Sports psychology uses psychological skills and knowledge to ensure the well-being and optimal performance of sportspersons and to address the social and developmental aspects of taking part and competing in various sports.
One becomes a sports psychologist after getting a doctorate in any primary area of psychology and a license to practice as a psychologist. Sports psychologists help players as well as parents, administrators, coaches, and anybody associated with sports to give their best performance.
Why We Need Sports Psychologists
If you have ever played any sport in your life, you know that the experience can be very stressful. Players are under continuous pressure to give their best and gain victory. This is supposed to motivate them, but when they worry about failing, they develop anxiety.
As long as stress has a positive impact on the player, it is capable of driving him/her towards success. Healthy stress is good for all of us and not just athletes as it pushes us forward and motivates us to work harder and make all the required sacrifices to become successful.
When stress ceases to have a positive impact, it becomes a problem. Severe stress can be debilitating, driving individuals and teams to despair and leading them towards loss and failure.
That’s why we need sports psychologists to help athletes manage the stress levels in their lives and use stress as a motivating force towards success.
How the ABC Model Helps
The ABC Model is based on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and saves players from getting paralyzed with stress. CBT is based on the philosophy of changing our thoughts to change our behaviour and thereby create the desired life circumstances. Thoughts have the power to influence the way we behave.
The connection between thought and behaviour is so strong that it is possible to change someone’s behaviour by simply encouraging them to change their thoughts. Sports psychologists use several techniques to help players give their best to the game and the ABC Model happens to be one such technology.
To understand ABC better, you must understand CBT, which is an umbrella term for several therapeutic techniques like Cognitive Therapy and Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT). Psychologists Aaron T. Beck and Albert Ellis were the ones who developed these techniques, which suggest that all abnormal and self-defeating behaviour originates from wrong beliefs or thought patterns about one’s environment.
The ABC Model is a part of REBT, encouraging players to identify faulty thought patterns about their environment. Some examples of faulty thought patterns are “we will never win,” “we are not as good as them,” “this is just not possible,” and “we cannot do this,” among others. Through the ABC Model, REBT encourages players to become aware of such thought patterns and reject them in favour of something more positive.
Breaking Down the ABC Model
Sports psychologists use the ABC Model to identify players’ negative thought patterns so that they can be converted into positive thought patterns.
The model is broken down as follows:
- A Stands for Activating Event – This refers to the life event that first gives rise to the irrational, faulty, or negative thought pattern or belief. For example, in an athlete’s life, it could be losing a sports competition, game, or event. Disheartened with his/her failure, the athlete develops the thought pattern or belief that he/she will not win however hard he/she may try.
- B Stands for Belief – This refers to the faulty beliefs that prevent players from giving their best. For example, the player may feel that he/she will never win the game because of a series of previous failures. He/she will even forget that he/she has won several games in the past before he/she started losing.
- C stands for Consequences – Faulty thought patterns have the same consequences for everybody and not just sportspersons. The player feels bad all the time. He/she feels stressed out and is unable to play the game anymore.
Applying the ABC Model to Sports Psychology
Sports are not just physical but also mental. Let us consider what is commonly known as the “home field advantage,” which refers to the idea that a team playing at home has an advantage and is sure to win.
The advantage, however, is purely mental. When players play at home, their fans cheer for them, they hear their band playing, and they see their colours all around them. Naturally, this creates positive thoughts and emotions in the team members and they feel more optimistic. These positive thought patterns have an impact on their behaviour and cause them to win.
The ABC Model can be applied to create the “home field advantage” mindset among all players including athletes. Players can use the model to change their negative thoughts into positive ones that can push them towards success.
Understanding the ABC Model with an Example
Let us now try to understand the ABC Model with an example. Consider a team that became disheartened because of several losses in a row. This is the “activating event” in the case of this team.
The reasons for teams to go on such losing streaks are complex, but one of them is mental. After a loss or two, they begin expecting a loss whenever they play. Then they start believing that they will never win. They feel that winning a game is something impossible. The more they lose, the more they focus on their faulty beliefs.
And as a consequence, they fall into a slump. No sports coach on earth can help a team that has fallen into a negative slump and refuses to believe in winning. All the players in the team have to work together physically as well as mentally. Their collective negativity will result in more losses in the future.
The team, therefore, has to start using the ABC Model. All the players have to weed out their irrational beliefs and thought patterns, remember previous victories, and start believing in their strengths once again. As a result, there will be a huge improvement in their performance.
Our Final Thoughts – Does It Really Work?
As the ABC Model is based on CBT, which is in turn based on age-old psychological theories, you can expect it to work. Many athletes have used it to improve their performance and build their sports careers.
Are you in a slump? If so, it is time to examine your thoughts and belief patterns to find out if they are causing your present situation. List ways in which you can improve your game. Keep your mind free of negative thoughts and use all the tools and resources available to help you succeed. Take control of your thoughts and convert your losses into wins.