Sports Psychology Research Paper

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In today’s society, professional athletes are put up on pedestals, being observed and praised as if they were gods. They are being admired for their extraordinary physical skills and all the time people are amazed by the top athletes ability to stretch the limits of the human body. Take Usain Bolt for an example; how many times has he not taken the world with storm while breaking yet another world record? We also praise and respect professionals who possess — what seems like — supernatural psychological skills when they perform under intense pressure; such as firefighters, surgeons, policemen, military personnel, performing artists and others. What most people seem to forget is the fact that these professionals are not born with, or have …show more content…

The definition from the American Psychological Association’s, Division 47 (Exercise & Sport Psychology) website states: “Exercise and sport psychology is the scientific study of the psychological factors that are associated with participation and performance in sport, exercise, and other types of physical activity” Sports psychology with other words is the study of how psychology influences our training, our performance, and our physical activity in general. Success or failure for a top athlete of any sport often depends on their mental aspects just as much as their physical ones. Trained sport psychologists study the athletes mind and their way to think; as a result, they can recognize problems and help the athlete's mindset, and focus by preparing the athlete to overcome the obstacles they will face in their competition. They will do this while boosting the athletes confidence, creating the best performance possible. Sport psychology is not like other types of psychology; about handling the every day life. It is for athletes, and it is about controlling your emotions, finding motivation and focusing on the right things in stressed situations and competitions. To better be able to handle the pressure of the game or the race. So again, sport psychology is the study of peoples thoughts and mindsets as they compete, and what they can do to improve their performance by training their

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