INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC ACADEMY 7th JOINT - IOA

Although there was increasing acceptance both in education
and in industry of the value of adventurous experiences as an
avenue of personal growth, it is surprising how little attention
was paid to the clarification of the change and learning
processes involved. In a rather typically pragmatic British way,
benefits were assumed to flow from such experience, and few
attempts were made to assess and explain the effects
systematically (p.55).
De Coubertin (1901) himself saw the need to describe and test the
educational process of the Olympic pedagogy. His understanding of
the issue is expressed in his comment, “does (sport) really strengthen
character and develop what might be called the moral musculature of
the man? That is certainly the fundamental question”. So, rather than
simply competing, it seems as though something else is required in
order to facilitate both the personal and social ideals of Olympism. As
Hill (2001) neatly summarises,
‘While sports participation, in and of itself, does not assure
positive self-development in any sphere – physical, moral,
cognitive, or emotional – sport can be a powerful and effective
means to develop the self if it is organised with emphasis on
development of athletes’ (p. 124).
Therefore, what knowledge can be used to help athletes develop
through sport?
The science of sport psychology
Sport psychology is one key to unlock this question. If philosophy
gives us the ‘why’ through defining ideals, psychology provides the
‘how’ to bridge the gap between current reality and these ideals.
Interestingly, Coubertin saw how psychology might be used to do this
in his Olympic project. His philosophy of life no doubt stems from his
interest not only, as is more commonly known, in the body and
physical education, but also from the mind and sport psychology. In
fact, it was actually Coubertin himself who staged the first-ever
international congress for sport psychology in Lausanne in 1913 and
has amongst his writings a book entitled ‘Essais de psychologie
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