What is Sport Psychology?
Sport psychology is an area of psychology that deals with behavior in the field of physical activity and sport. It is a relatively new area but it is already widely recognized by national and international associations and organizations.
The sport psychologist must be prepared to take on the ambitious challenges of his or her patients.
What is sport psychology?
The role of the sports psychologist is to motivate and understand the psychological phenomena that athletes may experience. To do this, the athlete is studied and exercises and techniques are prepared to optimize sporting and psychological performance.
The psychologist’s functions are complex and he must be prepared to take on the ambitious challenges of his patients. The specialist has to deal with issues such as stress, self-confidence, self-esteem, moods, aggressiveness, persistence, etc.
Tests within Sport Psychology
The first step is to identify the behavior that the sport psychologist is going to focus on. For this, an evaluation or diagnosis is made, analyzing the subject, the relationships that people establish with their physical, biological and social environment, i.e., it will have to study the sports context in which it is located. Therefore, it may be necessary to know the coaches, judges, managers, family members, etc. In addition, the analysis may not be enough, so the sports psychologist may also request:
- Tests or questionnaires
- Interviews
- Observation techniques
- Psychophysiological records
When to go to a sport psychologist?
It is clear that having a great physical preparation is not enough, you also have to be mentally prepared to compete. The psychologist will help you achieve realistic goals by taking smart steps to achieve them. In addition, it is important to manage stress, as it can be a negative factor in performance.