confidence. A major emphasis of sports psychology focuses on how the brain and performance are affected when a stress factor is involved. Although psychology is associated with the brain, sport psychology involves more organs. They work on breathing techniques with athletes, slowing the individual’s heart rate and increasing adrenaline to improve performance.  The first sport psychologist was Norman Triplett. Triplett’s first experiment and results found that cyclists cycle faster in pairs or group, rather than riding alone. The world’s first sport psychology laboratory was founded in Germany by Carl Diem in 1920. Five years later in 1925, the first laboratory in the United States was opened by Coleman Griffith at the University of Illinois in Springfield, Illinois. He offered the first ever sport psychology course at Illinois. During the 1970’s, sports psychology became a regular part of university curriculum. Sport psychology courses are found in kinesiology departments, as well as the psychology departments. Continuing into the 1980’s, sport psychology became more research based and focused on performance enhancement and stress management. Today, sport psychologists work with professional athletes, as well as high school and college students to improve their overall performance and stamina.

For more information on this topic, visit any of these helpful books: · Psychology of Sport: Behavior, Motivation, Personality and Performance of Athletes; Butt, Dorcas; Van Nost Reinhold; ISBN 0-442-21437-5

· Coaches Guide to Sports Psychology; Rainer Martens; Human Kinetics; US. ISBN 0-87322-022-6

· Sports Psychology; Morris, Summers; Wiley; ISBN 0-471-33549-5