Sports Psychology

Amateurs at the Olympics

The creation of the modern Olympics in 1896 provided the first global means of athletic competition. The founders of these games, however, believed that professional athletes would diminish the value of the competition, and they denied entry to any sportsman (and by the next games in 1900, sportswomen) who competed for money. This philosophy was partially a means of social control, as only wealthy persons had the time and finances needed to develop the skills of world-class athletes. Nevertheless, amateurism remained a component of the Olympics for a long while; not until 1988 did the International Olympic Committee (IOC) allow professionals to participate. Like many other Olympic rules, many countries found loopholes: communist nations like the Soviet Union trained athletes year-round but did not pay them, instead listing their employment in a profession like factory worker to maintain amateur status. With early research, sports psychology managed to achieve a few connections into mainstream sports as professionalism expanded. After the First World War (1914–1918), sports teams across the world grew in size, popularity, and revenue, meaning that there was not just more interest in sports but more money on the line as well. Baseball superstar Babe Ruth went to Columbia University’s psychology department in 1921 for a series of psychological tests to help explain his skill at hitting. In 1926, professional football coach “Pop” Warner ran a test with American psychologist Walter Miles to determine the effects

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Sports Psychology