By Stephen Eccles
I want to take this opportunity to explain more about what sport and exercise psychology is and my own experiences
Clinical, Occupational, Educational, the list goes on. There are numerous areas of psychology that you can choose from, but I decided to go for sport and exercise psychology… as its obviously the best one 😉! I want to take this opportunity to explain more about what sport and exercise psychology is and my own experiences. So, sit back, grab your coffee (cappuccino for me) and let’s get into the world of sport and exercise psychology…
What is Sport and Exercise Psychology?
Strictly speaking, sport and exercise psychology can be split into a focus on either sport or exercise. For sport, enhancing optimal performance or the wellbeing of athletes and coaches are examples of the aims of sport psychology. Whereas, for exercise psychology, it can typically involve working with individuals to increase motivation and participation for exercise. For the purpose of this blog, I’ll mainly be focusing on sport psychology as that’s been where I’ve directed most of my effort. In my experience, the way I’ve delivered sport and exercise psychology is mainly through workshops or 1-1 consultations. My workshops have included a focus on building confidence, coping with pressure and developing a growth mindset (have a google) whereas my 1-1 consultations have focused on a wider range of topics such as lost movement syndrome and how ‘life’ can impact sport performance.
Where did the passion for sport and exercise psychology come from?
I love sport and love psychology (yes, I’m a big nerd), so thought it was fairly logical to combine the two. Equally, my motivation is geared towards helping people to reach their full potential and what better way to do that then help athletes and coaches to be the best they can be. The passion has grown even further as delivering the workshops have been so much fun. I decided to be creative and bought Jenga and Operation to help my clients understand the information I was trying to provide in an easy and accessible manner. What transpired as a result of this was me embracing my inner kid and buying all the games I could find, no wonder my suitcase weighs a ton when I’m travelling with teams…
What are the best experiences I’ve had so far?
In the first year of becoming a Trainee Sport and Exercise Psychologist I was able to travel so much with a variety of teams. I visited Finland with British Universities Ice Hockey Association, I went to Portugal with British Canoeing and I also went to an international tournament with GB Women’s Ice Hockey. What I loved most about the adventures was the opportunity to help all those around me further develop. I must stress at this point that the trips away are not holidays. I enjoyed them, but they are long days that require a lot of energy and motivation. I have breaks, but it wasn’t uncommon to do a 12-hour day.
What skills are required?
The ability to listen should not be underestimated. When you’re delivering a workshop or having a 1-1 consultation, the ability to really understand the perspective of your clients is critical in order to help them. The saying that you’ve got two ears and one mouth for a reason springs to mind. Equally, the ability to speak clearly and concisely is important so the client isn’t overloaded with jargon, and can then access the information to make changes to enhance their performance or improve their wellbeing. Finally, building relationships encompasses both listening and the ability to speak clearly and concisely. I’d also urge aspiring practitioners to think about how their body language could help develop a relationship, to consider how they act when they’re around athletes or coaches.
What’s the hardest part of the job?
If, you’re considering becoming self-employed, attracting new clients can be difficult when you first start. A lot of emails have gone unanswered and even the chats that may seem like they went well, sometimes don’t result in an opportunity. In my opinion, this is where your motivation and resilience for the role are tested and, in my experience, I recall sending over 50 emails to organisations without any reply. Of course, it wasn’t the greatest feeling and it does make you question your own ability, but that’s when you must have confidence in yourself.
Final Thoughts
Reflecting back on the various jobs that I’ve had in the past and where I am now, I couldn’t be happier. To think I’m teaching, conducting research and working as an applied practitioner is amazing! Working as a Trainee Sport and Exercise Psychologist has enhanced my teaching and is why students at NTU experience my whacky methods such as including playing Jenga, Operation or even Family Fortunes when I’m delivering lectures. Equally, my knowledge of sport psychology is being used to help diversify my way of thinking when I’m writing proposals to conduct research into student mental health. It’s not without its challenges, but I wouldn’t change it for the world. I love my roles, I love helping my clients and students, and if it all goes well, I’d love to be part of the GB Olympic team that heads to LA in 2028, stay tuned!!
As well as working in the world of sport, Stephen is also working towards a PhD focusing on student flourishing, as well as lecturing (with Jenga!) here at NTU Psychology.
You can follow Stephen on Twitter @Eccles1904
Header photo credit: Arthur Edelman on Unsplash
Psychology at Nottingham Trent University 