Q.Read an excerpt from a leading newspaper regarding news for requirement of sports psychology in Indian Sports (BCCI for hiring psychologists to arrest stress). Discuss in your group: What causes a person to persist or to give up? What is the person thinking and feeling while engaged in the activity? What can be the reasons for drop-out of talented athletes from sports? How can a Sports Psychologist help young players handle pressure better? Can different motivation techniques help athletes towards continued sports participation? Present your ideas to the class.

This is a group-discussion prompt opening the unit, built around a real BCCI news report on hiring sports psychologists - there is no single fixed answer, only a chance to connect your own thinking to the topics this unit goes on to teach. …

The newspaper excerpt reports that BCCI discussed hiring sports psychologists at state cricket academies because India was losing many talented Under-14 and Under-16 players every year to family and academic pressure, with players commonly dropping out 'after one or two bad seasons.' Discuss each question in your group using what you already know, before this unit formalises the ideas:

• What causes a person to persist or give up? Persistence is linked to personality traits like conscientiousness and emotional stability (section 9.1), and to having strong intrinsic motivation that keeps the activity rewarding on its own (section 9.2). Giving up is often linked to repeated failure without adequate exercise/sport adherence support (section 9.3-9.4) or a lack of psychological coping tools.
• What is the person thinking and feeling? This is exactly what psychological attributes like self-talk and mental imagery (section 9.6) are designed to manage - the athlete's internal dialogue and mental rehearsal shape how they experience competition. …