Sport psychology in schools
School sport can help pupils deal with pressure and stress
We’re familiar with the role of the sport psychologist in high profile professional sports such as football and tennis, but can psychology bring tangible benefits to school sports?
Iain Simpson, director of sport at Oakham, a co-ed day and boarding school in Rutland, is convinced it can.
“Sport psychology is not an add-on or an extra and it’s not just for the elite players,” he says. “In fact the benefits reach way beyond the pitch.”
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
For instance, sport psychology provides strategies for coping under pressure and dealing with stress. “We use scenarios,” says Mr Simpson.
“Pupils play fiveminute matches. We ask them to pretend it’s the last five minutes and their team is losing. What would they do? The experience helps them to understand how important it is to stay in the moment; the five-minute deadline means there’s no time to think about what might go wrong.”
Such cognitive exercises are now used in other areas of school life. Teaching staff take sport strategies and make them applicable to their own subject.
Oakham’s music department has recognised that qualities such as commitment, developing positive behaviour and the effectiveness of quality practice are equally relevant to learning an instrument.
A number of Oakham’s pupils are on national sports pathways linked to professional clubs.
School sports coaches also work closely with these clubs to bring the latest innovations in training and development back to the school.
“We ask ourselves, what do these behaviours look like at different levels – from an elite player to a 12-year-old footballer?” says Mr Simpson.
“Sport psychology is not about outcome. It’s about skills and behaviour.”
The weird and wonderful world of school sport
The pupils of Lewes Old Grammar School may, or may not, be able to take up gliding, but there are plenty of other ancient and modern sporting traditions going strong at independent schools, from the Eton Wall Game to Winkies (Winchester College’s own version of football).
At Rossall School on the Lancashire coast, pupils play RossHockey, a kind of hockey/ rugby mash-up on the beach next to the school, while all pupils at Dauntsey’s in Wiltshire get the chance to crew a century-old tall ship called the Jolie Brise (winner of the first Fastnet Race in 1925).
Truro School makes the most of its Cornish location and offers surfing, coasteering, sailing and snorkelling on the timetable.
Windermere School in Cumbria has its own water sports centre, two boathouses and a private beach and is the only school in the country to hold RYA British Youth Sailing Recognised Club status.
At Westminster Under School, a prep school in central London, the urban landscape lends itself to parkour, where the aim is to get from one point to another as fast and efficiently as possible in a complicated environment.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
'Good riddance to the televised presidential debate'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Caitlin Clark the No. 1 pick in bullish WNBA Draft
Speed Read As expected, she went to the Indiana Fever
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Today's political cartoons - April 16, 2024
Cartoons Tuesday's cartoons - sleepyhead, little people, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Intelligence service: how schools are managing AI
In Depth Machine-thinking has the potential to create a paradigm shift in education but the change and challenges are huge
By Amanda Constance Published
-
Smartphones face bans in US schools
Talking Points Educators say the devices disrupt classrooms
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Not worth cheating your way in
Opinion Bribing the college admissions office no longer makes any sense
By Mark Gimein Published
-
Schools are suffering from low attendance
Under the radar But students are suffering even more
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
The pros and cons of private schools
The Big Debate Labour intends to scrap private school tax exemptions if it wins the next election
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
The rise and rise of home-schooling
The Explainer Why more parents in the US and UK are choosing to educate their children at home
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
How incel culture is on the rise in UK schools
The Explainer Teachers report students to counter-terrorism Prevent scheme amid 'scourge' of misogyny and sexual abuse
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
School's out: are term-time holidays acceptable?
Talking Point Parents struggle to afford summer travel price hikes, but face threat of fines and disrupted education
By Harriet Marsden Last updated