January « 2025 « Alberto Cei

Henriksen, K., Huang, Z., Bartley, J., Kenttä, G., Purcell, R., Wagstaff, C. R. D., … Schinke, R. (2024). The role of high-performance sport environments in mental health: an international society of sport psychology consensus statement. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 1–23.

This consensus statement is the product of the Third International Society of Sport Psychology Think Tank on Mental Health. The purposes of the Think Tank were (1) to engage renowned international expert researchers and practitioners in a discussion about the role of high-performance sport environments in nourishing or malnourishing the mental health of athletes, coaches and staff; and (2) to develop recommendations for sport organisations, mental health researchers, and practitioners to more fully recognise the role of the sport environment in their work.

Although most of the research on mental health in sport has focused on the individual, mental health is the result of intricate and dynamic relationships between people and their environments, and a range of stakeholder individuals and organisations play a key role in supporting wellbeing in high-performance sport. We conceptually divide the environment into three levels (the sport team, sport organisation and sport system) and two dimensions (the social and the physical environment).

Based on the portraits of these environments, we conclude by providing recommendations that will help sport teams, organisations, and systems to create nourishing high-performance sport environments and effective mental health service provision environments, whilst helping researchers expand their focus from the individual athlete or coach to the sport environment.

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There are athletes who seem like world champions during training: every move is executed with perfect precision, they break personal records, and dominate every drill as if it were second nature. They leave coaches in awe, inspire teammates, and spark dreams of victory. But then comes the competition, the moment of truth, and something changes.

In competition, the fluidity they display in training seems to vanish. They may freeze, underperform, or simply fail to meet expectations. The contrast is striking, almost inexplicable.

Often, their issue isn’t physical: they are well-trained, technically flawless. The battle is in their mind. Pressure, performance anxiety, or the fear of falling short creep into their thoughts, slowing them down and making them second-guess themselves. The competitive environment—with its audience, judgments, and high expectations—becomes an emotional maze they struggle to navigate.

Sometimes, it’s an excess of perfectionism: they’re so focused on doing everything perfectly that they end up sabotaging themselves. The natural flow they exhibit in training turns into rigidity when their mind is consumed by the outcome.

Yet, these athletes embody the true complexity and allure of sports. They are living proof that performance isn’t just about muscles or technical skills—it’s about balancing mind, body, and emotions. They deserve admiration, not for what they achieve in competition, but for their determination, for the constant pursuit of overcoming that invisible barrier separating them from their full potential.

After all, every great athlete has faced a moment like this at some point. It’s not always about victories, but about the journey to finding peace within themselves, even under the spotlight.

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