PhD Summer School

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PhD Summer School

Participants earn 4 ECTS credits while bridging research with practice.

The 7-day Summer School of Sport Psychology offers PhD students expert-led lectures, workshops, and panel discussions on sport counseling, mental resilience, and ACT in sports.

07/07/2025

We regret to inform you that this year’s Summer School of Sport Psychology has been postponed. But we’re excited to return in summer 2026!

In the meantime, we’re gearing up to launch a series of interactive workshops and focused seminars to keep the ideas flowing, the conversations vibrant, and our community connected. 🧠🤝⚽️

Whether you're passionate about performance psychology, mental skills training, or simply enjoy exchanging insights with fellow researchers — there’s something exciting on the way for you.

Stay tuned for updates and sneak peeks! 💪💥

14/04/2025

💪 Stronger Mind, Stronger Performance: Unlocking Athlete Resilience

Resilience is the context-specific ability to withstand pressure and adapt to challenges. It’s best to view resilience as a preventive and proactive approach to managing stress. The factor of resilience determines why some athletes can withstand the pressures of elite sport and achieve peak performance, while others fail.

We bring you four practical tips to help athletes build individual resilience:

1️⃣ Resilience is more than just a buzzword – Make sure your athletes and coaches understand what it truly means. Resilience is not a fixed trait but the ability to maintain performance under pressure—and it can be developed over time.

2️⃣ Enhance personal qualities – Focus on both personality characteristics and psychological skills that protect individuals from negative consequences. Help athletes improve attention control, self-talk, and goal-setting.

3️⃣ Develop a challenge mindset – Teach athletes to use techniques from cognitive-behavioral therapy to manage their thoughts and emotions.

4️⃣ Create a facilitative environment – Resilience doesn’t develop in isolation. Collaborate with coaches to ensure the right balance of challenge and support in training.

Want to learn more?💥

Secure your place at ➡️ phdsummerschool.cz and learn about topics including Building Mental Resilience and Enhancing Focus and Concentration.

Reference: Sarkar, M., & Page, A. E. (2020). Developing individual and team resilience in elite sport: Research to practice. Journal of Sport Psychology in Action, 13(1), 40–53. https://doi.org/10.1080/21520704.2020.1861144

Credits to: Anežka Novotná

09/04/2025

🌟 Thrilled to announce! 🌟

We’re thrilled to announce that Sarah Blizzard , an Australian Bobsleigh athlete, will be joining us at the Summer School of Sport Psychology! 🇦🇺🛷

From the track to the ice, and now aiming for the Olympic Games as a pilot, Sarah’s journey is packed with powerful lessons on resilience, focus, and the mental side of elite sport. 🎯🧠

Don’t miss the chance to meet her and hear her inspiring story!

04/04/2025

🚨 Exciting Announcement! 🚨

We're thrilled to introduce our first speaker, Dr. Andrea Firth🤩.

Andrea is an applied sport psychologist working with top athletes, teams, and performers to optimize performance and well-being under pressure. She leads a team of psychologists, including sport psychology, counselling, and clinical psychology, supporting the first team, academy, and coaches at Lancashire Women’s Cricket. Her clients also include Canada Men’s National Football, Al Qadsiah Women’s Football (Saudi Arabia), Leeds United Men’s First Team, Olympic athletes, Tennis Australia, and West End performers.

Additionally, Andrea is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Greenwich and Programme Leader at University College Football Business, blending practical expertise with academic research.

Conference topics:
💡How to work with cultural differences from the perspective of sport psychology
💡Counselling in sport
💡Supervision in sport psychology

Wanna learn from the expert⁉

Join Andrea, an expert in sport psychology, and book your spot at phdsummerschool.cz now and level up your skills! 💪

02/04/2025

📣Have you booked your spot for the Summer School of Sport Psychology yet? 🤔 If not, now’s the time! ‼️ Don’t miss out on advancing your expertise in sport psychology and connecting with top experts. Apply today! Check phdsummerschool.cz for more details.

Summer Schools in Europe

25/03/2025

🚀 Exciting News! 🚀

We're thrilled to announce our cooperation with Enyssp ! 🎉 Curious about who they are and what they do? Want to experience top-tier peer consultation in action? This is your chance!

Join us at our Summer School 🌞 to learn, connect, and grow with the best in the field. 📢 Secure your spot now at phdsummerschool.cz! Don't miss out!

12/03/2025

❗The Impact of Confidence and Anxiety on Athletic Success ❗

Success in sports isn’t just about physical skill—it’s equally a test of mental strength. Confidence and anxiety significantly influence an athlete’s ability to perform under pressure.

According to a review published in the International Journal of Science and Management Studies, managing anxiety while building confidence is essential for reaching peak performance. Athletes with high self-confidence tend to stay focused, execute skills effectively, and handle pressure more efficiently. Anxiety, on the other hand, can be both helpful and harmful. While a moderate level of anxiety can sharpen focus and enhance performance, excessive anxiety often leads to muscle tension, loss of concentration, and poor decision-making. Psychological strategies such as goal-setting, visualization, and self-talk have been shown to help athletes regulate anxiety and build a strong mindset. Additionally, the support of coaches, teammates, and sports psychologists plays a crucial role in fostering mental resilience and sustaining confidence throughout an athlete’s journey.

Practical Tips for Athletes:
✅ Create a pre-performance routine to stay composed and confident.
✅ Use positive self-talk to replace doubts with empowering beliefs.
✅ Visualize success—mental imagery can boost confidence and ease anxiety.
✅ Consider working with a sports psychologist to sharpen mental skills and optimize performance.

By strengthening both mental and physical abilities, athletes can turn confidence into a powerful asset while keeping anxiety in check.

Reference: Fadare, A. S., Langco, L., Canalija, C., Kabirun, C. A., & Abelardo-Sabandija, B. J. (2022). Athletes' confidence and anxiety management: a review in achieving optimal sport performance. International Journal of Science and Management Studies, 5(4), 311-318.

Credits to:

06/03/2025

Are you a PhD student with a keen interest in sport psychology? Are you looking for practical insights to navigate the field and build a successful career? Or are you exploring potential research avenues in sport psychology?

Join our Summer School of Sport Psychology 🎓☀🏊 to explore the latest research and real-world applications in high-performance psychology!

Over seven days, participate in interactive lectures, hands-on workshops, and engaging panel discussions with renowned experts, including Andrea Frith, Ricardo Lugo, Jiří Welsch, Eric Franke, Sarah Blizzard, Kateřina Koros Bartošová, Lenka Remešová, Karolína Mynářová and more.

You will explore topics such as:
✅Sport Counseling
✅Late-Stage Rehabilitation
✅Mental Health in Sport and Exercise Psychology
✅Eating Disorders in Sport
✅Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) in Sports
And much more!

This program is specifically tailored for PhD students in sport psychology and related disciplines, offering 4 ECTS credits.

🗓18 - 24 August 2025
📍Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
❗Registration deadline 31 May 2025❗ Limited Spots Available❗

For more information and registration visit https://phdsummerschool.cz/

📩 In case you have any questions, email us at: info@phdsummerschool.cz

05/03/2025

Thriving Under Pressure: Training Athletes for Peak Performance ❗

How can training under pressure improve performance in high-stakes competitions? 🤔

A study published in the Journal of Applied Sport Psychology explores how pressure training (PT) helps athletes adapt to competition stress and enhance their mental resilience.

💡Key Findings:

✔ Creating pressure in training – Effective pressure manipulations include simulating competitive environments, increasing psychological demands, and adding real-world consequences to performance.
✔ The role of consequences – Consequences that extend beyond a single moment (e.g., public leaderboards, social media accountability, or team-based penalties) increase motivation and focus.
✔ Psychological adaptation – PT helps athletes develop coping strategies, reframe their relationship with pressure, and maintain composure in high-stakes situations.
✔ Improved training quality – Athletes who train under pressure report increased effort, focus, and competition readiness.

Practical Recommendations for Coaches & Athletes:

💥 Implement pressure scenarios in training to simulate competition stress.
💥 Use performance tracking & accountability (e.g., public scores, competitive drills) to enhance motivation.
💥 Gradually increase pressure levels—athletes adapt best when exposure is systematic.
💥 Encourage positive coping mechanisms like self-talk, visualization, and mindfulness.

📖 Reference: Low, W. R., Freeman, P., Butt, J., Stoker, M., & Maynard, I. (2023). The role and creation of pressure in training: Perspectives of athletes and sport psychologists. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 35(4), 710-730.
Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP)

Credits to

03/03/2025

Acceptance and Commitment Training (ACT) is a cognitive-behavioral approach gaining traction in sports psychology. Unlike traditional psychological skills training that aims to control and change negative thoughts and emotions, ACT empowers athletes to embrace them while staying laser-focused on their values and goals.

ACT can help athletes to:

✅ Accept – Acknowledge difficult thoughts and emotions instead of fighting them.

✅ Choose – Identify and commit to values that drive you and your performance.

✅ Take action – Engage in behaviours that align with your values and goals, even when unpleasant thoughts or emotions are present.

📢 Do you want to learn more about ACT in sports? Join our PhD Summer School of Sport Psychology to dive into research underlying ACT in sports and master strategies you can use with athletes of different age categories! Registration opens soon!

Credits to

25/02/2025

❗️HOME ADVANTAGE IN THE NBA: DOES CROWD ATTENDANCE MATTER? ❗️

Does having a packed stadium actually boost a home team's performance? A new study in Applied Economics Letters examined NBA games before, during, and after COVID-19 to determine the impact of crowd attendance on home advantage.

🧠 Key Findings:
💡 "Ghost games" without fans erased home advantage entirely. Teams played worse at home without their usual crowd support.
💡 Small crowds had the same effect as full stadiums - as long as some fans were present, home teams retained their advantage.
💡 Referees were NOT influenced by crowd noise - officiating behavior remained unchanged regardless of attendance.

What This Means for Athletes & Coaches:
✅ Even a small but engaged home crowd can make a difference.
✅ Home court rituals and psychological comfort may be key performance factors.
✅ Coaches should train teams for silent environments to maintain performance under all conditions.

📖 Reference: Ehrlich, J., & Potter, J. (2022). Estimating the effect of attendance on home advantage in the National Basketball Association. Applied Economics Letters, 30(11), 1471–1482. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504851.2022.2061898

Credits to: Herdova

12/02/2025

Failure in its ambivalence is the essence of success. The frustration, disappointment, hardship, self-doubts, and confrontation with ourselves are often viewed as undesirable, yet these experiences can serve as catalysts for growth and resilience. And not just that, in its rawest, hardest form the feeling of failure exposes our purpose. Fail, fight, grow. The worst thing that can ever happen to you is stagnation.

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