Definition of Sport Psychology
American Psychological Association: Exercise and Sport Psychology defines SPORT PSYCHOLOGY as (a) the study of the psychological and mental factors that influence and are influenced by participation and performance in sport, exercise, and physical activity, and (b) the application of the knowledge gained through this study to everyday settings.
Sport psychology professionals are interested in how participation in sport, exercise, and physical activity may enhance personal development and well-being throughout the life span. Sport psychologists are also involved in assisting coaches in working with athletes as well as helping improve athletes' motivation.
What is Sport Psychology?
By Stephen Weiss, MS Sport Psychology; Ph.D. Experimental Psychology
Most athletes, whether they are at the elite level (for example, college or professional) or overweight weekend warrior, sandlot, or hacker type has felt that feeling sometime in their athletic career. Why did you take that fall-away three point shot? One you normally wouldn't even think about attempting. Your reply: "Because I'm feeling it right now." Your coach's reaction: "no, no, no, oh yeah baby - great shot".
Three decades ago Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi coined the phrase "being in the flow" as describing the optimal experience (as in the one described above) when everything an athlete does becomes so easy. You know it's going in almost before you take that shot or swing that club. You know its going to be a line-drive or the routine is going to be perfect. Sometimes when the game is over you are even surprised at how well you performed. Most times you can't even verbalize what you were able to do. Maybe not so unlike an implicit type of learning (Reber, 1967) had taken place.
Can a sport psychologist bring this optimal experience out? Is it a psychological or mental component which makes a good athlete become a great athlete? As Hall of Fame Major League Baseball player, Yogi Berra, so eloquently stated: "Baseball is ninety percent mental. The other half is physical."
Of course, it would not be correct to ignore obvious flaws in an athlete's technique. Addressing both the physical and mental aspects is recommended. A blend of both is optimal. Clearly, you have to perform A blend of both is optimal. Clearly, you have to be able to perform the right movements if you are to be successful. There are simply better ways to holding a golf club or shooting a basketball. That is not in dispute here. But, after the basic movements have been learned, when the behaviors should now become automatic and unthinking is where some athletes' troubles surface. To take a real world example, it may have been a similar scenario that led to Shaquille O'Neal's inability to benefit from explicit instructions given in a controlled environment - a practice session. In 1994, O'Neal a seven-foot-one, 303 pound, National Basketball Association superstar with a $40 million contract, was, statistically, one of the worst free-throw shooters in the history of the game (Men's Journal, 1994). He was so bad, in fact, that opposition players would often foul him intentionally because they knew that his chances of scoring from the foul line were dramatically less than from the floor. While playing for the Orlando Magic, management brought in Buzz Braman, one of the most respected shooting coaches in the country, to work specifically and solely with Shaq. All feedback was of an explicit nature involving body and arm position and focused specifically on the forming of a precise angle between the forearm and the upper arm. It initially appeared to help, as O'Neal's shooting in practice increased dramatically. Unfortunately, during game situations O'Neal did not improve. If anything, he got worse. Eventually Braman was fired and O'Neal was traded.
Would it have been better to hire a sport psychologist rather than a shooting coach?
Perhaps psychologically more interesting, is the case of Chuck Knoblauch who, while playing for the New York Yankees, precipitously lost the ability to make a successful ten-foot throw to get a base runner out. In 1999, Knoblauch made 26 errors during the Major League Baseball regular season, the most by a second baseman. Intriguingly, just two years earlier he won the Gold Glove Award as the best fielder at his position (Walker, 1999). In instances such as these, there appears to be more to the problem than simple mechanics.
Again, maybe it would have been best to hire a sport psychologist to work with Knoblauch?
If you have any thoughts on any sport psychological issues - they are definitely welcome. Email me or better yet stop by my office (ES 336) to chat.