Sports and psychology: mental training trains and supports the athlete's mind

20 Feb

The mental training It is the mental preparation tool made available to athletes, not only to improve their athletic performance, but also, and above all, to provide athletes with appropriate tools to prepare for competitions, as well as becoming their ally in dealing with problematic situations typical of their daily lives.

We often tend to think that sport and psychology are clearly distinct and distant realities, rather than simply different; implying that while one pertains to the physical sphere, the other pertains to emotions and everything immaterial about us. Indeed, the points of contact, the commonalities, are truly numerous. And the correlation is so close as to make them two highly independent realities.

Mental training also does online therapy

On the work of the sports psychologist The Covid-19 pandemic has inevitably had an impact, and yet continues to have an impact in a far from superficial way. Athletes (like everyone else) had their own rhythms, their own training schedules (physical and mental). These schedules have unfortunately been lost, or have had to be reorganized and reevaluated.

Those who were accustomed to intensive daily training lasting several hours a day found themselves faced with a series of problems that they had to manage against their will. Wherever possible, they were able to, thanks to state-of-the-art software developed for online psychological therapy, continue to benefit from psychological support, even remotely. For an athlete, this support represents mental exercise that is just as important as physical exercise.
Fortunately, even mental coaching is “online” today..

Psychology increases physical and mental well-being

Physical training, when performed consistently, increases physical capacity and improves technical skills. Equally important, mental training, when properly managed and supported, enhances the many psychological factors related to athletic performance and allows for optimal use of them during competitions.

In competitive sports, it’s essential to know how to appropriately manage, and in line with the pace of the activity, all those factors that come into play during athletic preparation, and which are increasingly the starting point for proper physical training. Managing anxiety and stress, and maintaining high levels of motivation and self-confidence, represent the mental training that, in competitive sports, is the first fundamental exercise required for proper physical training.

Consider, for example, how important it can be in the competitive arena to be able to adequately manage anxiety and stressors and to maintain, even in difficult situations, good levels of confidence in one’s abilities and motivation. Or how considering all the details and maintaining concentration at every moment of the race can give a sense of mastery useful for achieving one’s goals.

Here, the mental preparation takes care of this.

If my mind can conceive it, then I can accomplish it.
Muhammad Ali.

Mental training also at the Olympics

At the Paris Olympics, as in the Tokyo Olympics, the Italian Team is made up not only of athletes, but also of sports psychologists. This would be enough to give an idea of how important – not to say fundamental – the mental coach.

The International Olympic Committee had already activated a 24-hour mental health support service for all Olympic Games participants (Mentally Fit Helpline). This was stated in a press release from the CNOP: “Sport Psychology and Psychology for Sport: A Resource for Protection and Promotion”.

The IOC itself published a document on the psychological well-being of athletes which states that “the sports community needs to create an environment that best supports mental health and psychological well-being” and recommends that all stakeholders (e.g. national federations, clubs, and teams) “develop initiatives and best practices for the protection and promotion of psychological well-being.”

Because training the mind is fundamental in influencing important sporting successes, both in Italy and elsewhere, and not just only physical training. The Italian Olympic medal table for Paris 2024 It is full of satisfactions and the champions (Italian and not only) have shared this approach. To be fair, psychology has been making inroads into sports for some time now: sand we are referring to the Italian context, the Sports Psychology It originated in the 1960s.

At the time, the The Tokyo Olympics, so different from the previous ones – without spectators and conditioned by Covid – have given psychology in sport a clearly different role, and have made its importance even more evident..

And many have treasured it.