Who is popular today?

By Alexandria Olton

THE world of sport is an exceptional and captivating place, and while there are a plethora of reasons why I chose it as my field of expertise there is one reason that stands out to me most…It has a truly unique way of bringing people together in support of a common goal, team or countryman. Undoubtedly, we have seen some incredible sporting and athletic moments over the past forty-odd years: the infamous Rumble in The Jungle fight between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman (1974), Brian Lara’s 400 not out record-breaking performance against England (2004), Michael Phelps’ whitewash of the Beijing Summer Olympics copping eight Olympic medals, and the list goes on. Just earlier this week the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were crowned Super Bowl champions after 19 years, much of whose victory, many might argue, can be attributed to a single athlete Tom Brady.
These moments stand out to us because of their greatness, the sheer athleticism that was demonstrated and the unbelievable skill, dedication, and talent that it would have taken to achieve such feats. But there begs a question…is this greatness all attributable to physical talent or is there a mental game that underpins it all? The world of sport science is ever-evolving, access to the most advanced technology, training facilities and high-level coaching is at the fingertips of the greats, so what becomes most valuable now, that difference between a gold and silver medal is the marginal gains. These gains come from the mind.
In the modern world of sport, and perhaps now more than ever during this global pandemic, it is not uncommon to hear of athletes or teams working with on-staff sports psychologists. Preparation for major competitions now include working on the mental aspect; training in emotional intelligence to aid in decision-making, stress management, developing performance routines, self-talk, etc, and more athletes are stepping forward to discuss mental health in sport and become ambassadors for the cause.
The study and practice of sport psychology (performance psychology) is relatively new to the realm of the social sciences. The subject area was only truly popularised in the 1960s, by a chap by the name of Coleman Griffith. Griffith is crowned the founding father as he was the first director of an athletics research lab and the first to produce written scientific programmes to improve sport performance in baseball teams.
While the field is relatively new, however, the concept is not. We have referenced such a subject for centuries, through our language. Common phrases such as, “put your mind to it,” “it’s mind over matter,” and “keep your head in the game,” have populated our language around sport for as long as athletes have been demanded to perform.
Sports analysts, coaches, managers, technical staff, commentators (and the list goes on) have all sought to understand what makes an athlete tick. While I can claim to hold no such answer perhaps, we might begin the conversation by understanding what is sport psychology.
Without providing an overly convoluted and scientific definition; it is simply the study of the psychological underpinnings that drive optimal performance. In essence, what physical and mental practices, when positively developed, feed into an athlete’s mental wellbeing and ultimately lend to consistent successful performances.
Join me, Alexandria Olton, as I delve into the world of sport psychology. With each column, I will aim to provide a practitioner’s insight and experience into the world of mental health and performance psychology, and leave you the parents, coaches, and athletes with various tools you might use to better your mental game.

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