The Psychology of Sports Essay - 1921 Words

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. Sports psychology can be defined as the study and application of the attitudes and†¦show more content†¦The field of Sport Psychology has been flourishing ever since. Many societies and journals have come into existence, as well as many professional and graduate programs. The essence of sports psychology has not, howev er, changed at all. The improvement of the athlete’s mental and physical health on and off the field of play remains the essence of sports psychology. Theories play a huge role in the â€Å"treatment† and â€Å"training† of athletes from all levels of competitive play. However, that does not mean that everything that happens to be stated in regard to sport psychology, is true. Many myths have arisen and continue to appear in the field of sports psychology. Bill Cole, founder and CEO of Procoach Systems, has researched, proven and dismissed thirty-two of these misconceptions. Many of these myths that arise come from assumptions about the effectiveness or reliability of sports psychology techniques. Take for example the following myth: Sports Psychology is only for athletics that are mentally weak. â€Å"The term ‘mentally weak’ implies there is an inherently defective or temporarily fragile mental quality in an athlete. 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