How a Sports Psychologist Works: An Interview with Victoria Borzenkova

Contents:

• "The head is the main control center": about eSports and team psychology

Do you remember the moment when you first realized the influence of sports psychology on your achievements? This experience can significantly change your approach to training and competitions. Sports psychology helps not only develop physical skills but also strengthen mental resilience. Understanding your emotions, managing stress, and developing a positive mindset are key factors in achieving high results. Applying sports psychology techniques can increase your confidence and focus, which ultimately leads to improved athletic performance.

At 23, my partner and I became students of the outstanding figure skating coach Tamara Nikolaevna Moskvina. She had just returned from the USA and accepted only two pairs, including us. Expectations for our work were high, and this social pressure was felt at every step.

The day of my first serious competition arrived – the Grand Prix stage at Luzhniki. I was extremely nervous, and this did not go unnoticed by my coach, Tamara Nikolaevna. She approached me and started a conversation about the barmaid who was standing nearby. At that moment, I was completely immersed in my own thoughts, and it seemed strange that she was talking about this. But the coach continued, "Look at the barmaid. She's been working here for years, and despite the noise and tension around her, she seems completely calm." This made me think: indeed, she wasn't paying attention to the competition atmosphere and was simply doing her job. Tamara Nikolaevna added, "You've been involved in professional sports for 20 years. When you step onto the ice, just try to do your usual job." These words helped me cope with my nerves and focus on the upcoming performance. These words instilled confidence in me, and the nerves that had seemed overwhelming seemed to disappear. We stepped onto the ice and successfully performed our program, confidently demonstrating our skills. At that moment, for the first time, I realized how crucial psychology is in achieving results in athletes. The right psycho-emotional state can significantly affect performance and help unlock potential.

Over time, you ended your career as a figure skater and successfully moved into the field of sports psychology. What were the key moments of your transition to a new profession?

It was very exciting: I completed my master's degree at NSU named after I graduated from the P.F. Lesgaft State University with a degree in pedagogy and then worked on my PhD dissertation in sports psychology. I then advanced my qualifications at the Institute of Modern Psychological Technologies and completed professional retraining in art therapy. Afterwards, I entered the Moscow Institute of Psychoanalysis for further training.

Becoming a sports psychologist requires specific skills and knowledge. Firstly, it's important to have a university degree in psychology, preferably with a focus on sports psychology. This will allow you to understand the psychological aspects that influence athletic performance. Secondly, communication skills and interaction with athletes, coaches, and teams are key. A sports psychologist must be able to establish trusting relationships and create a comfortable atmosphere for discussing psychological difficulties. Knowledge of psychological support methods and techniques, such as visualization, stress management, and motivation, is also essential. Finally, experience working in a sports environment will help better understand the specifics and demands athletes face.

There's a joke: "What should a sports psychologist be? First and foremost, a sports psychologist." Experience in sports allows a psychologist to better understand the client, empathize with their emotions during competitions, and understand their anxieties. This approach significantly speeds up the process of psychological consultations and makes them more effective. Understanding the specifics of the sports environment and the emotional experiences of athletes helps to create trusting relationships, which in turn facilitates deeper and more productive interactions.

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Training is not just a training process, but a deep interaction between a coach and an athlete. Studying sports psychology allows coaches to better understand the psychological aspects that influence the performance of their athletes. Sports psychology helps identify internal barriers, develop motivation, and strengthen athletes' mental resilience. By mastering psychological training methods, coaches can effectively manage athletes' emotions, improve their concentration, and reduce stress. Understanding these aspects helps build trusting relationships between coach and athlete, which ultimately leads to improved results and the achievement of athletic goals. Therefore, studying sports psychology is an important component of professional coach training. Sports psychology is attracting the attention of many, and the question of its accessibility for people without a sports background is becoming relevant. Lack of experience in sports is not a barrier to studying sports psychology. Many successful specialists in this field come from related disciplines, such as psychology, sociology, or pedagogy. The main thing is the desire to develop, learn, and apply their knowledge. A key aspect is an understanding of the psychology of athletes and the ability to work with their emotional state, which does not always depend on personal sports experience. Therefore, if you have an interest in sport psychology and a passion for helping athletes achieve better results, you can successfully enter this field, regardless of your background in sport.

There are psychologists who work effectively without a sports background. In such cases, they use empathy to understand the client's experience, but this process can take longer.

A sport psychologist truly differs from many other professionals in the field of psychology. They provide specific recommendations and advice aimed at improving athletic performance and the psychological state of athletes. Instead of guiding the client to find answers on their own, a sport psychologist uses practical methods and techniques to help athletes cope with the emotional and psychological difficulties associated with their activities. This approach allows for faster results and more effective training.

Directive methods of influence do exist, when the trainer specifies what and how to do. However, I prefer a different approach: I separate myself from the athlete and teach them practical methods and tools. This method promotes the development of independence and self-confidence, allowing the athlete to better understand and apply the acquired knowledge in practice.

My primary goal is to help the client recognize their problem and learn to independently find solutions in the future. Instead of giving direct instructions, I offer knowledge and tools that the client can adapt to their situation. Each athlete has a unique perspective, and only they can understand how to integrate new elements into their practice. This approach promotes the development of independence and self-confidence, which is a key factor for success.

We don't use a directive approach, as it can limit creativity and flexibility in the work process. A directive management style often leads to decreased employee motivation and a decrease in their engagement with the project. We prefer more open and collaborative methods that promote the exchange of ideas and improve the overall team atmosphere. This approach allows us to better adapt to change and find innovative solutions to achieve our goals.

I don't want to tie an athlete to psychological support. If a psychologist constantly provides a client with direct advice, sooner or later mutual dependence can develop, which negatively affects work effectiveness. It is important for athletes to develop their own self-regulation skills and make decisions independently, which promotes personal growth and strengthens self-confidence. Psychological support should be aimed at developing the athlete's internal resources, rather than creating a dependence on external advice.

Teaching clients psychological tools allows them to stop looking for external causes of their failures and instead quickly find solutions to overcome difficulties. An athlete with such skills will be able to effectively adapt to changes in climate, diet, time zones, and living conditions. This will increase its resilience and performance in various circumstances.

“The head is the main control center”: about eSports and team psychology

Working with various athletes, such as single tennis players, pair skaters and hockey or Esports teams do have their own unique characteristics. Teams are typically more challenging, as they require consideration of the group's interests and dynamics, as well as coordination between members. It's important not only to manage the individual needs of each athlete but also to create a harmonious team atmosphere, which requires special skills and a unique approach. Effective interaction and communication are key factors in achieving success in team sports. A sports psychologist doesn't use categories of "easier" or "harder." The main difference lies in their approach. When working with a team, it's important to focus on team-building activities. This approach enables them to achieve high results and improve interaction between members. Effective teamwork is key to success in sports, and the role of a sports psychologist is crucial in this process. The team goal should always take precedence over individual ambitions, and each team member must understand this. For successful interaction, players must know each other well enough to anticipate their teammates' actions and provide mutual support. In esports, this problem is exacerbated by high player turnover, which makes it difficult to build a cohesive and effective team. Understanding and trust between members are key factors for achieving a common goal and successfully competing.

Team-building activities play a crucial role in creating an effective team. However, despite their primary role, individual work with each member is also essential. An individual approach allows for identifying the strengths and weaknesses of each player, which facilitates a deeper understanding of team dynamics. By working with each player individually, it is possible to develop personal skills, improve communication, and increase engagement. Ultimately, such comprehensive work helps not only strengthen team spirit but also achieve higher results in collaborative activities.

Each person requires an individual approach to selecting methods that will help develop their personal qualities and improve their skills. By using common tasks for the entire group, weaker members will be able to develop, while stronger ones will remain stagnant, as they require more challenging tasks to progress. A personalized approach creates optimal conditions for each participant's growth, which ultimately contributes to the overall success of the group.

In eSports, despite its apparent static nature, the psychological factor plays a key role. Players face high emotional stress, which can significantly affect their performance. Stress, pressure from spectators and team expectations, and the need to react quickly and make decisions under uncertainty create a unique psychological environment.

Psychological preparation is becoming an important aspect of training. Players must develop emotional management skills, concentration, and stress resilience. Teams often hire psychologists to help athletes cope with pressure and improve their performance. It is also important to work on team dynamics, as the interaction between players directly affects the outcome.

Therefore, the psychological aspect of esports not only influences individual performance but also the overall effectiveness of the team, making it an essential component of success in this discipline.

Esports has become an official sporting discipline for good reason. It possesses all the key characteristics of high achievement in sports: regular training and active competitive practice. In the near future, a unified methodology will likely be developed that will help systematize the approach to training and competition in esports.

Esports athletes face the same intense regimen as traditional athletes. Their training can last up to six hours a day, and they regularly participate in training sessions known as boot camps. These intense sessions are accompanied by significant psycho-emotional stress. Although the player's body remains relatively still during the game, the brain is the key control center, ensuring all necessary reactions and decision-making.

The brain does not differentiate between a virtual game and a real-life sports event. It processes information received from both sources and responds to it in the same way. This means that both computer games and sports activate the same neural circuits, which can influence skill development, reaction time, and coordination. Thus, regardless of the type of game, the brain is actively involved in the process and adapts to the conditions, making both activities important for cognitive and physical development.

When esports athletes are immersed in a virtual world, they connect ideomotorically with the character, allowing them, for example, to run through a forest in Dota 2. Players imagine moving their legs, accelerating, and turning. These thoughts activate specific groups of neurons and muscle fibers, creating the effect of physical movement. This mental process is known as "mental training." It helps improve gaming skills and reaction, which is an important aspect of successful performance in eSports.