Sport psychology dates back to the turn of the twentieth century(Wiggins, 1984). The field of sport psychology is a relatively young discipline, yet it has a history unrealized by most. The historical path of sport psychology is patchy at best with roots in both applied and academic sport psychology, which are primarily housed in physical education/kinesiology. Rarely is “sport” psychology recognized as a specialty within psychology departments.

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, sport psychology had its beginning. It was Norman Triplett, who in 1897 conducted the first experiment in sport psychology by investigating the effect of cyclists on one another’s performance. After finding that young children performed better on a rote motor task in the presence of other children, he concluded that cyclists would usually perform better in the presence of other cyclists. The results supported the hypothesis; when a cyclist performed with another cyclist on the track, they went faster than when they performed by themselves. Other studies taking place at about the same time include looking at motor behavior by exploring individual reaction times as well as how personality development was influenced by sport. However, none of these experiments and studies were directly applied to athletes or sporting realms (Wiggins, 1984).

Because the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) hired its first full-time sport psychologist in 1985, the applied realm of sport psychology has continued to grow tremendously (the USOC now has four full-time licensed psychologists representing its sport psychology services). Journals within the area of sport psychology were published and Division 47 (Exercise and Sport Psychology) in the American Psychological Association (APA) was established, for the first time in history recognizing the uniqueness offered to the field of psychology in sport. In addition, the first time that teams were accompanied by a sport psychologist was during the 1988 Olympic Games. Other advancements in the field included the establishment of the Association for the Advancement of Applied Sport Psychology (AAASP) in 1986 and the beginning of the Journal of Sport Psychology in 1979. In 1991, as a
way to further advance this burgeoning field, the AAASP established criteria designating a “certified consultant” in the field of sport psychology to improve the clarity and understanding of a sport psychologist.

The applied realm of sport psychology has been growing rapidly in use and popularity during the 1990s. This use has not been limited to elite athletes such as those represented at the Olympic Games. Applied sport psychology is finding itself at the Olympic, professional, college, high school, and youth levels. Many well-known professional athletes in football, baseball, basketball, and golf have been sharing their beliefs in sport psychology as part of a performance, along with physical and technical skills, that makes a complete athlete. Some collegiate athletic departments now employ full-time psychologists for their student athletes. The amount of requests for sport psychology services at high school and elementary school levels and youth camps has grown tremendously in recent years.

Applied sport psychology covers all sports, not just those more visible, such as football, baseball, and basketball. Sport psychology is being utilized and sought after for race car drivers, as well as in mountain biking, rowing, soccer, and rifle and pistol shooting. Many physicians, attorneys, and corporate executives are requesting sport psychology principles be applied to the “performances” in their respective settings. The applied possibilities in performance psychology seem almost endless.

Although the field has come far in the last 10 years, especially in the area of applied sport psychology, it has not been without its controversies. Probably the largest debate in the field of sport psychology involves the question of what is a “sport psychologist” and who are able to identify themselves as such. Two primary groups identify themselves as sport psychologists, one from the academic side and the other from the applied side. The academicians and researchers in exercise and sport psychology and physical education are concerned with how an athlete can increase speed, motor control, and/or other physical capabilities to enhance performance. The sport psychologist in applied settings, on the other hand, has typically been concerned with the mental and emotional well-being of the athlete and utilizes psychological theory and concepts in the sport world.

In 1991, the AAASP identified requirements for being a “certified consultant” in the field of sport psychology as a step toward clarifying the training required to be a sport psychologist. Murphy (1995) summarizes the criteria as follows:

Many coaches and athletes attempt to put in a significant amount of physical practice to correct mistakes made during competition. Many times, however, the mistakes are due to mental breakdowns as opposed to physical or technical ones. In these cases the athlete needs to practice mental, not physical, skills. In the same way, physicians working in sports medicine facilities and/or with athletes sometimes forget or do not realize how mental skills can be used in their work.

Although coaches, athletes, and sports medicine physicians agree that more than 80% of the mistakes made in sport are mental, they still do not attempt to learn or teach mental skills that will assist athletes on the field or during rehabilitation. First, sports medicine physicians’ lack of knowledge about mental skills prevents them from using them in their work with athletes. Although physicians may tell their athletes to “just relax” as they go through rehabilitation of an injury, they do not provide them with the knowledge of how to do so. Second, mental skills in sport are often viewed as part of an individual’s personality and something that cannot be taught. Many physicians feel that injured athletes either have or do not have the mental toughness to progress through rehabilitation. Mental skills can be learned! Injured Olympic athletes report practicing mental training on a daily basis. Another reason why physicians working with athletes might neglect mental training is because of lack of time. However, these skills can not only be learned, but they do not require an excessive amount of time.

The following section briefly discusses some of the mental skills necessary for athletes to improve chances of optimal performance in their sports, whether on the field or in the training room. These skills are the basics and much more depth and detail, than this chapter allows, is needed to completely explain and understand the power of the mind in sport.

Goal setting is one of the primary mental skills used by athletes. In fact, this skill is helpful and even necessary
to develop other mental skills. Csikszentmihalyi (5) discusses goal-setting as one of the necessary components of achieving a “flow” experience. He describes “flow” as an experience in which a person achieves peak performance. Other terms used for this “flow” experience are “in the zone” and “playing unconscious.”

It is not typically a problem to get athletes to identify goals. The difficulty comes in trying to help athletes set the right kind of goals—ones that provide direction, increase motivation, and guide them to achieving optimal performance. Athletes, and most people for that matter, do not need to be convinced that goals are important. They do, however, need instruction on setting good goals and a program that works to achieve them.

It is demonstrated in the empirical research that goal-setting can enhance recovery from injury. Research also demonstrates that certain types of goals are more effective in helping athletes achieve these goals. Several goal-setting principles have been identified that provide a strong base for building a solid goal-setting program (see Table 36.1).