Athletics and sports are heavily integrated into American culture. One of the most popular sports in the United States is track and field, with over four million athletes nationwide and 530,000 collegiate athletes according to the National Collegiate Athletics Association, or the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletics Association). However, most of these athletes face major setbacks in their athletic careers due to influences that are out of their control, such as coaching styles. A study done by sports science faculty at Gazi University evaluated 213 sprinters, endurance runners, jumpers, and throwers on their mental health and concluded that track and field is undoubtedly a mental sport, finding that there was a direct positive correlation between …show more content…
Holistic coaching is mutually beneficial because as athletes experience these improvements to their mental and physical health, they will begin to improve their athletic programs and thus, help their coaches. While holistic coaching provides a solution to the harmful autocratic leadership experienced by athletes, it would be challenging to completely ban autocratic coaching. There is no guarantee that even with training, all coaches will implement the holistic coaching style in their athletic programs when under pressure and leave their old habits behind. However, it is crucial that the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) declare a ban on autocratic coaching within collegiate track and field so that the majority of athletes and coaches are able to reap the rewards of their efforts. From the experiences of millions of American collegiate track and field athletes, it is clear that there is a systematic problem in the culture of coaching that needs to be
In order to see outcomes in this area of improvement, we as coaches must re-evaluate not only our athletes, but, in addition, our coaching styles. Of course, we all want to tell ourselves that we are great coaches and it's the athletes who are not following direction...
Coaching is an integral part of helping achieve one’s maximum abilities. Dr. Gawande (2013) explains that, “Coaches are not teachers, but they teach. They’re not your boss—in professional tennis, golf, and skating, the athlete hires and fires the coach—but they can be bossy” (p. 3). It is difficult to say what is the exact function of a coach, however, they help bring forth another point of view different from our own and they also help bring about the right mindset in order to subdue a weakness.
Athletics in American schools have always been controversial for many reasons. Some of these reasons include health concerns, safety precautions, and academic significance. Daniel H. Bowen and Colin Hitt wrote an article titled, “High-School Sports Aren’t Killing Academics” to present the factors of positive correlation between success in athletics and academics. I believe that athletics in high schools not only benefit students socially, but also academically.
However, this is not really a direct correlation to the coach’s effectiveness in a particular sport, being that there are many other factors in coaching a team other than game records. The coach’s job is to enhance the athlete physically, socially, and psychologically, winning is only considered a by-product of that job (Gillham, Burton, & Gillham, 2013). Gillham, Burton, and Gillham (2013) focused on developing a Coaching Success Questionnaire-2 to allow a means of evaluating other aspects of a coach’s interaction with their athletes as both a research and coach development tool. A sample group of athletes at the varsity and club level ranging from ages 18 to 25 was used to develop the questionnaire by asking their perceptions of their coaches.
A proper coaching philosophy contains principles which improve character development, teach step by step tactical and technical skills, form proper progressive physical training regimens, and carefully utilize team management to handle and control problems with administrative issues. A coach with a sound philosophy should mold a team with strong cohesion, and he should treat players not only as teammates, but as family and friends who are encouraged to develop communication and lifelong learning of skills through positive support and role modeling from the coach (Mergelsberg, 14-15). The philosophy should also contain written documents of implemented strategies and techniques, so that the coach will know what to improve upon season by season
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...
Sports are a popular pastime among all ages and types of people. People not only participate in them for fun, but also for money, physical fitness, rush of competition, and for many other personal reasons. Playing sports is especially common among young people in schools. Athletics are great and enjoyable for many reasons, but there can be a point where sports participation can go too far and become negative for children and adults. Sports specialization for young people is an increasing trend that results in sports having a negative impact on individuals and society.
Athletics is not the most important part of the educational offerings at a school, it is the most visible aspect. Everything coaches do will be easily observed and under constant scrutiny. This makes a coach one of the most important role model accosicated in a child’s life. When going out for a sport, you want to have love for the game. The number one thing that is important is that the coach doesn’t make your love
Sports Psychology Today. Mental Edge Athletics, 4 Sept. 2012. Web. 28 Oct. 2013. Forde, Pat.
Collegiate athletes are already under an enormous amount of pressure even before enduring career-ending injuries. According to Kissinger (2009), student athletes normally struggle with six unique challenges. Student must be able to balance both athletic and academic responsibilities, along with balancing social activities, maintaining the stresses of relationships with coaches, teammates, friends, and parents. They also have to manage athletic success and/or failures with emotional stability. More importantly they have to balance physical health and injuries with the need to steady compete and with the termination of one’s college athletic career.
...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.
A sport coaching is an important way of developing the career of athletes. It involves a manager or a coach helping sportspeople to utilize their abilities and advance in their sports careers. Coaches usually watch his/her performer in a match, identify areas that need improvement in the performer’s sporting, and develop plans for training sessions that will be used to correct the problems identified. The coach usually applies some skills which are usually gained through formal education and training or through experience and observation (Knowles et al 2005). This includes the use of an appropriate coaching philosophy to learn the psychological aspects of sportspeople and set the stage for performance within a sports team. A coaching philosophy
Coaches who put their team and players first, are coaches who value each and every one as a person (Yanity, 2011). A good coach will teach life skills along with developing each player’s athletic talent (Yanity, 2011). With athletic participation at an all-time high, coaches have become an important element in the education of student-athletes (Yanity, 2011). It is important for coaches to have moral and ethical behavior in all phases of their lives as young men and women look to these role models for guidance.
Sports Psychology is the scientific study of mind, emotion and behavior in relation to the psychological factors that are closely associated with sports performance (Afremow, 2013). As stated by Sports Psychologist Leif Smith, “The greatest tool any athlete can have is the mind, it’s the most powerful aspect of sports performance and has the ability to make you or break you”. The imperative focus that Sports Psychologists pursue, is approaching their clients maladaptive emotional state, which arises in competition, otherwise known as performance anxiety (Levnes, 2011) The perceived threat of a competitive scenario, which typically is associated with a heightened level of arousal, is where anxiety is seen to appear (David Smyth, 2010). In particular dancers are highly susceptible to developing mental health problems as a result of the intensified anxiety associated with their performance.
Sport and exercise psychology is a mandatory aspect of the sport science discipline. This discipline contributes to the various professional practices associated with physical activities such as - teaching of physical education, recreation and health promotion, and kinesiology related professions - because it plays a mental role for the participants. Sport and exercise psychologists view physical activity in several different ways: physical activity as a tool for health, physical activity as a tool for human potential, and physical activity as a tool for social change. This aspect of psychology may be the most important aspect of physical activity, because of the contributions of exercise and sport psychology to health, human potential, and social change.