Who is a sports psychologist? Many people often ask me who is a sports psychologist, what is he for and how can he help? In my understanding, the main task of a sports psychologist is to assist an athlete in finding a unique, individual, psychological mechanism for preparing for a sports competition in order for the athlete to CONSTANTLY show high results. A stable result is an indicator of a high level of skill. The master shows consistently high results, from start to start, thanks to the fact that he found the optimal way for himself to mentally prepare for the competition. Thanks to the presence of this unique psychological mechanism, the Master can be confident in his success. This confidence makes the opponent very nervous and ultimately brings victory to the Master. For example, Vladislav Tretyak in one of his books writes that in order to prepare for a match, he had to remember the fish he caught. After this memory, he was ready to defeat any opponent! The process of searching for this mechanism is not as simple as it might seem at first glance. Another difficulty is that not every coach will take memories of “fishing” and other fantasies seriously. It is with such memories, thoughts and fantasies that a sports psychologist works! The functions and skills of a sports psychologist do not end there. It can also help mend broken relationships with teammates, because this is often almost the most important thing, especially in team sports. Often an athlete may not have a good relationship with a coach. This can be expressed in a lack of understanding of coaching tasks, errors in performing certain elements or coaching settings, lack of victories, prolonged declines, injuries, etc. Thanks to the joint work of an athlete and a psychologist, it is possible to understand and eliminate both conscious and unconscious reasons for failure , which will lead to real achievements and victories. A psychologist can be especially useful for beginners and young athletes, since thanks to his knowledge, skills and experience he will be able to help adapt to an unfamiliar and disturbing situation for a young athlete.