Psychology
Healthy People Drive Superior Performance
The development of expertise in high performance sport involves the optimization of BOTH physical and psychological aspects of performance.
To enable Senior, Academy and Women’s National Talent Squad player capability for sustained optimal performance and wellbeing the IRFU are committed to providing education, resources and support to players across the psychological spectrum from mental health to mental performance.
Positive Mental Health refers to a state of Wellbeing where people are able to THRIVE:
- Experience positive emotion
- Experience a sense of meaning and purpose in their lives
- Demonstrate flexibility to learn, adapt & change.
- Can function well in society
- The ability to adjust, change & respond effectively to environmental demands
- Can manage stress and bounce back from challenging situations (resilience).
Wellbeing is dynamic – it changes as different aspects & factors in the person’s life change.
An example of the Mental Health Continuum in Sport
IRFU Mental Wellness Service
In its commitment to positive mental health in its high performance system, the IRFU have established a Mental Wellness Service.
- The main purpose of the Service is to support positive Mental Health in players and coaches in the IRFU high performance system.
- The IRFU Wellness Service consists of a panel of professionally accredited senior clinical and counselling psychologists, specialist psychotherapists and psychiatrists across the four provinces of Ireland.
- This service is available at any time point to active male and female senior players, academy players & women’s national talent squad players. The Service is also available to national and senior provincial coaching staff.
What is psychology? Psychology broadly refers to how we think, feel and act. It is the science of mind, emotion and behaviour.
What is sport psychology? Sport psychology is the application of psychological knowledge and skills to sport. The objective of sport psychology is to enhance and optimise sport performance.
How does psychology play a role in sport performance? Psychology is a factor in every facet of sport performance and so has widespread impact.
Examples:
- The sport environment/culture
- Training and recovery
- Illness and injury
- Teamwork
- Performance preparation/planning
- Training and competition
- Response to setbacks
- Performance life skills
- Pressure management
- Decision making
- Coaching
- Player support (family)
- Within career and end of career transition
- Mental Health
Myths in Sport Psychology
Mental performance training cannot be done at the same time as physical training.
This is not true. Ideally mental performance training is a part of day to day physical training.
Mental performance training is a quick fix
This is not true. Similar to physical strength and skills, mental strength and skills take time to build.
Mental performance training is for players who have psychological difficulties.
This is not true. Mental performance training is used to optimize and build on an individual’s or teams’ strengths
Mental performance training is a miracle solution
There is no secret sauce!
You either have it (e.g. confidence) or you don’t.
This is not true. Everyone can work to develop their mental skills. It takes patience and time.
