Why is Sports Psychology So Important in Sports Today?
No one really talked about applied sport psychology until recently, but it has been known in one form or another for almost as long as people have played professional sports. It used to be called gamesmanship. Basically, in its most basic form, it is about psyching out your opponents while building yourself up. Sports psychologists talk about the importance of being in the zone and of creating an intimidating presence on the field. Once you have the momentum, as long as you can stay with it you can usually win. Although there are games that are a tossup until the very last moment, many games are decided within the first few minutes of play. What decides these games? The psychology of sports is interesting not only to professional athletes, but to anyone with an interest in the mind, especially if they are into the psychology of peak performance. You see, it involves many elements. Part of it is about competitive thinking, but it starts way before the teams get to the field. In essence,
