Sport and Performance Psychology
Performing a complex gymnastics exercise under huge mental pressure or shooting a three-pointer during a basketball game – the Sport and Performance Psychology Professorship explores how athletes can perfect their movement skills under varying circumstances.
The Professorship Sport and Performance Psychology is focusing in particular on women’s basketball at the Centre for Elite Sports and Education Amsterdam (CTO). The research team is developing smart training methods and analysing the effectiveness of these methods for the basketball players’ shot performance, for example by using special goggles to track their eye movements while they are shooting at the basket.
Research into new sports
The professorship may expand its scope to include other sports and domains such as swimming, baseball, music and dance. The central research question is: How can an athlete or performer best train their movement skills in order to become world-class at their chosen discipline?
Field labs
The applied scientific research takes place within the Amsterdam Institute of Sport Science’s field labs – physical locations ‘in the field’ with unique testing and measurement facilities. The sport field labs include Sporthallen Zuid and the Sloterparkbad swimming pool.