I think it’s safe to say the practice of sport psychology is as old as sport itself. Maybe we didn’t call it that… But even in the earliest of days, I’m sure athletes and coaches thought about the mental side of sports, albeit intuitively.
What’s changed over the years is our approach.
We got better at understanding just how much the mind has to do with performance. And we also developed theories and terminology to help optimize our preparation.
Despite operating outside the mainstream, sports psychology has been making a significant contribution to the modern game of football.
It has paved a way for footballers to work on themselves and grow in a way previous generations didn’t even know was possible.
Here are some of the basic ways learning sport psychology is helping footballers improve their performance.
Sports Psychology Opens Up a Whole New World of Useful Information
Words help us understand ourselves and others more precisely, but they also help us communicate more efficiently. And even the most basic psychological terms can make a huge difference when trying to make sense of complex situations you encounter daily.
“I’m feeling off” isn’t exactly useless info, but being able to differentiate between “anxious”, “frustrated” or “angry” provides a much deeper insight.
As you learn, you start deepening your understanding of the game, your teammates, your coaches, and yourself.
So you go from “I’m feeling off” to “I’m feeling anxious because I see a teammate who plays in my position is starting to warm up. I’m worried I’ll get subbed off, and it’s hard for me to focus. My confidence is dropping and it’s affecting my performance.”
Being able to precisely define a situation is crucial because it allows you to plan for an appropriate response.
How Learning Sports Psychology Can Help You Improve as a Footballer
There are two main ways footballers can use sports psychology to boost performance:
- Fix what ISN’T working
- Improve the stuff that IS working
When you know what your goals are, it’s pretty easy to work back and create a strategy for getting there.
Some of the areas in which footballers can improve using sports psychology are:
- Motivation
- Concentration
- Communication
- Confidence
- Self-discipline
- Leadership
- Resilience
- Anxiety
- Stress
- Composure
- Creativity
- Visualization
- Self-control
- Self-development
- Reflection
There are many proven sport psych techniques and methods you can apply to improve as a player, and I’ll do my best to make as many of them available on this website.
To begin with, you need to understand that you CAN change if you’re willing to learn and put in the work. And even little things such as making the time to reflect on the mental aspects of your game can be a huge step forward and inspire ideas.
Bonus Benefits:
- The stuff you learn is transferable. Improvements in these areas WILL come in handy in a world outside of football.
- You get to pay it forward. Sharing your experiences with fellow teammates could inspire them to improve as well.
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