Persons First, Athletes Second: If Aquinas Came to the English Premier League
This essay draws on the author’s applied experience of delivering sport psychology support to professional soccer players in the English Premier League (EPL). The work of a sports psychologist at senior levels is focused on providing a counseling-based approach, one where discussions about meaning,...
Main Author: | |
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Format: | Electronic Article |
Language: | English |
Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
Journals Online & Print: | |
Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
Published: |
2019
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In: |
Journal of religion & society. Supplement
Year: 2019, Volume: 20, Pages: 94-105 |
Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) |
Summary: | This essay draws on the author’s applied experience of delivering sport psychology support to professional soccer players in the English Premier League (EPL). The work of a sports psychologist at senior levels is focused on providing a counseling-based approach, one where discussions about meaning, spirituality, and religious belief often take place. This should not surprise us since many of the soccer players in the EPL are from countries outside of Europe where there is a much higher prevalence of religious belief than in Europe itself. This essay provides a critique of the dominant perspectives in (sport) psychology and argues that we need a more personalist perspective that can accommodate words like sacrifice, play, joy, courage, faith, hope and love since these concepts are used frequently by participants to describe their experience of sport, especially at higher levels of commitment. |
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ISSN: | 1941-8450 |
Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of religion & society. Supplement
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