PUBLISHED ONSeptember 08, 2024 1:00 AMBySophia KuekHaving been fascinated with the human mind and behaviour since a young age, 28-year-old Lim Jin Jie dove straight into a career in psychology upon graduation.
With his keenness for sports - he especially loved watching football and ice hockey - he often pondered if there was a way to combine his interests in sports and psychology.
His curiosity led him to an exchange programme in Canada, where he picked up a sport psychology module.
Besides learning key foundational concepts, Jin Jie found a kindred spirit in his professor, who shared his valuable experience working with professional ice hockey teams as a sport psychologist.
That was 2019, and in May 2024, he got his dream job as a sport psychologist.
Opportunity of a lifetime
Jin Jie first joined SportSG through the SGUnited Traineeship Programme in June 2021, which fuelled his passion and propelled his career, allowing him to become an associate sport psychologist three years later.
These days, Jin Jie conducts regular one-on-one consultations with athletes to help them prepare for their competitions. When he isn't doing that, he hosts educational workshops with athletes to impart his knowledge of sport psychology. He spends his remaining time catching up with coaches and athletes during their training sessions.
Jin Jie shared that a sport psychologist's primary role focuses on the athletes' performance, well-being and recovery.
His approach centres on listening more to his athletes. Whether his athletes are struggling with competition anxiety, burnout or post-injury recovery, he lends a listening ear, offers new perspectives and suggest strategies and techniques to help them manage their emotions.
"It's a very fulfilling experience, because I see myself as a facilitator of their experiences," Jin Jie said.
"In doing so, I help to create that space for them to be able to process these things they might be going through, and that helps empower them to be able to make the decisions that they have to in the future."
Tackling stigma and scepticism
"Psychology is a science and an art," said Jin Jie, who added that the complexity of the discipline meant that outcomes are not so easily measured.
This may in turn cast doubt on whether the work of a sport psychologist is indeed effective at all. A lack of awareness, harmful misconceptions and public stigma can also discourage individuals from seeking help.
For example, Jin Jie highlighted a misconception that athletes are perceived as resilient and less prone to mental health struggles, when in fact, athletes may face stressors on 'a whole other level' when they compete at international games.
While he acknowledged that physical training may take precedence, he emphasised that an athlete's mental health should not be overlooked.
This applies to other sport sciences like sport medicine and nutrition as well, which are key support pillars for the athletes.
"The sport psychology team will work with the sports medicine team to identify these athletes, facilitate their recovery process and go back to competing eventually," he explained.
More support for athletes
Besides the support from a suite of sport science disciplines, athletes can also receive financial assistance through government or corporate sponsorships and scholarships.
Jin Jie highlighted the new spexEducation Undergraduate Scholarship announced by Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong on Aug 21.
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The scholarship, which will be part of the current suite of support for athletes under the Sport Excellence (spex) framework, aims to provide funding support for national athletes to manage their school expenses while offering them the flexibility to either pursue their studies while they are competing, or after they retire.
Contessa Loh, a national archer who works with Jin Jie, shared that athletes require support in many life stages and thus welcomed the new scholarship.
"Having the assurance that if you want to do sports and studies together, or even to focus on sports first and do your studies afterwards, that actually takes a load off the mind and I feel would make the athlete feel a lot better about their future as well," Contessa shared.
The future of sport psychology in Singapore
As of present, the sport psychology discipline is more prominent overseas, according to Jin Jie.
However, whatever gaps Jin Jie perceives of the local field are simply opportunities for innovation and growth to him. In fact, he has observed a significant improvement over the years.
"As a sport psychologist, I've seen that [the sector] is growing in Singapore, especially after Covid-19, as there are greater conversations around mental health. I think that has helped normalise some of these conversations," Jin Jie said.
He cited the influential impact of high-level athletes such as Michael Phelps and Simone Biles, who have been open with their own mental health battles on social media.
When asked about the improvements he wishes to see in the future of sport psychology in Singapore, he replied: "What I would hope to see is that when athletes come into this space, they would find a sport psychologist just like how they would find a dietitian, a physiologist, strength and conditioning coach or a biomechanist in the name of enhancing their performance."
This is part of what keeps him motivated: witnessing the normalisation of these conversations in Singapore and having the opportunity to help his athletes achieve their dreams despite the challenges they face.
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This article is brought to you in partnership with Ministry of Culture, Community & Youth.