Sports Psychology, The Fundamentals Of Coaching, And Multicultural Relations

Sports psychology deals with the mental and emotional aspects of physical performance. It involves describing, explaining and predicting attitudes, feelings and behaviours in an attempt to improve performance. In the film 'Coach Carter,' directed by Thomas Carter, sport psychology is used effectively to enhance the performance of a high school basketball team. However, this improved performance is not limited to the basketball court, it extends into the classroom where the students use goal setting, motivation, concentration and confidence control, ultimately to become accepted into college, avoiding a life of drugs, gangs and prison.

Applying Harter’s Competence Motivation theory may effectively manifest situation-specific self-confidence in athletes. This theory is centered on the concept that an athlete with feelings of personal competence will also foster feelings of motivation and desire for mastery. This theory is based on the idea that all individuals are innately motivated to be proficient in all capacities of human achievement (not just athletics). This reinforcement combination will eventually lead to successful task performance much the same way high levels of self-efficacy do.

Sport psychology is the sport science that seeks to understand psychological and mental factors that affect performance in sports. For my observation task I choose a runner. It is a middle-aged woman who perform this sport for 10 years. She was preparing herself for marathon. She is a professional runner and she took part in these kinds of competitions before. My task explores the affects that are associated with female athlete before and during the competition day.

Sports and Exercise psychology is the scientific study of the psychological factors that are associated with participation and performance in sports , exercise and other types of physical work out. Sports and psychologists are keen on helping individuals use psychological principals to achieve optimal mental health and to improve performance. Students learn how participation in sport and physical activity affects an individual’s psychological development, health and wellbeing throughout their life.

Strategies to deal with the psychological aspect of racing were imparted to me by the coaching staff, which I later taught to other young athletes. Sailing exposed me to the workings of the human mind and provided my first glimpse into the field of psychology. While in university, I delved further into this interest by pursuing studies in psychology and biology, enhancing my journey through participation in research projects at the university and hospitals. During this time I also explored teaching, tutoring students in undergraduate psychology. My inquisitive nature has driven me to continue both these endeavors (teaching and being involved in research*) while in medical

Today in sports athletes endure many mental and physical obstacles from there competitive environment. Many of today's best athletes work with sports psychologists to help them handle the pressures found in this competitive atmosphere. One question that athletes ask is, why cant they play in big games as well as they anticipate themselves doing? Sports psychologists feel that spending all their time on body conditioning and athletic skills will not ensure that athletes reach their peak performance.

Lisa Flemming is preparing for an Olympic biathlon and has consulted with a sport psychology consultant (SPC) because she would like to increase her athletic output. The biathlon is an unusual sport that combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. This particular sport requires tremendous physical exertion while skiing, and then involves relaxation and composure during the rifle-shooting portion of the competition. Flemming has never worked with an SPC before and is interested in trying some very general intervention programs to see if there is any affect on her athletic performance.

This topic is important to the field of Sports Psychology because there is limited research on the topic. Being able to understand the physiological effects on athletes is beneficial to assist athletes of all levels in performing at their highest potential. Though there is limited research in relation to this topic, articles from 2008 to 2014 discuss the importance and explanation of understanding emotions associated with athletic performance. While reviewing these articles, it will be evident that physiological symptoms can have both negative and positive effects on athletic

The effects of optimal arousal and performance has been studied extensively in psychology. Throughout sports psychology it is known that there is an optimal arousal level at which athletes perform their best. In previous studies surrounding the relationship between emotional states and performance, have been examined using the individual zone of optimal functioning (IZOF). IZOF is a sport-specific framework that describes the relationship between emotional experiences and success on the basis of individual patterns (Ruiz, Raglin, & Hanin, 2015). In a review done by Ruiz et al. (2015), it was found over 183 IZOF based studies making it one of the most popular models for an analyzing subjective experience and athletic performance. From past research the IZOF model has found that anxiety heavily influences performance of athletes and each athlete has an individually optimal level of anxiety, which with probability will lead to a successful performance (Hanin. 1978, 1986, 1989).

From my core classes, to my electives, and vocational classes. They have taught me things, like critical thinking skills, rational thinking, reasoning skills and understanding of abstract concepts. I feel as though the electives I took, along with the vocational program I took, have gave me better skills to help me achieve my goals in life, The vocational program I took especially which was graphics and printing has gradually helped me to get ready to enter the workforce. The classes I took in high school have also helped me become motivated to gain more knowledge. High school has granted me with very important lessons that will carry on and resonate within me for the rest of my

An area in my life where I can most benefit from sport and exercise psychology principles would actually have to be when I enter into law school. I am currently in the process of choosing where to commit for law school for Fall 2016, and I think that many principles I have learned in this class will be very viable in law school. So much of what law students do is working with each other and the general public, and I think that learning techniques that allow me to work cohesively with my fellow peers is going to help me to become the best prospective attorney. While there are many different principles and methods that I can use in order to improve cohesion, the two that I believe will be the most effective for me will be watching the size of

Children who participate in sports are developing rapidly in sports skills, sportsmanship, and psychologically, but does this come from organized sports are just nature’s process. Children develop emotional and social benefits from participating in sports. Children experience character and leadership development through peer relations leading to an increase in self-esteem and a decrease in anxiety levels. Children will get opportunities to experience positive and negative emotions throughout their practice and games trials. It is important for the coach to understand the “psychology of youth sports and physical activity participation” (Weinberg & Gould, 2011 p.516).

The notion of military training to enhance an athlete’s mental toughness may sound far reaching for some but for the applied sports psychology and performance enhancement world its becoming a reality. Special operations veteran Craig Weller, staff writer for T-Nation, aims to bridge the notion in his article Combat Psychology and Sports Performance, “The skills you possess in a calm, controlled environment will probably not be the skills you possess when it really matters. The impact of stress may mean the difference between victory and defeat, a clean climb and a jarring fall, or even life and death. (Weller, 2009).” This is why so many are turning to these principles to build up what is considered to be “one of the most important psychological

The most influential area of class that I saw the most growth in myself was during the days I led class discussion. The first topic I had the pleasure of presenting to the class was on self-awareness. Leading discussions allowed me to really comprehend the material and I learned a lot from these experiences. The other topic that I gained the most knowledge in came from the discussions and that topic was environmental influence. Additionally, I saw growth in my understanding of the topics relating to family influence and leader influence.

Athletes all around the world have trouble with performance, whether it be because they lack motivation, or because they are distracted, or even because they don’t know their body as well as they should. Athletes go through too much to perform better, they stress themselves out trying to be that one “perfect athlete”. Athletes should know the importance of bettering themselves during performance and how it can affect others around them. In the book, Psychology of Sports, written by Dorcas Susan Butt mentions techniques to help an athlete do well in a sport. The best training techniques for an athlete to do well in a sport are positive thinking, relaxation, and visual motor behavioral rehearsal.