A tenth of a second too long can take an athlete from glory to disaster at the Olympic Games. A single minute of lost focus can undo months of work for a tennis player. An hour of mental blockage can ruin a football goalkeeper’s outstanding season. In all these cases, the athletes have followed their physical trainers’ programmes to the letter, adhered meticulously to nutrition plans for months, and scrupulously executed their coaches’ strategies. What, then, happened in that brief window of time? What did everyone overlook? In many instances, the answer is inadequate mental preparation.
Fortunately, sports psychology has been an integral part of professional sport for years—and increasingly so at amateur level. It is no longer questioned that psychological work enhances performance. Psychologists succeed in increasing athletes’ capacity for concentration, enabling them to shave off those crucial fractions of a second needed to achieve their goals. Yet there are many other factors to consider. Psychological work also helps prevent future mental health issues and fosters emotional stability, which has a direct and positive impact on family life, personal relationships and the working environment.
The growth of sports psychology in recent years has been driven in part by testimonies from elite athletes who publicly acknowledged mental health struggles to explain dips in performance. Two particularly clear examples stand out. American gymnast Simone Biles withdrew at the start of the Tokyo Olympic Games, unable to withstand the pressure of being the benchmark and symbol of an entire nation. Unlike many others, she chose to address the issue immediately, explaining her situation openly at a press conference. The outcome was remarkable: after many months away from competition and intensive work with her team of psychologists, she returned stronger than ever, reclaiming her position at the pinnacle of world gymnastics at the subsequent Olympic Games held in Paris in 2024. Closer to home is the case of Andrés Iniesta, overwhelmed by the loss of a loved one—himself a footballer—and by his own injuries. Andrés had the courage to share his experience so that it might serve as an example for future generations. After spending a long time in a very dark tunnel, and with the necessary psychological support, he re-emerged in the most brilliant way possible: scoring the goal that gave Spain its first Football World Cup in South Africa.
All of this connects to a fundamental issue in psychological work, particularly in professional sport: long-term injuries. When an athlete breaks down physically and receives a diagnosis that rules them out of competition for months, their world collapses. Their first thought is that their career is in jeopardy. As the days pass and the initial shock subsides, their outlook may improve, yet fears persist—returning is one thing, regaining their former status quite another. In short, fear takes hold. Regrettably, these fears can slow recovery time and even hinder rehabilitation protocols. The psychologist’s work, in close coordination with doctors, physiotherapists and rehabilitation specialists, can work wonders, leading to a full and satisfactory recovery. Scientific advances are also equipping professionals with tools that seem drawn from science fiction. Today, thanks to research into the functioning of mirror neurons, we can work with athletes who must remain in absolute rest by projecting images of their own competitive activity from the past, helping those neurons retain the memory of movement and thus facilitating their return to training once fully recovered.
Although sports psychology has been widely implemented within clubs and federations, there is still a long way to go. A degree of reluctance towards our work persists. Much damage was done decades ago by the trivialisation of this discipline. In the early 1990s, one of football’s pioneers ventured to illustrate a simple group exercise in the dressing room by asking players to close their eyes and imagine biting into a lemon. The anecdote went viral and led many to dismiss the exercise as nonsense, without recognising that it was merely one element within a broader session combining games, stimuli and challenges designed both to stimulate the mind and to foster team cohesion. Not to mention the prejudices that women in the profession still face: their physical appearance, attire and even manner of speaking are subjected to relentless scrutiny.
Let us focus on the positive. Today, sports psychology occupies a prominent place in the development of sport. The reason is simple: the power of the mind is unstoppable.
EVA MOLLEJA
High-Performance Psychologist with 25 years of professional experience.
She holds a degree in Psychology from the University of Seville, a Master’s in Sports Psychology from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), and a European Master’s jointly awarded by the University of Leuven (Belgium) and the Free University of Amsterdam. She is currently a doctoral candidate in Sports Psychology at UAB.
