Sports Psychology

According to the American Psychological Association, sports psychology is “a proficiency that uses psychological knowledge and skills to address optimal performance and well-being of athletes, developmental and social aspects of sports participation, and systemic issues associated with sports settings and organizations.” Many athletes deal with psychological problems whether that athlete shows symptoms or not. Athletes are totally different specimens than “normal” people might be. Division I athletes may suffer from the problems that stem from sports psychology more than a Division II or III player might. An interesting aspect to look at is when it comes to parents influence in the sports world. Parents or guardians can cause major stress and self esteem issues. Another aspect of sport psychology is working with current athletes. Athletes are held to such a high standard when it comes to society and college. An athlete might see a sports psychologist for self confidence and self esteem issues and emotion management. Women athletes especially need to utilize sports psychologists when it comes to self esteem issues. Most women athletes feel down about their bodies because they are so different and muscular. Another major issue sports psychologists deal with is eating disorders. Again a lot of women are more prone to these issues than men. Male athletes may focus on emotion management and motivation. Not only do sports psychologists work with athletes, they also work with coaches. Some sports psychologists allow meetings with multiple coaches in order to teach them the early signs of psychological difficulties. The psychologist might also teach a coach team building exercises in order to help with animosity between teammates.