Abstract
The emerging field of positive psychology has gained a lot of interest in the recent years. Positive psychology has been proven to promote happiness in many individual’s lives as well as reinforce their personal feelings of self-worth. The use of positive psychology can be applied to multiple aspects of an individual’s life, making it a universal approach to happiness and less stress. One major group of individuals that can effectively carry out the use of positive psychology is athletes. Instilling and educating coaches and players about this approach could help players deal with the immense amount of pressure the players go through. Professional athletes obviously take on more pressures than younger players, but the use of …show more content…

Some believe the positive hype around youth sports is spread by adults who either blindly accept the notion that sports are good for all kids or who are in the business of developing high-performing athletes (Price-Mitchell 2012). Youth sports can be one of the greatest character builders of any young individual. For young athletes, like the one mentioned above who did not make the team, positive psychology is huge. The young athlete is naturally going to have some negative feelings, but needs to be picked up by parents or a coach. You don’t have to be a professional athlete or an Olympic champion to be a successful athlete. Nor do you have to have a room full of trophies, win a state championship, or make the front page of the sports section. Successful athletes also include an eleven year-old figure skater who has not yet won a competition, a high school golfer with a zero handicap, a middle-aged runner whose goal is to complete her first marathon, a weight lifter who holds several world records, and an Olympic medalist (Lesyk 1998). Professional athletes on the other hand, have much more stress to deal with. Professional athletes have to deal with the pressure of being trading, competitive salaries, and things of this nature. Exercising positive psychology would be a great way to reduce their stress and elevate their health. With the absence of stress athletes can then focus on their game and perform at peak levels. Positive