Junior Hercules, senior men’s coach of the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF) will next week, participate in a Sports Psychology Training Course geared towards high performance tacticians.
According to Hercules during an exclusive interview with Stabroek Sport yesterday the course is set to commence Wednesday.
Hercules, who also holds the portfolio of National 3×3 Coordinator, said that the course was made possible by the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) who advertised the course.
He was nominated by the sport’s local governing body.
“I was nominated by the Guyana Basketball Federation [for] the programme, made possible by the Guyana Olympic Association,” he disclosed.
[The] Course in Sports Psychology for High-Performance Coaches’ will be taught by Jose Maria Buceta, a Spanish psychologist with vast experience and worldwide recognition.
“In celebration of Olympic Day 2020 and continuing with the noble task of contributing to sports development throughout the continent, Panam Sports has organized the first Virtual Training called “Course in Psychology in Sport for High-Performance Coaches” led by the renowned Spanish psychologist Jose Maria Buceta,” a release from the GOA stated.
Buceta has worked with various Olympic representatives and Real Madrid.
Hercules said the course will last for four days and will be conducted in Spanish alongside simultaneous translation in English.
“The 16-hour online course will be absolutely free and will be presented in Spanish with simultaneous translation in English. There will be four sessions that will air once a week throughout the next month, with live classes on July 8, 15, 22, and 29. Additional reading and supporting documents will be provided, and a certificate of participation from Panam Sports will be delivered at the end of the course. Expectations are to learn about the underappreciated soft skill regarding the mental skill least talk about in the sport of basketball,” he said.
Asked about the importance of sports psychology to the local sports landscape, he declared, sports psychology is especially important. In Guyana sports culture success is usually measured by losses and wins and the psychology, in my opinion, can be the missing long term ingredients for sustained success. The formal application of sports psychology has always been an interest of mine even before becoming a national coach.
According to Hercules, sports psychology has traditionally been overlooked and underutilized locally, as the sports culture and landscape places more emphasis on practical skills and abilities.
He added, “sports psychology is usually underutilized because in Guyana sports culture we respond to more hard skills rather than soft skills. Ironically, the more developed and successful sports culture, embraces sports psychology and I wish we (Guyana) would embrace the skill now.”
