Your focus and concentration suddenly disappears as you attempt to shoot the game winning ball. The overwhelming pressure of receiving the baton correctly to avoid disqualification within a relay race brings butterflies to the stomach. The cold sweat on your brow and on your palms become increasingly uncontrollable as you anticipate the start gun. Do […]
Let’s get off on the right foot. I am not a parent, but I know enough to recognise that it’s a tough job. And then there’s being a sport parent… Accordingly, several of TheSportInMind articles emphasise the value and importance of sport parents roles and, aligned with Fredricks and Eccles’ (2004) research, sport parents are […]
In recent times sport and especially football has seen a flurry of young sporting ‘wonderkids’ being shot into the media spotlight. With Real Madrid’s acquisition of the 16 year old Martin Ødegaard from Stromsgodest, Norway being the most recent and high profile due to the global reach of Madrid. The 16 year old has signed […]
If anyone is a fan of watching shows on TV such as ‘Psychopath Night’, then here is a short article for you to think about! There is an extensive amount of research surrounding the psychopathic personality traits of individuals in a clinical setting. To name a few, research suggests that personality characteristics such as a […]
Research within sport psychology highlights and emphasises the potentially stressful nature of sports participation (e.g., Fletcher, Hanton & Mellalieu, 2006; Fletcher, Hanton Mellalieu & Neil, 2012; Giacobbi, Foore, & Weinberg, 2004). Stress can significantly influence both an athletes’ well-being (DiBartolo & Shaffer, 2002; Tabei, Fletcher, & Goodger, 2012), competitive performance (Humphrey, Yow, & Bowden, 2000) […]
Unfortunately injury is a common threat when it comes to both elite and non-elite sport. How we cope with it may determine our path to either full recovery or re-injury. We often participate in major competition despite ‘having a niggle’ or carrying a larger injury and passing it off as nothing much (Lopez & colleagues, […]
Not so long ago I was asked by a friend of mine, who is an athlete as well as me and has been for most of his life, whether I would encourage my own children into the competitive world of athletics. After a lot of consideration there was an uncertainty over the answer, but more […]
Simply ‘Google’ coping in sport and thousands of research papers appear. Even on this website 10 articles are listed under the topic. As sport psychologists, being able to assist athletes with the pressures of competition, performance slumps, and a range of other worries is recognised as an important area not only for improving performance but […]
The development of depression during retirement from professional sport has been highlighted by many athletes and most recently by swimming legend Ian Thorpe. James Cracknell has spoken about his tunnel vision of sport performance and subsequent inability to broaden his horizons in retirement. Alternatively sports stars have often quit a major competition or retired from […]
We’ve all seen or heard of elite sports people performing ritual movements before competitions, from a 100m runner blessing themselves before a race, to a footballer with his lucky pants or the Golfer with his favourite putter. From the outside looking in it may seem odd and strange; however in all sports, superstitions and rituals […]