ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book focuses on motoric factors during the execution of sports skills, provides evidence to support the desirability of attentional control interventions to optimize performance under pressure situations. It addresses the oft-neglected subject of “Spirituality in Sport Psychology Consulting.” Broadening the influence of sport psychology in society as a whole, by strengthening the nexus between mental skills training and daily life, represents an excellent opportunity for the profession. An inevitable future development for the sport psychology field will be to optimize strategies for utilizing the internet in the provision of effective web-based mental skills training and other psychological interventions, including online mood profiling. The historical roots of sport psychology can be traced back to the 19th century and beyond. Uncertainty shrouds the exact birthplace of sport psychology, although its recorded origins lie in Europe.
