It’s not all about the body
Why is it that athletes do not always reach
their full potential? Or why do some
athletes perform well in training and
under-perform in competition? To answer
these very questions, sports administrators
from a wide range of sports recruit sports
psychologists to actively support their
athletes. Performance is not only about
training and physical ability, and they
know it.
talent identification programme. “I attend seven
camps a year, deliver mental skills development
workshops, and work with individual athletes,”
explains Winstone.
Sports psychology is playing an ever increasing role in sports
training and competition preparation. Pictured here is the
psychology room at the medical unit of The Bafokeng Camp Royal
Marang Hotel in Rustenburg, South Africa, where the English
soccer team was based during the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Key elements in an athletes’ environment will impact their performance. Those key elements, says Winstone, are “the coaches, the athlete peer group, and in younger athletes the parents and carers. In optimal situations the coach will create nvironments that support and challenge athletes, they will be very demanding, but also positive and reinforcing strengths. Parents need to be more supportive than challenging, building self- esteem and a positive work ethic, irrespective of performance.”
© 2010 Matthew Tabaccos/Barcroft Medi/Getty Images
“Performance in a regatta is
built on excellent physical
training, but must also go
hand in hand with excellent
mental, tactical and technical
development. The mental and
tactical sides dictate how well
athletes deliver their technical
and physical training,” says
William Winstone, director of Performance1, a
consultancy firm based in the United Kingdom.
Winstone has a Masters degree in sport science
and is also an accredited psychotherapist and sport
psychologist. He has worked with athletes from
a variety of sports including golf, tennis, sailing
and football. Winstone’s work with GB Rowing
is mainly done within the context of “Start”, their
But the main psychologists in all sports are the
coaches, says Winstone, “whether or not they
see themselves as that. The most skilled coaches
develop confidence, focus, and learning attitudes.
Through a positive, and often demanding
relationship, coaches help athletes develop their
psychological and all-round athletic capacities.”
Coaches do not always only have strengths, as every
athlete knows. “Many coaches in all sports also have
a weakness in mental development,” says Winstone.
“This is not a problem when they acknowledge >
