Psychology and Soccer

It has long been recognized that physical componentselucidates the process in which our brain takes in
are not enough to make athletes excel in their fields.information from the outside world through our senses,
One of the latest concepts being applied to enhanceselect and utilize the information which results to a
the performances in sports is called cognitivedecision, bringing about an output exhibited through
psychology – the study of brain mechanisms orbehavior or actions, which is subjected to feedback
human mental processes in relation to the way wefrom the environment.
perceive things, feel about things, solve problems, andThe decision to pass the ball or to run for the goal is
the probable root cause of our behavior.determined by the availability of a player in a more
This paper will contain a detailed ten hour soccer teamadvantageous spot and the number of players
training plan and discuss the relationship of cognitiveguarding him (input). The success or failure of his
psychology to athletes’ over-all performancemoves (output) based on his decision is affirmed with
focusing mainly on the information processing model ofa touchdown or a pass respectively (feedback). Now,
Whiting, Welford, and Schmidt. The contribution ofthe decision-making process involved during this
cognitive psychology to enhancing the players’split-second scenario is a product of simulated plays in
understanding and performance levels, the applicationwhich the player was trained and not born with.
of different theoretical approaches to a variety ofThrough constant exposure to similar situation in the
sporting situations and the use of theory to enhancecourse of training, the learned skill has become intrinsic
individual and team performance, specifically in soccer,to a player’s mind which he was able to apply
will be explored.naturally in the actual game despite the pressured
There exists an array of sub-concepts under cognitiveatmosphere...
psychology which includes information processing. This