According to Division 47 (Exercise and Sport Psychology) of the American Psychological Association, sports psychology encompasses a range of topics including "motivation to persist and achieve, psychological considerations in sport injury and rehabilitation, counseling techniques with athletes, assessing talent, exercise adherence and well-being, self-perceptions related to achieving, expertise in sport, youth sport and performance enhancement and self-regulation techniques."
The article,What is Sport Psychology? by Kendra Cherry, points out that lot of people assume that sport psychology only has to do with professional athletes, but what they are ignoring are the scientific, clinical, and applied topics dealing with sports and exercise. The two main parts of sport psychology are using psychology to increase motivation and improve performance, and figuring out how sports and exercise can help one's mental health and well-being.
A sport psychologist requires at least a masters or a doctorate degree in clinical, counseling, or sport psychology to practice. They also need training and experience for them to be able to use psychology in terms of sports and exercise. Once they have this education, a sport psychologist can perform various tasks. They can work with athletes to improve their performance and motivation regarding their sport as well as becoming a professor in the field. A sport psychologist can also offer client counseling, athletic counseling, and do scientific research.
There are some positive and negatives to choosing sport psychology as a profession. Sport psychologists usually work as a team, so it may not be the best path for a very individual minded person. It is a good profession since one can take so many paths, but again this can only be done once one has all the training and credentials necessary to practice.
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