What is Sport Psychology?

I would like to thank you for expressing an interest in improving your sport performance.  Athletes, coaches and administrators can be confused about the field of sports psychology and the role it has on performance.  Sports psychology is a part of sport science.  It is an area that focuses on human behaviour in the sporting environment, the influence the environment has on a person and the effects of interventions on sport performance.

The goal of a sports psychologist is to help athletes to perform at their best by improving the necessary mental skills to excel in their sport.

Mental game coaching is a portion of sports psychology that concentrates specifically on helping people break through the mental barriers that are holding them back and keeping them from performing up to their peak potential.  By focusing on the mental skills needed to be successful in your sport, mental game coaching seeks to achieve the overall goal of performance improvement.

I sometimes prefer to use the title of “Performance Enhancement Specialist or Performance Coach” because I believed athletes can relate better to those titles rather than “Sports Psychologist”.  My experience comes from playing many sports competitively, from coaching, from mentoring and managing people in a business and sporting environment.

The area of psychology can be perceived negatively, because many people that use the services in the field have abnormal traits or disorders.  This is far removed from my role where I work with people who are striving to perform to their maximum.

My goal is to empower athlete to learn how to be more confident, to focus better, to stay composed under pressure, to practice more efficiently and develop effective pre-performance routines.

Could sports psychology benefit you?

Start by asking yourself some key questions.

• Are you performing up to your ability?
• Do you perform as well in competition as you do in practice?
• Can you stay in control of your emotions or thought processes?

I’m sure you know many athletes who have been labelled as “great talents”, but haven’t fulfilled their potential.  This is a huge sign that their attitude towards the sport may be getting in the way.

For regular updates to gain a better understanding of how sport psychology can help your sport performance sign up to “The Mental Edge”.

Or to get in touch for one 2 one Sports Psychology Coaching with a Leading Sport Psychologist, David Charlton, based near Newcastle – Face to face, via the telephone, SKYPE or online via email available.