Story by Keilah Oldaker, COMM 2311-601/Newswriting
The American Psychological Association once called it a “hot career”. In fact, that was part of the headline for an APA article in 2012.
The article begins with a description of one person who started as a psychologist and then branched into a sport psychology niche. An athlete himself, this psychologist worked with athletes who won in the London 2012 Summer Olympic Games.
Scott Goldman, director of clinical and sport psychology at the University of Arizona, is quoted in the article as saying, “Everyone is trying to figure out how to maximize talent.”
And it appears maximizing talent, building both mental as well as physical strength, is largely what sport psychology is designed to do.
It’s been around a long time, even if it didn’t yet have a name. The APA reports research into sport psychology began in the late 19th century. As early as 1898, the APA says, psychologist Norman Triplett found that cyclists who rode together performed better due to the social and competitive aspects of groups.
Fast forward to 1985 when the Association for Applied Sport Psychology was founded. The AASP’s website explains, “AASP is the premier association that ensures every performer has the resources to strengthen their inner edge through the advancement and application of excellence in mental performance and mental health.”
The APA recognizes there are many strategies that can be used to help athletes face problems. Some of them involve cognitive or behavioral skills training. For instance, it identifies: goal setting; imagery and performance planning; concentration and attention control strategies; and emotion management, sportsmanship and leadership skills.
In 2002 Sports Psychologist, Doctor Charles Maher spoke with CBS News about how many professional sports teams, even at that time, had a sport psychologist on staff.
“I’ve been at this for 15 years,” Dr. Maher is quoted as saying. “Long before it was ever called Sports Psychology. It was really not until the early 1990’s that Sports Psychology was demystified. There is a direct correlation between a player’s mental state and his on -field performance. No doubt about it. A player who is not sound mentally is not going to consistently perform at his highest level. I’ve worked with quarterbacks who couldn’t throw a 10- yard pass, I’ve worked with Javelin throwers who totally lost it and couldn’t throw it 5 feet, I’ve seen it in soccer players, baseball players up and down the line”
In recent years, athletic performance and mental health have taken the spotlight in several high- profile cases.
For instance, in July 2021, Olympic Gold Medalist Simone Biles withdrew from the all-around gymnastic competition. At the time, Biles was quoted in the USA Today as saying, “I have to focus on my mental health. I just think mental health is more prevalent in sports right now. We have to protect our minds and our bodies and not just go out and do what the world wants us to do.”
Also in 2021, tennis athletes spoke out about mental health issues in the wake of professional tennis player Naomi Osaka pulling out of a Grand Slam tournament because of mental health concerns. An Associated Press article from July 9, 2021, says video or telephone interviews with current and former players said they think their sport might be particularly prone to issues such as “stress, anxiety and depression”.
So, if sports psychologists are in demand, how do you get to be one?
As with many subjects, it takes education. Degrees in sport psychology come in many different levels from bachelor’s to doctoral degrees.
According to SportPsychology.org, a site devoted to information about sports psychology education and careers, Texas Tech University is in the list of the top five “best sport psychology programs in Texas”. It offers a 2-year Master of Science in Kinesiology degree with a concentration in motor behavior and exercise and sport psychology.
The sport psychology area of the TTU website says its mission is to provide psychological services that foster mental health and promote peak performance.
The site goes on to list 15 “typical mental health issues” often discussed by student-athletes. Many of the issues on the list seem like ones anyone might face such as depression, relationship issues, and loneliness. While others on the list seem more athlete specific such as anger and frustration and coping with pain/injury.
In the end, athletes everywhere are looking to build both mental and physical strength. Whatever sport they play, they want to win. Sports psychology might just help them do that by offering an edge.
Perhaps baseball Hall of Famer Yogi Berra, who played for the New York Yankees and New York Mets in the early 1970s to the mid-1980s, said it best. He is quoted as having said, “The game is 90 percent mental. The other half is physical.”
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