Article

PART XV: Or in the ring

Studying the mental journey of elite athletes to keep them focused and motivated to win. Laurentian University.
By
Sharon Oosthoek
Institution(s)
Laurentian University
Province(s)
Ontario
Topic(s)
Behavioral sciences
Looking through the ropes into a boxing ring, with boxers blurred in the background.

With the help of video recordings and in-person interviews, researchers in sports psychology at Laurentian University are studying the mental journeys of athletes from different cultural backgrounds to create a coaching system that reflects the diversity of this country’s elite athletes. The goal is to create more culturally appropriate and inclusive training regimes that help Olympic hopefuls come together as a team, whether they are Aboriginal, new Canadians or mainstream. That research informed sports psychologists’ plan to mentally prepare our Canadian boxers for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Image: ThinkStock

View “PART XIV: Competitive in the world”
View “PART XVI: It guides how we make decisions”
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