Sport psychology function in our society

One way to understand the role that sports and physical activity play in our society involves the breadth that scientific research has achieved. To focus solely on the field of sports and exercise psychology, there are dozens of scientific and practical application books published every year, and it’s likely that, conservatively, over 5,000 scientific articles are published annually.

I’ve been fortunate to be a part of this development. When I started, there were only two sports psychology journals worldwide and few manuals available, including the Italian one by Ferruccio Antonelli and Alessandro Salvini, and the English book ‘Psychological Foundations of Sport’ edited by John Silva and Robert Weinberg. There were no coaching manuals yet, unlike what the School of Sport later did, while in Canada, texts on sports psychology for coaches existed as early as the mid-’70s. It wasn’t easy to stay updated during those years. Antonelli assisted me in this regard, as I could read the books he received and translated the abstracts of the two journals into Italian. Additionally, I began fostering relationships with the International Society of Sport Psychology (ISSP) on behalf of the International Journal of Sport Psychology. Consequently, in 1987, I attended my first meeting in Varna with the managing council of ISSP, where I met Vanek, Singer, Salmela, Roberts, and Unestahl.

Nowadays, sports psychology plays a significant role in the fields of psychology and motor sciences, and from an applied standpoint, its function is acknowledged in enhancing the performance of athletes and groups and in fostering psychological well-being. No one responds anymore with ‘I’m not crazy’ when asked if they’re consulting a sports psychologist, a response that characterized my generation and to which we had to learn to reply by explaining the utility of this work.

Presently, scientific data tremendously support us compared to 40 years ago, and as experts, we must know how to utilize them because it’s no longer acceptable to claim ignorance of where to find information. The internet serves as an incredibly useful, cost-free vehicle that anyone willing can use.