The tailoring of young minds to become the most elite athletes remains one of the most difficult tasks to preform. Many would argue the most gifted athletes are considered so not because of their physical abilities but rather their mental perseverance. As some athlete’s peak years in their careers can span for decades into adulthood or a few short years into puberty, mental strength can be the deciding factor if each individual’s career is successful. Not only is it the job of the athlete to keep their mental game strong, but is increasingly falling to the responsibility of the coaches and sports psychologists to make sure it is done in the healthiest way possible.
Many spectators believe athletes often credit their coaches for their biggest
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Sports psychologists create ways to carry out common coaching demands of maintaining positivity and focus by locating the underlying issues of being able to preform under pressure and grapple with the inevitability of the increase in pressure to preform as success drives them through their careers (Wood 2014). The reception of a sports psychologist by coaching staff can strain or strengthen the productive emotional atmosphere of any team or training company. Sports psychologists often cause tension when introduced to the coaching staff at high-performance levels as the roles of mental and physical health often overlap therefore causing overlap in coaching staff and psychology staff (Cook, et al. 2017). Cook’s study regarding the relationship and effectiveness of a relationship between a sports psychologist and athlete also showed if athletes had been not exposed to previous sport-related psychological work then, athletes exhibited discomfort and some degree of inability to discuss emotional states during training and after performances both successful and failed (Cook, et al. 2017). The discussion of emotional states between the psychologist combined with the simple reiteration of small specific techniques within the training from the coach adds another dimension to the stability and effectiveness training has on the athlete’s performance long term (Wood 2014). Sports psychologist balances the demands of a coach maintain the athlete’s mental willpower to be able to compete and the athlete’s emotional state to ensure a coach’s desire for determination doesn’t prove detrimental to the athlete’s overall
Coaching is an integral part of helping achieve one’s maximum abilities. Dr. Gawande (2013) explains that, “Coaches are not teachers, but they teach. They’re not your boss—in professional tennis, golf, and skating, the athlete hires and fires the coach—but they can be bossy” (p. 3). It is difficult to say what is the exact function of a coach, however, they help bring forth another point of view different from our own and they also help bring about the right mindset in order to subdue a weakness.
Extensive instruction in sport science is covered in order to provide a scientific basis of understanding for rational development of technique and training programs. The sport science portion has been developed by the American coaching programs. The sport science portion has been developed by the American Coaching Effectiveness Program and the nation Coaching Education Committee. It includes sport psychology, pedagogy, and sports medicine. Coach’s average salary was 28,360 in 2012.
For many years the wining averages were used to dictate the achievements on how the two interacted. It was believed that if a team has more wins than loses that the coach and athlete combination was superb. The win – loss record has been established as a longstanding instrument measuring the success of athletic players and coaches. However, this is not really a direct correlation to the coach’s effectiveness in a particular sport, being that there are many other factors in coaching a team other than game records. The coach’s job is to enhance to the athlete physically, socially, and psychologically, winning is only considered a by-product of that job (Gillham, Burton, & Gillham, 2013). Gillham, Burton, and Gillham (2013) focused on developing a Coaching Success Questionnaire-2 to allow a means of evaluating other aspects of a coach’s interaction with their athletes as both a research and coach devel...
A Survey of Athletic Trainers. Sport Psychologist, 5(1), 15-24.
It is advisable for such a person to engage him or herself in different sport and recreation activities within the industry. If possible, he or she should have one-on-one interviews with athletes and other sportspersons in order to gain early experience in dealing with the science of mental life in sports. Q8. Where do you see your field in the next 10 years? A. Over the course of time success is very different; although sport psychology has not been recognized customarily as a field in psychology.
The goal of every coach is to create an environment in which his athletes can flourish. Performance anxiety is a coach’s worst enemy simply because it can have a negative impact both mentally and physically on athletes. The mastery approach to coaching is a cognitive-behavioral intervention designed to promote a mastery-involving motivational climate (Smith, Smoll, Cumming, 2007). How a coach handles his athletes is essential for their confidence and ability to overcome any level of performance anxiety. Critical or punitive feedback from coaches can evoke high levels of negative affect in children who fear failure and disapproval, thereby contributing to a threatening athletic environment (Smith, Smoll, Cumming, 2007).
This report enabled me to observe a very fine coach. I am honoured to have given the opportunity to observe Winchester public school boys’ senior basketball team coach Tom Liu during their basketball season. Coach Liu is knowledgeable about the sport he coaches and about the development of his athletes. His qualifications include NCCP level 1: volleyball, basketball, special Olympic (technical) and NCCP level 2 Theory. After observing several basketball practices and one basketball game, I’ve come to conclude coach Liu is a well respected and a good role model for his players. He provides challenging and enjoyable practice sessions. During the practices, he is able to communicate well with the athletes. He is constantly asking for the athletes’ suggestions on how to improve their strategy as a team and what the athletes feel they should work on. This allows the athletes to be involved and to develop their thinking habits. Coach Liu also provides good corrective instructions where he would pull the athlete aside and correct their mistakes either by a...
Historically, there has been a conception that coaching the physical aspects of sport is most important for team success. However, coaching has undergone great change over the years. Particularly, there has been a growing emphasis on fostering the mental elements of sport for athletes. These include confidence, motivation, mindfulness, optimism, and mental toughness (Ellsworth, 2011). A coach who has shared similar values is Phil Jackson, a former coach of the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers, and owner of a record breaking eleven National Basketball Association (NBA) championship rings. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest coaches in American sports, in large part due to his remarkable ability to cultivate these components in his players. In his autobiography 11 Rings – The Soul of Success (2013), Jackson describes the unique approaches he used to foster these constructs, particularly emphasizing mindfulness and optimism. For example, his book highlights his principles of mindful leadership, some which are titled, “Lead from the Inside Out”, “One Breath = One Mind”, “The Key to Success is Compassion”, and “Bench the Ego” (Jackson, 11-19). As evident though Coach Jackson, as well as many other high achieving sport coaches, the development of a team’s psychological aspects can positively correlate in with a team’s success. This paper will
The age of overwhelming strength and stamina governing sports is over, and the age of the mentally tough athlete has arrived. Athletes are no longer the superficial jocks and robots programmed to accomplish one goal, victory. Modern athletes ranging from the high school to professional levels are faced with many pressures and temptations, normally outside the realm of their sport. These pressures can inhibit an athlete’s performance substantially; therefore, the pressures need to be dealt with by psychologists. The effectiveness of sports psychology is demonstrated through the fields many theories, applications, and variety of techniques and procedures.
"The Coach-Athlete Relationship." Liberty Mutual Insurance: Responsible Sports. Positive Coaching Alliance, 2013. Web. 6 Nov 2013.
Manley, A. (2009). Expectancies and Their Consequences within the Coach-Athlete Relationship: An Athlete-Centred Investigatio. [online] Available at: http://eprints.chi.ac.uk/816/1/507136.pdf.
A lot of times, sports seem like a contest of physical skill― a test to see who is the fastest or strongest, who has the best eye or the most endurance, who can jump the highest or can handle the ball the best. What a lot of people don’t know is that there is so much more to a sport than just the muscle and coordination. In order to excel in a sport, an athlete requires a lot of self-discipline, concentration, and self-confidence. It’s the mental factor that makes a difference. Former Olympic gold medal-winning decathlon runner Bruce Jenner once said, “You have to train your mind like you train your body” (Gregoire 1). Success or failure depends on the mental factors just as much as the physical ones. The training of the mind of an athlete is called sports psychology. The use of sports psychology has a huge impact upon an athlete’s performance. The mental skills of a sport are just as important as the physical skills. All professional athletes use sports psychology. “If they aren’t currently using it, it’s almost guaranteed they’ve used it in the past, even if they are unaware they have” (Davis, Stephens, The Exploratorium 129). It’s hard to find an experienced athlete who hasn’t used sports psychology, because without it, they probably wouldn’t be where they are. The use of sports psychology is a crucial step to becoming a successful athlete.
Sports psychology continues to evolve in order to ensure that comprehensive and evidence-based psychological services are available for athletes and teams. Giving athletes an understanding of their psychological functioning, and building the ability to implement a range of psychological strategies in competition enables athletes to both execute their skills and thrive under pressure as they strive to reach their performance potential.
Coaches who put their team and players first, are coaches who value each and every one as a person (Yanity, 2011). A good coach will teach life skills along with developing each player’s athletic talent (Yanity, 2011). With athletic participation at an all-time high, coaches have become an important element in the education of student-athletes (Yanity, 2011). It is important for coaches to have moral and ethical behavior in all phases of their lives as young men and women look to these role models for guidance.
The coach becomes a motivator and a facilitator of growth or athletic skills. This growth will ultimately lead to the attainment of individual and group goals. For the sports team, the coach will lead its members’ growth in developing training, providing encouragement, and monitoring their progress. The player will become more skillful in the game. More skillful players win. Sport coaches will assess their players’ overall strengths and weaknesses by placing the player in a position which accentuates their positive attributes, in an attempt to overcome any negative aspects.