What is sport psychology, and how can it improve performance?
Whether you’re a casual weekend warrior or an elite athlete, sport psychology can take your game to a new level.
Many fans of professional or college sports know sport psychology professionals can assist athletes with the games’ mental aspects. But many don't know that this resource is available—and helpful—for the casual athlete, too.
Michael Berrebi, PhD, LMHC, a counselor and sport and performance specialist with University of Iowa Sports Medicine, shares how people can improve their performance and enjoyment of their chosen sports.
What kinds of athletes do you work with, and why do they seek you out?
No matter the level at which they are playing or competing, I ask people, "What are your goals?" We try to take an honest assessment of the person's strengths and weaknesses and then figure out what we want to improve. One person might want to manage their pre-game anxiety better because they feel like they get so worked up, it takes them a while to get into the game, and then they don't play as well and lose confidence. This also happens when athletes are recovering from an injury, which is the case with many people I see at the Sports Medicine clinic. I can help people regain trust and confidence in their bodies as they prepare to play again.
In addition to those in college or playing professionally, I work with high school and casual athletes. There has been a stigma that if you're seeing a psychologist, it's because something is wrong. But I think that is changing. If you are struggling or losing control of your emotions in a game, you probably could benefit from talking to somebody with sport psychology training. But also, if you're doing great, it helps you maintain that consistency.
Work with a sport psychologist
We all know that much of sports is mental. Learn how to train those abilities, too.
When you're working with people, do you target your messaging in terms of performance versus motivation versus emotional control?
It's closer to a big Venn diagram—these things are all connected. When I'm working with somebody, we are tackling three aspects of their activity: enjoyment, performance, and overall well-being. If you're enjoying your sport—even if you're not the best—and you're more consistent and reaching more of your potential, you're going to be happier. And that's why you're participating in the first place.
This isn't true of every sport psychology consultant you might see, but I am also a licensed counselor, so I have a background in general clinical mental health. I see athletes struggling with issues in their personal lives outside of their sport that we might work on because I think it's hard to perform consistently on the field or the court if you are struggling in other ways.
Even elite athletes face problems like "the yips" or a slump, and famously, gymnast Simone Biles struggled with "the twisties." How do sport psychology professionals tease out a skill problem from a psychological barrier?
When you talk about great players in any sport—whether they're professionals or just playing basketball at the local Y or in an adult soccer league—the best players are going to be extremely talented physically but also have a pretty strong mindset. I'm not a coach or an athletic trainer. I'm not going to tell you how to swing your golf club effectively or how to build more strength, but if you are working on those things and you add the mental piece to it, that will give you the best potential to get the closest to your peak.
One of the questions I like to ask early on is: What percentage of your sport do you think is mental compared to physical? People say anywhere from 70% to 90%, depending on the sport. Golf, for example, is a very mental sport. I follow up and ask: What percentage of time do you spend on the mental aspect of your sport? And they say, “none,” or “10%—maybe.” So, if you're saying your sport is overwhelmingly mental and you're only spending a tiny percentage on the mental game, maybe working with a sport psychology professional can help fill that gap.