Sports psychologist

Personally I think it's awesome that the hs players will get to take advantage of this. Most players don't get to listen to a sports psychologist until they're in college. I have seen great benefits for my son from the workshops they've participated in in college with a noted sports psychologist. It really helps many people to focus on the positive and develop mental strength and set higher goals.

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Coached athletes for 30 years...what seperates players is at least as much mental as physical. Motivation, passion, desire, adaption, mechanics, work ethic, dedication, focus, faith are the tools that drive the physical, the player and team play and it all begins between the ears. The best coaches are at least as much psychologist as coach and a good sports psychologist who understands, and can get "to" the players is both priceless and rare.


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observer 44

Your statement about the psychologist "who can get to players is both priceless and rare" is a valid one.

Actually if you have a good baseball coach who motivates his players you have no need for a school psychologist because at the end of the day it is a long shot she/he will help the players

Maybe college is different in utilizing a "Sports Psychologist" to gain a mental edge in sports. I think a school psychologist is not typically trained as a sports psychologist and using one at the high school level may not be advantageous.

However, in college, my son found it very helpful to listen to a nationally renowned sports psychologist. Can't believe the school would waste the money if they didn't think it would be beneficial for the players.

I don't know where the school psychologist talk got going. The private high school i coach at has hired a SPORTS psychologist from University of Pittsburgh. She works with the football team and basketball team at University of Pittsburgh. She works with all the athletic teams at the high school. The school is all 4.0 GPA students very smart and tend to over think things. I just want opinions on the sports psychologist from people who have experience. I don't need to hear a good coach wouldn't need them. Just want some feed back from people who have used them. Its an option for my team and I am leaning towards using her, but don't have any experience using a sports psychologist.

Absolutely worth hiring one if you can afford (I had one for a different sport). A good one will give your players tools to use to deal with stress, help them be more proactive in dealing with adversity, and even help them learn to be comfortable with succeeding (you might be surprised how many athletes actually fear getting "too" good). The better a athlete gets, the more important mental tools become.

Again, if you can afford it, I strongly recommend. PM me if you have any specific questions.

Mdjst5,

I like your attitude. I am a mental skills coach in Texas. The idea that good coaches don't need help is like saying that parents don't want someone their kids like and respect to reiterate (in different words) the lessons they're teaching at home.

That said, the extent to which you'll want to use the school's consultant is dependent on her skill level and her time to spend with you to figure out your needs.

Great coaches are indeed great mental skills coaches, so if she's good, having this person on staff can be a great benefit to coaches and student-athletes.

I often hear people say "if only we could afford you" but the reality is they don't want to invest the time. At the college level, I am amazed that so many schools can afford to NOT have someone either full-time or consulting on a regular basis.

Best wishes, and let me know if I may be of any service to you.

-Aaron
www.CoachTraub.com

Having a Sports Psychologist is definitely worth it. My senior year our high school baseball team actually brought in a sports psychologist. we usually met with her as a team every 2-3 weeks, but we started meeting with her the fall prior to our season. It definitely helped me and I know it helped many of my teammates. The 2 biggest pieces of advice I could give would be to talk with your players on how important it is to buy into what the sport psychologist is saying, it took a few of our guys who thought they "didn't need" a sport psychologist a while to get on board with the rest of us. IMO, most importantly though is for you and your coaches to be as involved as you can and on the same page with the sport psychologist so that you can implement the techniques and strategies that are introduced to your team. The more you do the techniques the better it works! Good Luck

HOW TO IMPLEMENT A MENTRAL TRAINING PROGRAM

The local paper of the Alabama Crimson Tide recently published an excellent practical article on how to implement a mental training program in an often-resistant athletic environment.

Although the program was for football, the approach can be applied to any team sport.

The mental training was presented in several different ways to get key points across. The main components of the program included:

1. USING FACILITATORS:
UA support staff members were trained to administer the program but, after the 2008 season, players also were tapped to carry the message. Upperclassmen became facilitators. It created leadership that coach was wanting to have on the team. It started with the individual and built to the team. Players listened to their peers.

2. BELIEF SYSTEM:
In short, perceived self-efficacy is concerned not with the number of skills that you have, but with what you believe you can do with what you have under a variety of circumstances. Alabama players had to learn to expand their belief in what they could do and break down the mental barriers that limited them.

3. TEAM AFFIRMATIONS:
Alabama players were charged with the task of putting together a team affirmation - a positive assertion repeated by players to keep them focused on all the small things needed to achieve the long-term goal of a national title.

The team settled on including 100-percent effort and accountability as part of the affirmation. The offense and defense each contributed a paragraph, with the offense choosing to strive to be capable of an explosive play on any given snap and the defense settling on never giving up an inch.

4. PHYSICAL TEST:
All of Alabama's mental conditioning work culminated in a series of runs on a sweltering day in July. The team was challenged to sprint 1.625 miles in a series of 110-yard dashes. The point was to instill in UA players a sense that they were doing more and working harder than any opponent they would face.

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editorial staff, sportsvisionmagazine.com
- training visual, cognitive and intelligence skills

Speaking of sports psychologists............

Ken Raiviza (sp), a noted sports psychologist, has been spotted in the UCLA duggout during games. Wonder if he'll accompany them to the CWS in Omaha. Seems like it worked for them!

Brain Cain was working with TCU.....seems to be paying off for them.