From an early age, I have infatuated an instinctive curiosity and further been captivated by the workings and the world of Sports Psychology. The relationship amongst Sports Psychology and the skills used to address optimal performance, wellbeing, development, social aspects and systemic issues have always enthralled me. As a graduate who loves to learn, the prospect of studying Sport and Exercise Psychology at Loughborough University is exceptionally rousing because of the University’s reputation of excellence in these fields. The transnationally recognised reputation of the Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences school makes me feel it will be a very stimulating and motivating environment in which to study at master’s level. In conjunction …show more content…
My attentiveness in these capacities was first aroused during my undergraduate studies at University College Birmingham where I studied Sports Management and further chose to do a final year research topic on the Coach-Athlete Relationship. Elaborating further, I investigated the constructs of a positive Coach-Athlete Relationship from an individual perspective. Huge emphasis of this research project was based on the 3C+1 Conceptual Model, which of course was constructed and researched by Dr. Sophia Jowett who is a Professor of Psychology at Loughborough University. I admire their range of work within the field and during my undergraduate degree I referenced several of Dr. Sophia Jowett’s academic papers throughout my studies. With the much-assembled Primary and Secondary research data, I achieved a first for my dissertation, this assisted me in gaining a first-class degree overall. Not only will the course cover the above topics, it will also introduce me to key new areas such as Mental Health in Sport and Exercise, which I am particularly keen on studying as this will additionally develop my knowledge and understanding of the subjects …show more content…
In studying Sport and Exercise Psychology I later hope to become a University lecturer. In doing so, on completion of the Master’s degree, I will be pursuing further by studying a PhD in Motivation and Health Behaviours, this further endorsing my skills and opening the opportunities of working in a credited institution, such as Loughborough University. I thrive upon perplexing situations and enjoy the vision of both helping others and variety in the day ahead, I personally feel it is a career that will allow me to combine and utilise my hard-working nature as well as my academic and sporting passions. In preparation for such a career, I have gained experience within a secondary school working with pupils within the sporting department and have already carried out several research projects for a Birmingham based marketing company called Sporting Group International which specialises in international market development and high value sales and marketing within the world of sports. I am confident I can express the determination, aspiration and expertise to position myself as the perfect postgraduate student to study at your
It is advisable for such a person to engage him or herself in different sport and recreation activities within the industry. If possible, he or she should have one-on-one interviews with athletes and other sportspersons in order to gain early experience in dealing with the science of mental life in sports. Q8. Where do you see your field in the next 10 years? A. Over the course of time success is very different; although sport psychology has not been recognized customarily as a field in psychology.
“All I have to do is pass: A discursive of student athletes’ talk about prioritizing sport to the detriment of education to overcome stressors encountered in combining elite sport and tertiary education.” Psychology of Sport & Exercise. Mar 2014, Vol. 15 Issue 2, p180-189. Web.
Sports psychology can be defined as the study and application of the attitudes and behaviors of athletes (including team athletes) that impact (either positively or negatively) performance in sports or competitive settings. The goal of sports psychology is to help athletes and teams identify unhealthy attitudes and beliefs, apply mental toughness skills and peak performance strategies to perform at optimal levels (Cohn). Sports psychology is not recognized as a traditional field of practice offered by graduate programs; although, it is a recognized field of specific study under Kinesiology and Physical Education Programs. Sports psychology was first founded in 1920 by Carl Diem in Berlin, Germany. Later on, in 1925, sport psychology was brought to the U.S by Cloman Griffith. These early psychologists aimed to observe the effects of mental state on different factors of performance such as reaction time, tension, relaxation, and awareness (Haney). In the 1960’s Griffith’s research interest in sports psychology reemerged after having faded away for a while; however, the field had a...
I am a young ambitious student who strives to excel in everything I do. I want to study Sport Psychology as I know I possess the right skills to further and develop myself in the career of sports. I have the ability to understand others in sports as I also play sports myself. I have been in high pressured sporting situations which I have used my psychological skills to help increase my performance. What interests me in Sport Psychology is that I can make a big difference to not just my life but the lives of people in sport such as rehabilitating athletes or boosting athlete performance. I am fascinated by how different athletes perform in the same environment and getting practical with the mind, body and brain. Improving performance, consistency and stability in an athlete’s
Matosic et al. (2015) conducted a study to examine the relationship between personality antecedents and coach interpersonal styles from a self-determination theory perspective. Often, coaches play an extremely influential role in the lives of the athletes that they are responsible for. Motosic et al. stated that coaches exert a major impact on athletes’ “well-being,” “performance,” and “motivation” (p. 1). The researchers claimed that previous research had acknowledged the influential role of coaches by studying outcomes of coach interpersonal relations, however, previous studies had failed to examine any possible antecedents associated with coach interpersonal styles. Considering this, Matosic et al. attempted to address this gap in the research literature by formulating a study that examined the relationship between a personality antecedent and coach interpersonal styles. Self-Determination Theory provided an
(Shaw, Gorely and Corban, 2005) The routines of sport psychology can start anywhere from training in warm games to minutes before stepping out into a huge stadium with blaring lights and thousands of people cheering on. Some athletes chant words under their breath to get them into the ‘zone’.(Shaw, Gorely and Corban, 2005) Others visualise what may happen out on the playing field and picture in their mind what they have practised so far. Sport psychology is important to help athletes get into the ‘competitive mindset’ whilst playing their sport. It adds to the physical training by preparing the athletes' brain to sync with their bodies and fellow players. An example of where sport psychology came into play in the real world is looking at the example of Greg Norman. The pro golfer choked in The Masters Tournament, Augusta, 1996. Norman shot a course record of 63, only 3 days later, he contrived the same course only go over with 15 strokes. (ESPN.com,
Graduates of a bachelor degree from the University of Southern Queensland should be equipped with the USQ graduate skills upon graduation. These skills are used to frame the curriculum for the development of employable skills, and to facilitate the student learning journey (University of Southern Queensland, 2018). Throughout my study of Sport and Exercise, the course’s I take should allow for me to develop specific skills relevant to my learning.
In Psychology, a sub category of the study is Sports Psychology. Many focus in this category to get a feel of how many athletes mentally feel while playing their sport. In the sports psychology the players should have high confidence, high mental toughness, and plenty of motivation. Motivation is having the desire to play a sport. Confidence is believing in yourself to play the game or sport well. Mental Toughness is the ability to not be discouraged when all goes awry and believing in yourself even when you make a mistake.
Coaching, however challenging, is a great way to influence the lives of others while also building their character. For as long as there have been sports, there have been people teaching the sport to the players and making them better at it. Coaches must have certain qualities in order to obtain success. One must also look at a coach’s motivation for his job, his passion for what he does, his methods for coaching, and how he became a coach in order to fully understand him. There are many questions someone may want to ask a coach about his profession if they are interested in coaching. Some questions would include: Why did he choose this as a profession? How did he get into coaching? What does one have to do to get a job as a coach? How does a coach become successful? I aim to answer all of these questions and more in my paper.
A lot of times, sports seem like a contest of physical skill― a test to see who is the fastest or strongest, who has the best eye or the most endurance, who can jump the highest or can handle the ball the best. What a lot of people don’t know is that there is so much more to a sport than just the muscle and coordination. In order to excel in a sport, an athlete requires a lot of self-discipline, concentration, and self-confidence. It’s the mental factor that makes a difference. Former Olympic gold medal-winning decathlon runner Bruce Jenner once said, “You have to train your mind like you train your body” (Gregoire 1). Success or failure depends on the mental factors just as much as the physical ones. The training of the mind of an athlete is called sports psychology. The use of sports psychology has a huge impact upon an athlete’s performance. The mental skills of a sport are just as important as the physical skills. All professional athletes use sports psychology. “If they aren’t currently using it, it’s almost guaranteed they’ve used it in the past, even if they are unaware they have” (Davis, Stephens, The Exploratorium 129). It’s hard to find an experienced athlete who hasn’t used sports psychology, because without it, they probably wouldn’t be where they are. The use of sports psychology is a crucial step to becoming a successful athlete.
“People are remarkably bad at remembering long lists of goals. One may have learned this at a professional level when trying to get my high-performance coaching clients to stay on track; the longer their lists of to-dos and goals, the more overwhelmed and off-track they got. Clarity comes with simplicity.” As a child he always looked at being able to play or coach a sport at the professional level. For the reason of me just loving the game of Basketball. Also i know it will make an impact on lives because people look up to you and the money in make will give back to communities and change lives around you. The career of a Professional Coach is a challenging and fun career,because of the level of competition and it’s a dream job. The research will describe the career of
...ompetition environment. There is increasing recognition by the sports community that supporting athlete mental health is a vital aspect of competitive performance, and is as integral to success as the athlete’s physical abilities. The profession of sports psychology provides a very meaningful contribution to help facilitate athlete wellbeing and maximize the psychological skills required to compete at the highest level of competition.
Tools of sports psychology By Claude Irankunda Spring valley academy Psychology Teacher: Mr. Knudsen 4/19/2018 Abstract The summary of these topic that, Sport psychologist help athletes achieve their goals in many ways. I learned how sport psychologist help us as an athlete?s to focus on what we are doing in order to achieve it.
Furthermore, a love for sports coupled my desire to work hard to start a multi-talented sports career. Once again, I found myself seeking the attention of somebody, this time my coaches, in order to stand out from the rest. While coaches ...
Psychology is useful within physical activity as it can be used to promote and influence one’s perspective on the benefits of health. This branch of study has become a gateway into many different careers in physical activity such as a fitness consultant, physiotherapist, and education. Psychology is used within the education system to help encourage all students, despite their physical ability, to participate in a healthy and active life style. In a recreation setting, psychology is used in advertisements to persuade people to want to become more physically active. The career of a fitness consultant uses the benefits to psychology to help their clients achieve their intended goals. Some useful strategies to help a client achieve their goals may include, goal setting, an enthusiastic instructor, or a variation in programs. In a study done on breast cancer patients, it was found that women who survived the battle showed more determination to continue a physically active lifestyl...