The COVID-19 pandemic continues to bring uncertainty concerning the future of sports and reveals the underlying uncertainty of our lives and life projects. In the second part of the discussion with Dr Mark Nesti, we explore applied sport psychology with athletes during the pandemic.
Mark has worked with a number of athletes and coaches during this time and reflects on the lessons learned and experiences shared in this work. He also reflects on the value of an existential approach for psychology in sport, during this time and also more broadly.
We finish up with Mark’s explorations of the meaning of sport in his own life.
Dr Mark Nesti has pioneered the application of existential psychology in sport. He has written several books, including Existential Psychology and Sport: Theory and Application and Sport and Spirituality: An Introduction (co-authored with Simon Robinson, Jim Parry and Nick Watson). Our co-authored article, An existential approach to sport psychology: Theory and applied practice, also gives some background to the ideas discussed in this episode.
Mark recently stepped down as Reader in sport psychology at Liverpool John Moores University and is now working as a British Psychological Society (BPS) Chartered sports psychologist with the first team players and staff at Yorkshire County Cricket club and Aston Villa.