To be healthy is not just about ridding yourself of disease but it is also about being in a state of complete physical, mental and social well being (Edwards, Edwards & Basson, 2004).. Recently positive mental health has been studied in much depth and wellbeing is now being acknowledged as extremely important for every athlete. […]
“Confidence is contagious” – Vince Lombardi. This article is written in the context of football. If football is not your sport then simply substitute footballer for cricketer or athlete, the concepts are the same and transferrable. I am a BASES Accredited Sport Scientist in sport psychology and I am based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire and […]
When young children show a large amount of skill or potential talent for a specific sport, they are often pushed to exclusively pursue that sport by family or coaches. It can be tempting for parents to throw all of their energy into helping their child become “the best they can be.” However, while more practice […]
Scope’s argument (29/8/13 http://www.scope.org.uk/news/paralympics-legacy-0) that the Paralympic legacy ‘hangs in the balance’ signifies a challenge to all interested in sport as therapeutic and sustaining influence in people’s lives. It had been hoped that the Paralympics would improve the lives of disabled people by changing attitudes and increasing participation in sport and the community. The survey […]
Competition anxiety will affect all of us, although the extent to which it strikes varies from athlete to athlete. We are often told “it’s good to be a bit nervous” but anything more than a few butterflies in your stomach can prevent you from reaching your full performance potential. In order to perform at a […]
Imagery and visualisation are the most widely used psychological skill used by athletes. Despite that, without informed psychological skills training (PST), athletes can often fall into negative imagery coping mechanisms. It is therefore beneficial to understand and manage athletes imagery experiences to enhance performance and well-being. Studies have repeatedly found that imagery can increase attention, […]
High self-esteem is a great thing to have, right? In sport and exercise, we think of self-esteem as vital in helping to maintain performance levels, as well as keeping up the motivation to push that little bit harder in the gym or while running on the soggy streets on a winter’s morning. We also think […]
How a team operates and performs has been a major talking point amongst psychologists for years. Putting together a successful team is a great challenge across all sports for coaches, managers and players. Sir Alex Ferguson has put together numerous teams during his time at Manchester United, many of which have been successful, but is […]
Why do expert athletes often appear to have ‘all the time in the world’ to respond in highly time constrained sports, while novices appear challenged by rapid speed of play? This distinction between experts and their less-skilled counterparts has been at the heart of discussion in the sports perception literature in recent years and the […]
