Psychology is an integral component of sporting performance, and the demands of sport can affect many aspects of an athlete's life. Sports psychology can assist in the well-being and sporting performance of individuals and teams at any level of competition, from the recreational amateur to the elite professional athlete.
In training everyone focuses on 90% physical and 10% mental, but in the races its 90% mental because there's very little that separates us physically at the elite level.
— Elka GrahamBefore the Olympics I did a lot of relaxation and visualization to get a feel of what it was gonna be like when I got there. I knew that I had done everything physically and mentally.
— Michael PhelpsI am willing to fail, it's ok to fail, but I am going to get back up, I may take a step back, but in the end, I am going to take a giant leap forward.
— Tiger WoodsI think to myself "I'm confident, I'm in the driver's seat, I've won the last couple of meetings, and I've won the big tournaments. Whoever comes, I'll try to beat him.
— Roger FedererSport psychology may include
- Developing strategies for arousal management in training and competition
- Dealing with performance anxiety and other emotions
- Developing a high performance mindset
- Competition preparation
- Goal setting and achievement
- Commitment
- Visualization
- Developing positive self talk and thought control
- Increasing mental toughness and resilience
- Improving focus and attention during competition and training
- Obtaining and retaining 'flow' and 'being in the zone'
- Coping with training and competition demands
- Overcoming fear of failure or success
- Injury and rehabilitation management
- Establishing and maximizing training and competition routines
- Overcoming fear in risky situations or following crashes, injury, mistakes, etc
- Improving communication with team-mates and coaches
- Enhancing team cohesion
- Increasing and retaining motivation
- Maintaining sport / life balance
- Preventing burnout and over-training
- Dealing effectively with deselection, transition, and retirement from sport
- And more...