9 - Assessment in sports: psychological and neuropsychological approaches

Abstract

Perhaps one of the most sought out endeavors within the athletic community involves identifying variables that foster enhanced athletic performance. Usain Bolt, Simone Biles, Michael Phelps, and Kerri Walsh are arguably just a few of the world’s top athletes, who have achieved the zenith of their particular sports. However, one cannot help but wonder, what specific variables contribute to such remarkable and elite sports performances? Obviously, physical attributes including flexibility, agility, speed, stamina, and strength have a significant impact on athletic prowess. Years of hard work and targeted training are also vital contributors to peak level performance. Others might even add that environmental factors such as accessibility to gymnasiums, socioeconomic status, family support, and quality of sports programs and coaching promote enhanced athletic performance. Still, should athletic success be solely attributed to raw physical talent and 10,000h of targeted training? Are there other influential underlying psychological commonalities among these stellar athletes that positively impact their athletic achievement? When Yogi Berra quipped, “baseball is 90% mental and the other half is physical” there was more than humor in the statement. At elite levels of sport, many athletes share great native ability but not all share great mental control. Some of these underlying mechanisms may include psychological factors such as confidence, competitiveness, aggressiveness, and determination. If such psychological mechanisms affect athletic achievement, how can we measure and further develop such psychological skills? Can these measures be used to predict potential athletic achievement? Are there specific psychological mechanisms that influence an athlete’s level of success within their sport? These questions will be addressed in the first portion of this chapter.