Folk Psychology... or Sports Psychology? — SS #48

“Are you going to ask me uncomfortable questions about my childhood trauma?”

“Are we going to need a year of Freudian psychoanalysis and talk therapy before I finally start playing better and enjoying myself out there?”

“I already know psychology stuff from what I read on the internet. Alphas and betas. Grindset. Feeding the inner wolf. Mind over matter. All that stuff, right?”

“Only people who have major issues work with a mental performance consultant… champions don’t need help. If you’re really great, then you don’t ask for or need help.”

These are, I imagine, the types of thoughts and questions that go through tennis players and other athletes when they think of working with a sports psychologist, sports psychology practitioner, or mental performance consultant.

It’s not surprising that so many athletes hold these misconceptions. Popular culture and internet gurus often paint a skewed picture of what mental performance work actually looks like.

These questions are not only wrong and incoherent, but they demonstrate a fundamental lack of understanding of what sports psychology is and how it helps athletes and performers around the world regardless of level—from professionals who earn their keep on the court to weekend warriors unable to get rid of that big lump of coal that miraculously appears in their throat whenever they’re trying to close out matches.

So in today’s issue, I want to address some of these common myths and explain to you what sports psychology is.

Wild Wild West

Before we proceed it is important to know who operates in this field and what titles they have:

• Sports Psychologist

• Sports Psychology Practitioner

• Sports Psychology Consultant

• Mental Performance Consultant

• Mental Performance Coach

For the sake of ease, I refer to professionals in this field as sports psychology practitioners (SPPs). This space is not heavily regulated, and, in fact, you’ll consistently have people without the appropriate educational background, licensure, or credentials operating in this space.

I remember when I really needed help half a decade ago, googling around frantically and finding someone who ran an online group. I eventually set up a call with him and when I asked him about his education, licensure, or credentials, and he casually mentioned to me that he had looked into getting educated in sports psychology, but that he had found that the information was out of date, and that he had a better handle on what information he would deliver.

That was a major red flag, and I never used his services.

That is why I’m taking a formal path to work on getting a graduate degree in this space, and also pursuing an accreditation from the Association of Applied Sport Psychology, called the CMPC™. I am also supervised. (I am also considering a PhD, but that’s up in the air!)

That being said, I know there are people who operate in this space who have no formal education. And they have been able to help people in certain ways. Could they help better if they were educated and informed? Probably.

Let’s Address Some Myths

“Are you going to ask me uncomfortable questions about my childhood trauma?”

No. A sports psychologist will rarely dig into childhood trauma. Yes, it is important to understand the history of your sport, your relationship to it, and support networks you have around you and how they impact your sport participation and motivation.

But it is extremely rare that probing around your relationship with your mother will occur. And, remember, confidentiality is a major part of delivering sports and performance psychology. Any competent practitioner will take you through an informed consent process and outline confidentiality at the start of your time together. We are also trained to stay within the bounds of our competency—as sports psychology practitioners are not clinically trained, they usually won’t venture down this route.

“Are we going to need a year of Freudian psychoanalysis and talk therapy before I finally start playing better and enjoying myself out there?”

Sports psychology is not psychotherapy. Other than the fact that Freudian psychoanalysis has questionable efficacy in promoting long-term cognitive and behavioral change, SPPs usually don’t work with clients for years at a time. In most cases, sessions can start to benefit athletes within a couple of months. I want to note here that there is quite a large onus on the client to do the work.

What does this mean? If an SPP gives you a collaborative exercise and skills to practice at home and on the court then the more you engage with and trial those skills the more likely it is that you’ll improve your mental performance.

In many ways, this is similar to improving in tennis. One of the drums I consistently beat is that tennis players are drowning in information and they would be better served to pick just one piece of information and work on it for weeks at a time. Motor programming and all that stuff, you know?

Well, it’s the same for sports psychology and mental performance.

“I already know psychology stuff from what I read on the internet. Alphas and betas. Grindset. Feeding the correct inner wolf. Mind over matter. All that stuff, right?”

Steve Smith from GreatBase Tennis has a great phrase that he uses often: “Macho-male ego.” He uses it to refer to people in the tennis space, usually us men, who have no clue what’s going on but yet will opine on ideas and concepts with the confidence of a seasoned expert. They don’t even know what they don’t know.

It is the same with people who throw around folk psychology concepts when speaking about sports psychology. The fact is that tangential spaces are replete with such hogwash and bullshit. People will confidently spout off nonsensical terms that they read on Reddit or what a Grindset influencer once told them.

No educated SPP will talk to you about you being an alpha or a beta. No credentialed SPP will speak to you about creating a Grindset. Sports psychology is evidence-based and built upon decades of research on psychological skills, imagery, arousal, anxiety, confidence, motivation, concentration, deliberate practice, cognitive-behavioral principles, and, more recently, mindfulness and acceptance approaches.

“Only people who have major issues or psychological neuroses work with a mental performance consultant… they’re usually crazy in some way… champions don’t need help. If you’re really great, then you don’t ask for or need help.”

This is not only patently untrue, but you only need to think critically for a few seconds to find evidence to confirm the opposite. Though there has been a stigma around seeking support for psychological skills and improving mental performance, more players are being open and comfortable about their experiences. The end goal, for this field, I think, is to be accepted as part of the framework that athletes rely on when trying to improve their skills and performances. If athletes work with technical and tactical coaches, physical trainers and specialists, why wouldn't they also consult mental performance coaches? Here is a list of tennis players who have worked with and benefited from spending time with an SPP:

• Iga Swiatek

• Andy Murray

• Madison Keys

• Aryna Sabalenka

• Dominika Cibulkova

• Carla Suarez Navarro

• Petra Kvitova

• Stefanos Tsitsipas

• Denis Shapovalov

And many more. Sports psychology isn’t reserved for people with “major issues” or those who are “crazy.” This is uneducated, stigmatized thinking, and belongs in centuries past. Even successful competitors can benefit from working with an SPP; for example, an athlete who wants to turn over that last stone to try and maximize their skills and performance on the court.

So What is Sport(s) Psychology?

Put simply, it is the study of how psychological factors impact sport and performance. In the consultative space, it is the use of evidence-based strategies and mental skills that can help performers operate at their best.

Evidence-based is key here.

SPPs are not making up stuff and applying it with their clients.

They are relying on decades of research to help you perform better.

I hope this was helpful, and I hope you keep working hard on your game holistically—with the inclusion of your mental performance.

Disclaimer: I am not an Association of Applied Sports Psychology CMPC, certified sports psychology practitioner, nor am I a licensed mental health counselor, PsyD, or clinical PhD. I am pursuing a master’s in sports, exercise, and performance psychology, and I am a sports psychology practitioner-in-training. I have over 20 years of experience in tennis, including playing, coaching collegiately and with professional players, along with club management experience as a director of programs. I am certified by the Professional Tennis Registry and am a member of Tennis Australia. My aim is to bring the best information to tennis players around the world so that you can apply it for long-term improvement—but sometimes I will make mistakes. If this is your area of research or expertise, and you feel I’ve misunderstood something, please get in touch with me and if required I will happily issue a correction.