What Does a Sport Psychologist Do?

Sport psychologists are professionals who focus on athletic performance, factors that influence sports participation, and the well-being of athletes. Sport psychologists work with people to help them improve their athletic performance. They do this by focusing on the psychological factors that affect performance, including motivation, stress, and cooperation.

What Is a Sport Psychologist?

A psychologist is an individual who has completed graduate training in the field of psychology and is licensed by a specific state. In some states, individuals with a master's degree can become licensed psychologists, while a doctoral degree is required in others.

A sports psychologist is a psychologist with expertise in the following areas:

• Performance enhancement through the use of psychological skills training, and performance improvement, imagery, and athlete's self-talk.
• Issues that are specific to the psychological well-being of athletes
• Working with the organizations and systems that are present in sport settings
• Social and developmental factors that influence sport participation

What Exactly Does a Sport Psychologist Do?

So what is the role of a sports psychologist? What do they do on a day-to-day basis? The exact answers to these questions depend a lot on exactly where the individual works. Some of the tasks they might do regularly include:

• Diagnosing and treating emotional problems that can interfere with athletic performance
• Work with athletes to help improve their confidence
• Utilize strategies to help athletes get more motivated
• Help people set goals in terms of their training and performance
• Work with athletes on coping skills to help them manage their stress and anxiety
• Work with teams to help improve cooperation, communication, and cohesiveness
• Help coaches and sports officials learn how to communicate more effectively with athletes
• Assist athletes in developing mental skills, including attention, trust, and focus, so they can perform their best
• Helping athletes mentally prepare for competition
• Working athletes cope with the physical and emotional effects of injury

What Degree Does a Sport Psychologist Need?

While sport psychology is recognized as a specific field of study within the Kinesiology and Physical Education departments, it is not one of the traditional fields of practice offered by many psychology graduate programs.

For example, you can obtain a graduate psychology degree with a concentration in specific subfields such as child development or substance abuse. However, the same has not always been said of sport psychology.

According to the American Psychological Association, specific sub-specialty areas include:

• Applied sport psychology involves teaching skills that can improve performance, such as visualization, guided imagery, and goal-setting
• Clinical sport psychology involves combining sports psychology and psychotherapy techniques to help athletes deal with mental health problems
• Academic sport psychology involves teaching sports psychology and conducting research

What Credentials Does a Sport Psychologist Need?

At the present time, no credentials beyond a state license are needed to practice sport psychology. Ethically and practically speaking, you should have expertise in specific areas, including:

• Physical factors that affect performance
• Motivation and emotion
• Mental techniques that can affect performance, including visualization and imagery
• Sport psychology ethics
• Mental health interventions to help athletes address problems and issues

Getting supervised, hands-on experience in the field, and passing state certification exams are also important.

While there is no American Psychological Association certification for sports psychology, the organization does recognize it as a proficiency. Individuals offering sports psychology services must adhere to the standards outlined in this proficiency.

Although accreditation is not necessary, it does not mean that there are no benefits to becoming a certified sports psychologist. There are many organizations offering to certify individuals.

How to Become a Sports Psychologist?

Two basic qualifications are needed in order to become anything in life: education and experience. This holds true for becoming a sports psychologist as well.

Sports Psychology Education

The educational opportunities for working as a sports psychologist are limited. Perhaps the best way to get into a top-flight graduate program is to go to a school that offers some formalized experience in the field.

Some graduate programs in psychology offer a concentration in sports psychology.

If you are in a graduate program at a school that offers only an introductory sports psychology course but it is something that genuinely interests you, consider speaking with your department chair.

Ask if there are any independent study classes or independent research classes that you can take to gain further knowledge of this field. The independent research class is especially useful since it will bring you into direct contact with athletes for performance enhancement.

Sports Psychology Experience

Perhaps one of the most difficult things to get in the field of sports psychology is the direct contact with athletes. You should work with a supervisor with an expertise in sports psychology and find a population to work with.

Many professional athletes and teams have realized the value of sports psychology and regularly make use of the services. However, they tend to use the well-established individual. When you are just getting started, working with amateur and collegiate athletes is a good experience.

How Much Do Sport Psychologists Earn?

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics does not list specific sport psychologist salaries, but psychologists have an overall median salary of $85,330.

The American Psychological Association reports that sport psychologists working in university athletic departments earn around $60,000 to $80,000 per year. The highest salaries in the field an be higher than $100,000 per year.