Many people are very mistaken in believing that athletes are insensitive blockheads who can only wave their feet. Why do they need some kind of psychology? In fact, athletes need the help of a psychologist no less than representatives of other professions. Psychology in sports plays an important role in shaping the personality of the athlete as a whole, and also helps to cope with experiences in case of unsuccessful performances. In our country, most often the trainer combines the direct trainer's work with the work of a psychologist, helping his pupils.
The tasks of sports psychology
Initially, the psychology of sports did not stand out as a separate branch of psychological knowledge, and it can be considered a fairly young industry. Initially, attention was paid to the differences between athletes, their individual characteristics. We also studied the ability of a person to train in stressful situations, to maintain the ability to adequately assess the situation and think soberly at times of extreme physical and mental stress. Naturally, questions were raised regarding the intensification of training and increasing their effectiveness.
Over time, the range of tasks that the psychology of sports was designed to solve has expanded. So, programs began to be actively created and tested that took into account not only the differences in athletes, but also the specifics of a particular sport. Along with individual work, sports psychology provides for collective trainings aimed at increasing the effectiveness of the work team. An important place was occupied by techniques and methods for enhancing not only physical and mental, but also the ethical, collectivist and emotional-volitional training of athletes. Thus, the psychology of physical culture and sports was designed to shape the personality of the victorious fighter. Therefore, great importance was given to the motivation of the athlete, both during competitions and during preparatory training. The future champion was taught to work on a specific result. In addition, the task that the psychology of sports had before it at that time was the formation of the athlete’s sense of distance, sense of speed of the object, sense of time, and so on. Attention was also paid to teaching a person to think strategically and tactically, to be able to predict events, to listen to his intuition.
Functions of a Sports Psychologist
The coach quite often, if not always, performs not only the coaching work, but also the work of a psychologist. Psychology in sports performs the following functions:
- the formation of motivation, focus on results, increasing the overall effectiveness of training;
- psychological preparation of the athlete for the competition;
- creating the conditions necessary for the formation of psychological stamina and ability to resist the influence of stressful situations;
- the formation of the athlete's personality to increase the effectiveness of interaction with the team
- help the athlete in stressful situations for him;
- control of the level of willpower when this indicator is either below or above the norm.
Well, psychology in sports is very important! This is no doubt!