Sport Psychology in the Media II- the sequel!
Monday's Times carried an article about Padraig Harrington which encouragingly backs up the whole idea of using a proper psychologist. Last year was a fantastic year for Harrington, winning two majors and performing consistently throughout the season. What was his secret? He worked on his mental game. He also went to the top golf psychologist in the world, Bob Rotella.Rotella has written a number of books on golf the most famous of which is probably 'Golf is not a game of perfect' Although you could argue with the grammar, the principle underlying the title is fair and the book itself provides some useful if not stunningly deep insights into how to perform any sport, in terms of the kind of goals that you set and the way in which you prepare for performance.
The key point is that Rotella has done the work in terms of training, academic research etc in order to be able to back up these ideas. He has written his books in an informal style to make them accessible and avoided any kind of overstatement or rash claim about the efficacy of his ideas.
After my dissapointment in the previous article concering amateur dabblers working outside their competence, I am of course delighted to see hard evidence that the real stuff does work. Harrington's amazing approach shot to the 17th in the Open- a five wood from about 265yds to 7 or 8 feet if I remember- was enough on its own to show how well he can handle the mental side of golf. I should be charging Rotella commission for this advertisement but there are a few other trained and qualified practitioners around so why not try one.
Alastair Evans-Gordon M.Sc.
Sports-IQ
Sport Performance Consultancy
alastair@sports-iq.com
07831-426-928
Sport Psychology in the Media
Oh dear, oh dear, another ghastly portrayal of sport psychology in the media!!! In today’s Times, a double page spread about British tennis hopeful, Anne Keothavong relates her experience with an American sport psychologist, who told her to talk to a tree. Well, it is possible that this idea has been taken out of context to dramatise the story. Maybe the tree idea was just a metaphor for understanding all the elements required for elite performance. The result is still the same. Sport psychology is portrayed as new age mumbo-jumbo. Unfortunately the world of sport psychology is clouded by all sorts of untrained individuals armed with a few tricks from a weekend course in the latest fad for life changing nonsense.
The article goes on to say that Miss Keothavong has found some help from Dr De Souza, who is described as a GP and life coach with an interest in sport psychology!!! Well if the LTA has a multi-million pound budget, why is our number one woman tennis player getting her psychological support from an amateur dabbler without formal psychology training? Never mind whether that is within his code of ethics!
The profession of sport psychology, as practised by fully trained psychologists specialising in this area, draws on scientific research and evidence combined with mainstream psychological theories of behaviour change to help athletes with their sport and well-being. Qualified practitioners have made significant contributions to our Olympic success and to many areas of professional sport. They do not use mumbo-jumbo or psychobabble. They work confidentially and professionally and do not rush to the Daily Mail as soon as one of their clients improves three places in the world rankings, and they do not recommend conversations with trees.
All sport performance has a psychological element. There is no need for a debate about whether it constitutes 10 percent, 20 percent or 70 percent. Anyone who is serious about improving their performance needs to consider all of the elements and work on each of them systematically. Winning only requires the tiniest of margins as does losing! To lose because you missed out on a key element of your training and preparation is just naïve.
Each performer contributes their own work on how they think about their sport. Good coaches will understand much of the science of developing psychological skills, but for the full professional service covering performance skills,team dynamics, counselling and support with lifestyle issues, get a
professional.
p.s. I do not have any control over the adverts on this page and would not consider many of them to be formal psychology training.
Alastair Evans-Gordon M.Sc.
Sports-IQ
Sport Performance Consultancy
alastair@sports-iq.com
07831-426-928
