Title: 5 Ways a Sports Psychologist Can Improve Team Cohesion - Online Psychology Degree Guide
Headings: 5 Ways a Sports Psychologist Can Improve Team Cohesion
5 Ways a Sports Psychologist Can Improve Team Cohesion
Using Sports Psychology to Build Team Cohesion
1. Building Respect
2. Building Communication
3. Task Focus
4. Leadership
5. Team Culture

Content: A sports psychologist can teach athletes how to communicate constructively with teammates. For example, some players may feel that another player is playing poorly and having a negative effect on the team overall. Instead of attacking this player, team members can be taught to approach the problem in the spirit of helping the player improve for the overall good of the team. Communication about the problem might include talking to the player about what is going on out on the field and what that player might need for performance improvement. 3. Task Focus
Working together toward a common goal is one way to build cohesion within a team. This may seem built in with sports teams, which are already focused on the main goal of winning each game. However, teams do not automatically have the need cohesion to come together and accomplish this. During the pre-season, they need smaller tasks to focus on to start to build that cohesion, and they need to continue that focus during the season itself. An article in The Sport Journal examined the role of competition in creating team cohesion and made a number of recommendations for setting up scrimmages for team sports such as football, rugby, and soccer.