Like all human behavior, Sport has rules that regulate its activity. In this sense we can consider the athlete not only as that person who will be able to obtain pleasure in the exercise of sport itself, but as someone committed to his entire personal structure. This commitment can take the form of a contract which in fact contains both moral and emotional factors. The first will be linked to compliance with the rules of the game and the group, while the second will be in relation to personal factors deposited in the game and the way in which each of the team members feels affected in relation to the game. to his captain, to his teammates, to the order of winning or losing, to the opponent (in our concept the “complementary”), not as an enemy but as an essential complementary time so that the game can be played even in the case of a single person. We invite you to continue reading this Psychology-Online article, if you want to know more about ethics in sport.
The opponent, an obstacle to overcome
The “obstacle to overcome” It is given by different characteristics of the sport and the athlete. Weight, gravity, volume, atmosphere, resistance, etc. They are just some of the physical elements of the sport/athlete. In no way could it be otherwise.
In sport it is worth emphasizing, despite its obviousness, the body with all its attributes and reactions is always present. That is why the first obstacle to overcome will always be physical.
We all already know that the body of someone who plays foot-ball, basketball or volleyball is not the same, even though they are all played with a ball, or someone who swims, water-skis or rows, even though the water It is the fundamental element of those who practice motor racing or run gravel races, even if speed is an opponent.
The opponent It will always be someone or something to be defeated, not to be hated.
The rules of the game are rules of life on which many, if not all the times, they act, modifying their well-being.
healthy sport
The positive capacity of practicing any sport adapted to our possibilities is a fact that is not only physically beneficial but also healthy in psychological, social and, if you will, spiritual terms.
Hence, we consider the commitment to the rules that regulate the practice of sport – without which a hybrid would be dismantled and formed – as a fact that affects our entire vital structure and most of its functions. As an immediate consequence, this fulfillment of the sporting commitment interests the person in terms of healthy values.
Every person who longs for better living conditions should include within their immediate possibilities the systematic practice of a sport or physical activity, which, under professional direction, guarantees the desired persistent effects.
From the professional team
The basic multidisciplinary team (activity professional, coach, doctor and psychologist), in the cases of mature personalities, both young people, adults and older people It is essential. The more they will be in those situations in which physical and mental health is compromised. In the latter case, the team should be made up of a greater number of specialized professionals. We will discuss these groups and work teams later. In both the first situation and the second, compliance with standards that guarantee the effective and ethical performance of the professionals involved is also implicit.
In any case, personal commitment, in both cases, is with yourself, with your team, with your family, with your friends and with your work area. Any professional who longs to belong to the sport must know deeply not only its formation but also its history and the rules that determine its development.
Integration of sport into life
As we pointed out previously, The rules of sport are rules of life. Immediate experience shows that the practice of physical activity based on a disciplined and orderly system not only generates rapid personal decompression but also provides each person with an immediate feeling of fulfillment. And this has been the case since ancient times. There are many philosophers who profoundly pointed out the importance of sports, advising on the integration that they produce in human duality. “Mens sana in corpore sana” is the best-known synthesis of this universal thought.
Integrating physical activity into our lives is “per-se” an ethical fact with a notable amount of benefits. Although some of these are associated with neurotic personality factors or economic returns or power.
These factors that we could consider negative do not come from the structure of the sport itself, but from the improper and unethical use of it, in part possibly due to the personality characteristics of the athlete who, even knowing this, allows himself to be involved, although there are situations in which he is not aware and in part to other people who profit and benefit from the sport practiced by others.
However, and saving the distance, The economic aspect must be seen from a broader perspective just as it is the institutional one where money is necessary for its support, administration, evolution and progress.
Nor can we be so simple and prosecute that athlete who in his life accesses political positions since in the public imagination it is always expected that if that athlete was successful as such, he would do the same with dignity in public office. Although there is no close correlation between being a glorious athlete and being a successful civil servant, the global fantasy of various societies admits it and needs to think so.
In fact, this clearly points out that, most people adhere to the fact that the norms and rules of sport are always of a positive moral nature.
Perhaps at this point the possibility could be considered of a professional athlete presenting some style of Hippocratic Oath, especially when he himself can become a model with which multitudes of people from all social, economic and cultural conditions identify.
The norms that have always been part of all civilized human conduct, Why should they be missing from sports? Compliance with these rules is what gives sport that characteristic of dignity that it possesses and that can be observed even in its most intimate aspects.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
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Bibliography
- Dosil Dias, Joaquin – Psychology and Sports Performance -Edic.Gersam 2002 – Spain
- Gonzalez, Lorenzo J.- Psychological training in sports- Editorial Biblioteca Nueva SL- Madrid -1996
- Lawther John D. – Sports and Athlete Psychology. Paidos Editions – Barcelona – l987
- Thomas Alexander – Sports Psychology – Editorial Gerder – Barcelona – l982
- Williams, Jean – Psychology applied to Sports (various authors) – Biblioteca Nueva – Madrid – l99l