Sports Psychology

Sports Psychologists will use knowledge from coaching, psychology, biology and other areas. They will study how psychological factors affect an athlete’s performance in sport. They will also look at participation in sport and how exercise affects a person’s physical and psychological state.
A sports psychologist is usually one who has trained in psychology, then taken additional training in sports psychology. They will be experience in sports and knowledgeable. 
The sports psychologist can also offer training of psychological skills to improve performance, such as relaxation techniques, imagery etc. 

Opportunities
Sports psychology is a relatively new, but rapidly growing field. Sports psychologists may work with athletes, teams, coaches and parents to help improve performance, team building, communication, transitions to a new career, injury and rehabilitation.  This work may be with professional athletes or  teams and amateur athletes and teams.

There are a lot of opportunities available. A sport psychologist may work full time with a particular team, or they may offer consultancy work with many different athletes and teams.

Risks and Challenges
Work cannot always be guaranteed. If the sport psychologist is able to become well-known and respected, they may get a lot of work from a variety of sources or may be offered a full time position with a team.  

Psychology and sports knowledge and training is required to ensure the sports psychologist has a good understanding of the sports person, team work, rehabilitation, dealing with injury and so on.  

This can be a pressurised field, as sports coaches are usually involved in professional teams to enhance the team’s performance, so there will be pressure on the psychologist to ensure that this happens.


How to become a Sports Psychologist
An initial course in sports psychology can be a useful way to get into sports psychology and a way to gain skills and knowledge of sports psychology theory and practice.  
It is important to check what is required in terms of qualifications and experience, as to what is required to become a sports psychology. For example, An initial psychology degree or a sports degree may be required.. Followed then by a specialisation in sports psychology.
A good knowledge of sport is required, as well as the principles involved in psychology.

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