Sports Psychologist

Physical activities like sports are tied to emotions and mental states. Even without understanding exactly how these things affect performance, athletes and coaches know that they can influence the outcome of a contest. When psychological issues are suspected to be at play, coaches (and sometimes the players themselves) bring in a sports psychologist. In this profession, you help Athletes reach their full potential by analyzing the places where psychological issues are impeding their performance on the field, in the ring, or on the track.

Your counseling can take many forms. You might work one-on-one with a player to uncover his or her individual issues, deal with a whole team to develop stronger cohesion, or help a doubles team work in tandem to improve their tennis game. No matter what the situation, though, you use careful study and analysis to deal with complex interior and exterior elements of the sports world. With your expertise on these matters, you help athletes help themselves.

Sports psychologists work primarily in offices and clinical settings, occasionally venturing out to sports fields to witness their patients in action or to supervise teambuilding activities. Professional athletes receive extremely close monitoring of their physical and mental health, and for big franchises like the Yankees or the Cowboys, no expense is spared to make sure that their players are in top form.

Your work isn’t all about time spent on the field, though. Sometimes players have anger management or substance abuse issues related to their professional lives and need the skills of a sports psychologist to help them banish these issues and get back on track. You can be that person, helping them find the inner strength to match their athletic prowess. If you love sports and want to ply the inner workings of the competitive, driven minds of athletes, then a job as a sports psychologist could be right for you.