Making public competitions the centerpiece of their lives can take a toll on professional athletes. Sports psychologist step in to help athletes weather the demands of their sport, improve performance and maintain motivation. Sports psychologists also work with amateur athletes, sometimes as young as junior high age, recreational athletes and those with disabilities. Many sports lovers might consider this a dream job, but it takes experience and training and can be stressful for the psychologist.
Work Activities
Sports psychologists assess the needs of their clients and look for places that require change. Depending on the situation, they may work in connection with doctors, nutritionists, coaches or other psychologists. Work might be one-on-one with an individual, or with a whole team or sports organization. The sports psychologist can lead workshops on relaxation, visualization or goal setting, or work closely with the coach on improving team communication and cohesion. A player may need extra help if he or she is overcoming an injury or dealing with emotional or mental health issues.
Conditions
The hours and workplace vary for sports psychologists, depending on the sport and level of competition. They may work on a university or middle school campus, or in a hospital or office. If they work with elite athletes, they may be required to travel to a training camp or Olympic village. Working hours revolve around competition schedules. There may be a lot of evening and weekend work. In the UK, about 57 percent of sports and exercise psychologists are male and 43 percent are female, according to Prospects: The UK's Official Graduate Careers Website. Starting salaries with professional clubs are about £30,000 in the UK, and the most experienced sports psychologists can make up to £70,000.
Changes in the Field
When the sports psychology field began to develop in the late 1960s, the early members were academics who had studied physical education and were teaching, researching and writing at universities. By the 1980s, the Association for the Advancement of Sport Psychology attracted more clinically trained psychologists to the field. Now most graduate-level programs are based in sport science schools or departments. According to sport psychologist Leonard D. Zaichkowsky, Ph.D., of Boston University, while today's training is very good, students aren't always prepared to help athletes with their problems. Zaichkowsky said he is seeing more athletes with significant issues like eating disorders, depression and substance abuse.
Competition from Other Fields
In the last decade, the personal and executive coaching fields have exploded. Services provided, such as partnering with clients to enhance performance and improve their quality of life, are remarkably similar to what sports psychologists offer. Zaichkowsky points out that professional requirements for this field are less stringent than in traditional clinical psychology, so that sports psychologists will be competing with people who may or may not have much education or experience. Another overlapping field is "positive psychology," a new branch of psychology which focuses on hope, perseverance, and other human strengths. Both personal coaches and positive psychologists may compete for clients with sports psychologists.
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