Mental Preparation In Sports

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Logan Brown Mrs. Vicknair English III 26 March 2018 Mental Preparation One aspect of preparation in relation to sports that is often overlooked is the mental aspect. Coaches do not help put their athletes into the correct mindset or put them in a place mentally where they can respond effectively to challenges they may face while competing. Many sports programs do not have any way for the athletes to train mentally. They only focus on training physically. They do not spend time training in ways that may allow an athlete to perform at their best. While some of the most successful athletes such as Michael Phelps are taking advantage of this training, most are not. Some people would say that mental preparation in sports is highly important, but…show more content…
There are now various examples of how championship teams have used sports psychology to their advantage to further their program than they could do just physically. The amount of evidence that supports these ideas is just continuing to grow and some of the greatest examples of this were compiled in a list by Brian Baxter who lists the Florida State Seminoles football team, the UConn Huskies basketball team, and the Seattle Seahawks to name a few. Florida State has gone on to win the college football national championship, the Huskies won the NCAA men’s basketball championship, and the Seattle Seahawks won the Super Bowl. These are all great examples of teams being successful and being brought to the next level by just that extra help of being better prepared as a team through mental preparation. Other people are also endorsing the trend of sports psychology in sports, one being Bill Cole, who has previously been mentioned. He says,” Virtually every college, university, national team, Olympic team, and pro team has a sport psychologist on staff,” and he also goes on to list successful teams that use sports psychology which include the New York Yankees, San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Cowboys, University of Nebraska, and Stanford University. These teams are all examples of how sports psychology is continuing to be a more valued asset as well as most of…show more content…
Sports are becoming more intense as time goes on but also as children age and sports are taken more seriously. Less and less kids are participating in sports because they no longer like how intense it is and how serious the coaches and competition take the game. In an article written by Julianna Miner, she states,” According to a poll form the National Alliance for Youth Sports, around 70 percent of kids in the United States stop playing organized sports by the age of 13 because it’s just not fun anymore.” People are no longer okay with playing sports just for the fun of it. Now what is most important is if the team is successful and that the team is winning. This is leading people to try and get every edge they can so that they can be successful in sports and not be left behind. This is where sports psychology could come in and be a way for athletes to gain that edge as sports are becoming increasingly competitive. I can also attest to this as I am involved in high school football, and I have definitely noticed an increase in the intensity of sports as I have aged and am not participating in little league sports. Now I am trying to be the best out of hundreds of other people and trying to find a way to separate myself from the crowd. A useful tactic to use may just be sports

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