Aussie kids dream of going to the Olympics
Watching the Olympics on television has spurred many Australian children over the years to dream for gold – and many have gone on to do it.
In fact, latest research by sports brand ASICS, the official uniform partner of the Australian Olympic Team, has shown a clear correlation between watching the Games and having ambitions of participating.
The study revealed one in six dreamt of going to the Olympic Games after watching Australia compete on the world stage and two-thirds were motivated to try a new sport.
It’s a phenomenon experienced across the globe, but no more so than in Australia where sport is such a big part of the national identity.
That’s according to CQUniversity’s recently appointed Senior Lecturer in Psychology and former sport psychologist for the Brazilian Olympic Committee during the Rio de Janeiro Games in 2016, Dr Alberto Filgueiras.
“Children learn mostly from behavioural models, meaning they tend to copy the behaviours of people they have affection to or admire,” Dr Filgueiras explained.
“It tends to start with parents and family watching the Olympics, showing their appreciation and positive attitudes towards the athletes.
“Then, children start copying in early ages until they also have emotional attachment to the event, which leads to the attempt of seeing themselves as part of the Olympics.”
He said add into the mix Australia’s deep connection with sport and this trend is amplified for young Aussies.
Dr Filgueiras has lived in four different countries, worked with 200 client athletes - from world champions to Olympic medallists - from 13 different nationalities, and has found Australians to be amongst the most proud of being a sporting nation.
“Australians have created a strong bond with sports, it’s a part of the country’s identity,” he said.
“You can observe this phenomenon in schools, among families, when people are playing in their local fields or parks on the weekend.
“Even at barbecues, there is always someone holding a ball or throwing something around.”
Dr Filgueiras believes Australia has become a massive sports nation because families value sport participation and that has created an emotional and generational bond that is hard to break.
He said that while finding Olympic talent is hard, at the end of the day, it is about quantity first, then quality.
“If you have a country such as Australia where most people practice sports, you increase the likelihood of finding sporting talent.”
Interestingly, Australia is ranked 13th in medals per capita in the history of the Summer Olympics, but number one for countries with more than 10 million people.
Dr Alberto Filgueiras is a psychologist with Master's and PhD degrees in developmental and cognitive neuroscience with post-doctorates in Sport Sciences and Physical Education.
He is a registered sport psychologist in Brazil with four books published in this field. In addition to his Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games experience, he has also worked as a sport psychologist for Flamengo, Brazil’s biggest soccer club, between 2018 and 2019, and currently works remotely for Team Octagon, a Brazilian MMA team with athletes who fight in Bellator and the UFC.
His current research interests include Decision Making to improve Sport Performance.
