Sport Psychological Skills - Essay Example

In most cases, sports psychological practice among different athletes requires the use of advanced knowledge and skills in an organized sequence that enhances effectiveness in training. Coaches require sport psychologists skills because they have to act as counselors or clinicians as they approach issues that relate to athletes’ injury and responses to cognitive-behavioral interventions (Udry, 1997). The integrated model used by sports psychologists allows for personal and situational interventions that relate to cognitive, emotional and behavioral responses of athletes to sports injury (Wiese-bjornstala et al., 2008). As coaches adapt to sports psychology strategies, they use relaxation training in psychological intervention in reducing injury because it reduces pain and tension in injured areas and release psychological distress (Thelwell & Greenlees, 2001).

Considering that, athletes have different psychological responses to injury that comprise mainly of negative reactions with accompanying depression, distress and low self-esteem coaches use cognitive-behavioral interventions (Rock & Jones, 2002).