From the author: The psychological preparation of an athlete sometimes plays a more important role than physical preparation. It is no secret that the result of competitions depends on the psychological preparation of the athlete no less than on physical preparation. Coaching techniques have a certain specificity compared to traditional methods of a sports psychologist due to the specifics of coaching as such. Coaching involves, first of all, working with a specific client request and is based on the result of promotional questions that the coach asks his champion (as the client is often called in coaching, and this is especially suitable for working with athletes). At the first meeting of the sports coach with the champion, the latter It is often difficult to formulate your request for a session. That is why it is advisable to start working with a new client with a traditional coaching tool - the “wheel”. If the champion’s main request for all work with a coach is to get into the best shape before competitions, then it is possible to invite the athlete to consider all those factors that influence the achievement of optimal combat state (OBS). For example, this could be self-confidence, full dedication to training, adherence to the regime, etc. Accordingly, all these factors fit into 8 sectors of the “wheel”. The next step is to ask the champion how he will understand that each of these factors manifests itself in him 100% or 10 points on a ten-point scale. Next, the coach asks the champion to evaluate his level of satisfaction in terms of each factor. At this stage, both the athlete and the coach see areas of growth in different areas of work. But where to start working? This is also determined by the athlete, answering the question “Which of the identified factors will most affect your optimal fighting state?”. In subsequent sessions, the athlete and sports coach or psychologist can work with both the identified factors, sequentially examining the possibility of improving each of them, and with new requests from the champion that arose between sessions. It should be understood that the athlete may have a variety of requests, including personal ones. After all, anything can affect the psychological state of an athlete. “Sports” techniques When working with athletes in the process of preparing for competitions, almost all coaching techniques are applicable. A special effect is achieved by working with the time line and the line of states. The time line allows the champion to look at his results in the past and future, see the scale of his goal and the impact of its achievement on his future destiny. The line of states allows him to work out all those qualities that the athlete wants to strengthen or weaken. In fact, this technique widely uses NLP techniques to anchor the necessary states that will be in demand at competitions. But, perhaps, the most important tool of a coach is the “Pyramid of Logical Levels”, progress along which reveals to the athlete goal after goal, making it possible to see his deep motive to victory at competitions, which, like a guiding star, will accompany him for a long time both in the process of preparing for competitions and directly in their process