Psychology and morale are now two parameters that sports administrations look into when selecting their technical staff. Psychologists and mental preparation specialists have become crucial to the betterment of athletes’ performances.
Morale often turns the tide in sports competition. Sports administrations worldwide have understood the importance of this element and started investing in psychologists and mental preparation specialists.
Amateur sports, an engine for psychological well-being
Recreational sports are recommended by doctors, for both mental and physical health. In her interview with Ici Beyrouth, Katia Lahoud, sports psychology and mental preparation specialist from the University of Lille, explains how sports have played a key role in her life and well-being: “Human beings naturally have to endure difficult times. I did not practice any sport when I was younger. My university psychologist advised me to start training, but it is hard to do it when you are anxious or depressed. Sports require effort and take time. A random encounter had me start karate, and now I’m a black belt practitioner, 5 years later. I injured my back at some stage when I was 29, and my doctor recommended swimming. After several training sessions, I became much better, and now I’m a teacher”.
Excesses in professional sports
In professional sports, practice can be a double-edged sword for athletes’ psychological and mental health, especially those in constant need of improving their performance. Katia Lahoud highlights the fact that “the death drive of athletes is stronger than their life drive. A few split seconds can determine their success or failure. They train for years on end to improve their technique and beat their personal best”.
At the Tokyo Olympics, American gymnast Simone Biles decided to withdraw from the competition due to high media and public pressure. Lahoud explains Biles’ withdrawal by going back to her childhood: “When she was born, Simone Biles was sent to an orphanage, before being fostered by her grandparents. She seeks attention constantly. I think that the media did not stress the message behind her withdrawal enough, she wanted even more media and popular interest. Her difficult childhood left her with severe wounds”.
Psychological issues are taboo, especially in Lebanon
The psychological issues of athletes are rarely mediatized, and clubs and players alike prefer not to talk about them. In European and international football, for instance, media departments mention fake physical injuries to justify players’ absence whereas, in reality, the players are mentally overwhelmed by pressure or a bad relationship with their coaches. Katia Lahoud confirms that “in general, cases of depression among athletes are not mediatized. It’s taboo in Lebanon, too”.
The difference between a psychologist and a mental preparation specialist
Integrating specialists was no easy task, and the terms used to refer them show to what extent sportsmen and administrations wish to give an impression of mental and psychological strength, all in order to preserve the positive image of sports. Lahoud stresses that “the word psychologist is a bit scary, even to people in the sports field. That is why sports specialists are called mental preparation specialists, although there is a clear distinction between a psychologist and a mental preparation specialist. The latter stimulates concentration and motivation and boosts mental competencies to improve performance. A sports psychologist has a completely different role, which consists in analyzing the reasons behind an athlete’s failure. For example, some amateur swimmers have difficulty executing a flip turn. In that case, the sports psychologist will work on the mental block in question. It has to be solved so that the athlete can move forward”.