SPORT THE PSYCHOLOGY OF WINNING
30
3.3
GETTING TO THE TOP
READING
1
Work with a partner to discuss the
questions.
1
Which sportsperson do you most admire?
Why?
2
How do you think they got to the top
of their sport?
2
Read the article quickly and answer
the questions.
1
What is it about?
2
What is the main point?
3
Is it from an encyclopaedia entry, an
academic book or a blog?
3
a
Read the article again and match
questions a–d with gaps 1–4 in the article.
a
What was wrong?
b
So, are we appreciated nowadays?
c
Am I ashamed of my job?
d
So, what am I worried about?
3
b
The writer uses nine questions in the
article. Why do you think he does this?
What is the effect?
4
Inferring
Based on the article, which
sentences are true about the writer in
real life, do you think? Why?
1
He lies about his profession to avoid
awkward questions.
2
He has been a professional sports
player himself.
3
He wasn’t keen on the idea of working
in other branches of psychology.
4
His methods have brought success to
the teams he has worked for.
5
He has worked with Andy Murray, the
tennis player.
6
He believes that attitudes towards
sports psychologists will change, but
slowly.
5
Work with a partner and answer the
questions.
1
Do you agree with the writer about
the importance of sports psychology?
Why?
2
Do you know anyone who has had
problems in any of these situations, not
because of a lack of talent but because
of psychological reasons?
What do you do? It’s a common question, often asked to break
the ice when meeting new people. When I hear the question, I
often wonder whether I should lie.
1
Not at all. I’m a sports
psychologist and I think what I do plays a vital role in helping
athletes to achieve success. Sports stars need to be obsessive about
winning, to have drive and determination and be willing to make
sacrifices. I can help them.
2
Well, a surprising number of people find my job title
amusing. What do I do – hypnotise the athletes?
So, why did I choose this profession? Well, at the college where
I studied, in Boston, one of the lecturers had worked in sports
psychology and talked about it with great enthusiasm. At first, I
found it difficult to make the players understand what I was doing
and why.
3
I couldn’t work it out. I ended up going back to
my lecturer for advice. When I saw how he helped me to overcome
my problems I was able to use the same techniques on the athletes
I was working with.
What do I like about my job? I can see the results of what I’m
doing. I help the players prepare for the intensity of professional
sports, help them to face up to the extremes of success and failure
and give them the strength which sets them apart from the rest of
the population.
4
I believe we are. Of course, there are one or two
dissenting voices, but even some of the most vocal critics are
changing their minds now. Andy Murray, the famous Scottish
tennis player, once said that a psychologist “doesn’t know what
it feels like… because they haven’t been there”. That’s true but
would you tell a doctor not to operate on you because he has never
been operated on himself?
In the end, Murray realised that his achievements on the court
were considerably less impressive than they should have been and
he finally found someone who could help him. Alexis Castorri
helped him to enjoy his tennis more and also to overcome some of
his off-court problems. Not long afterwards, he became the first
British winner of a Grand Slam singles tournament for 76 years
when he won the US Open. Even Murray put his success down to
the fact that he had been able to clear his mind and concentrate on
winning.
So, will there come a time when I can answer that question about
my work without having to spend the next half hour justifying
what I do? I think there might be. One day.
