The specialized meeting "Practical Experience of Sports Psychology in National Teams" was held at the SSRI

The specialized meeting on sports psychology, focusing on reviewing field experiences and the role of psychologists in national teams, was held at Tehran’s Sports Sciences Research Institute.

According to the Public Relations of the SSRI, the specialized meeting titled "A Reflection on the Practical Experience of Sports Psychology in National Teams" was held on Wednesday, November 18, 2025, at the Sports Sciences Research Institute in Tehran, with the presence of experts in this field.

In the first part of the program, Dr. Khosrow Hamzeh, a sports psychologist with 18 years of experience working with national teams in sports such as freestyle wrestling, taekwondo, football, archery, and water polo at Olympic and Asian Games, shared his experiences regarding the competencies of a sports psychologist, communication and behavioral considerations with coaches and athletes, managing psychological load of elite athletes, principles of accompanying teams in international competitions, and the communicative roles of psychologists within the team environment.

Following that, Dr. Kazem Vaezi Mousavi, head of the sports psychology department at the National Olympic Academy, took a forward-looking view on the evolution of sports psychology and emphasized that general sports psychology will soon be replaced by highly specialized psychology. He noted that as sports become more complex, technological interventions increase, and the need for specialized psychologists for each sport grows significantly. He pointed out that with increasing complexity, psychological needs and demands will differ so much among sports that a single approach will no longer suffice and each sport will require specific patterns, sensitivities, and interventions.

At the end of the meeting, a Q&A session was held where participants directly engaged with the speakers, discussing practical experiences, intervention methods, professional communication with coaches, and pathways for professional entry into national team environments.