Sports Psychology Highlighted for Role in Winter Olympics
March 4th, 2010
The hard work, diligence, and strength visible in the stances and faces of Olympic athletes at the podium belies a great deal of inner training, in addition to the physical rigors that Olympians enact in order to improve their performance. As the recent Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver fade into memory, some viewers have become curious about the role of sports psychology and how this field helps athletes. Discussions about the field have prompted a greater awareness of the potential benefits of these behind-the-scenes trainers, and the notion of therapy for positive benefit independent of diagnosed psychological concerns may become more prominent as a result.
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What’s the difference between sports psychology and any other kind of motivational psychology? I don’t see it. Am I missing something?
Camille Duvall, the water skier, is a perfect example of how sports psychology works. “I train myself mentally with visualization. The morning of a tournament, before I put my feet on the floor, I visualize myself making perfect runs with emphasis on technique, all the way through to what my personal best is in practice…. The more you work with this type of visualization, especially when you do it on a day-to-day basis, you’ll actually begin to feel your muscles contracting at the appropriate times.”
Currently looking for a school that offers this degree of study or advanced certification in the field
Even a an expample as th one below can explain and prove this fact-
Rewind back to your school days…whether you were a prize winner or were a casual participant, just ask yourself if you would be able to perform to your potential in any event if you were unhappy or stressed or in any other tension. The answer would surely be a no!
Visualization is a powerful tool. For world class athletes, seeing is believing and believing is doing. They are just far better at pursuing excellence through focus than mere mortals like us.
Athletes, even elite athletes get hangups when it comes to performing and doing well. They need trained pros to talk them through their performance anxiety and their fears which can then lead them to having better outcomes and results.
And what about all those athletes that came away from the Olympics empty handed? Was their version of sports psychology not good enough or was it their own efforts that were under par?
You don’t need to just believe you’re a winner to be one. Talent and training count. Just believing I can run a mile in under four minutes isn’t going to make it happen. The original Olympians never needed sports psychology in their corner.
Does it take special training within psychology to be a sports psychologist?
Where i come from it’s not sports psychology…. it’s not a different field of expertise, it’s the same, with a small add on.
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