The era of overwhelming strength and endurance governing sport is over and the era of the mentally strong athlete has arrived. Athletes are no longer superficial athletes and robots programmed to achieve a single goal, victory. Modern athletes, from high school to professional level, face many pressures and temptations, normally outside the realm of their sport. These pressures can significantly harm an athlete's performance; therefore, pressures must be handled by psychologists. The effectiveness of sports psychology is demonstrated through numerous theories, applications and various techniques and procedures. Sports psychology can be defined as the study and application of attitudes and behaviors of athletes (including team athletes) that have an impact (positive or positive). negatively) performance in sporting or competitive contexts. The goal of sports psychology is to help athletes and teams identify unhealthy attitudes and beliefs, apply mental toughness skills and optimal performance strategies to perform at optimal levels (Cohn). Sports psychology is not recognized as a traditional area of ​​practice offered by graduate programs; although it is a specific area of ​​study recognized within kinesiology and physical education programs. Sports psychology was founded in 1920 by Carl Diem in Berlin, Germany. Later, in 1925, sports psychology was introduced to the United States by Cloman Griffith. These early psychologists aimed to observe the effects of mental state on different performance factors such as reaction time, tension, relaxation and awareness (Haney). In the 1960s, Griffith's interest in sports psychology re-emerged after fading for some time; however, the field had a...... middle of paper ......ne. October 16, 2010..Cole, Bill. Sports Psychology Myths: 32 Misconceptions About the Mental Game of Sports Explained. March 10, 2005. Online. October 15, 2010..Haney, Brian. “Careers in Sports Psychology.” March 19, 2000. Online. October 17, 2010. Johnson, Urban. “Sport Psychology – Past, Present and Future: Perceptions of Swedish Sports Psychology Students.” Athletic Insight: The Online Journal of Sports Psychology 3 (2006). October 18, 2010. http://www.athleticinsight.com/Vol8Iss3/PastPresentFuture.htm.Tedesco, Joseph. “Sport psychology”. Dayton Institute of Applied Sports Sciences (2005). October 15, 2010. http://www.daytoninstituteofsportspsychology.com/faq.htm.