We are at the beginning of a new Olympic period and as sports psychologist I wonder what could be the future of psychological consultancy for Italian athletes aspiring to participate in the Olympic Games of Tokyo 2020. It has long been recognized that competitive stress management for top athletes pass through developing the capacity to remain focused on their own performance at key moments of the races and that one way to develop this skill is to use a personalized psychological preparation program adequate at the level at this competition level.
“At the Workshops, sports psychologists have worked with one-on-one with athletes and coaches on mental skill development. In particular, the theme for the sports psychology component has been “focus.” When elite athletes enter the competitive arena, they are faced with a number of distractions, ranging from external to internal origins. The ability to tune out the distractions and focus on the task at hand is an instrumental part of performance, and for most athletes this ability to focus is not an inherent trait. It is a learned skill that can be taught and practiced. The Workshop format allows for exactly that.” (Chapman, R. (2011). Sport Performance Workshops: A New Applied Science Model for USA Track & Field, Olympic Coach, 22, 5-8).
To address this situation the Sailing Federation of United Kingdom launched an open competition to hire part-time senior psychologist for follow the sailing team in the coming years. This is a transparent and professional way to find a qualified professional able to play this role.
This is an example of best practice to be disseminated.
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