Spring 2012 Newsletter - Association for Applied Sport Psychology

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when developing a position description. One such initiative the AASP Executive Board already executed in 2006 was to request that the management company mail a letter to all NCAA D-I athletic directors (ADs) along with a magnet ADs could place in a prominent location on their desk or filing cabinet. The face of the magnet included contact information for the AASP organization along with a bulleted list of four things ADs should do before hiring a sport psychology consultant. These recommendations were as follows: • THINK about what services you want from a consultant • LOOK for a consultant with the necessary training and experience • ASK for the consultant’s credentials • TALK to athletes and coaches who have worked with the consultant The accompanying letter contained similar guidelines with more detailed information. Put simply, ADs were encouraged to identify the types of sport psychology services their athletes and coaches were interested in, determine whether a prospective consultant had the appropriate training and competencies to deliver those services, and obtain supporting documentation of the consultant’s credentials before making a final decision. It seems to me that a potentially fruitful way AASP might respond to the problem of inconsistencies in current position descriptions would be to repeat that earlier initiative, but also include information for persons interested in developing job announcements. When the AD at the University of Tennessee (UT) decided to create a full-time position in the athletic department in 2001, he followed the AASP recommendations and secured the THINK about what services you want from a consultant LOOK for a consultant with the necessary training and experience ASK for the consultant’s credentials TALK to athletes and coaches who have worked with the consultant services of a consultant capable of delivering the kind of services athletes and coaches were interested in and had become accustomed to receiving. The person hired for that job (Dr. Joe Whitney) holds a Ph.D. in Kinesiology with a specialization in Sport Psychology (for more about Whitney’s role in the athletic department go to http://utsports.tv/shows/the-mentalgame/). Whitney’s title is “Director of Mental Training,” and his office is located in the athletic complex where he does performance consulting and works closely with other qualified support personnel (including athletic trainers, strength and conditioning staff, clinical counselors, nutritional counselors, etc.) to provide various forms of assistance for UT’s student-athletes. Concern #3. Prospective [job] applicants find themselves confused and frustrated when their training does not seem to coincide with the posting’s minimum qualifications and responsibilities This “concern” is a bit troubling to me. It almost sounds like “confused and frustrated” applicants are willing to do whatever it takes to obtain a full-time consulting job at the NCAA D-I level. During the years I served on the sport psychology faculty at UT, I would always ask prospective Ph.D. students to “tell me what it is you would like to do with athletes if you ever get the opportunity to work with them.” If the student said that he/ she wanted to be able to provide every form of mental and emotional assistance possible for athletes, from alcohol/drug counseling to performance enhancement, I would encourage the individual to apply to other AASP Newsletter // Spring 2012 // Re-Thinking the Connection between Education and Practice in Sport Psychology 10 In This Issue Visit us Online: www.appliedsportpsych.org
programs that might equip him/her with the necessary credentials for doing all those things. If, however, the student said that he/she was primarily interested in helping athletes achieve the focus and composure necessary to perform at their best on a consistent basis in practices and competitions, I suggested that UT might be a good fit for them because the primary focus of our program has always been performance psychology. Since 1990, the majority of Ph.D. graduates have obtained faculty positions in sport psychology at the collegiate level. Some of those people have also developed relationships with their respective athletic departments and provided part-time performance consulting for athletes and teams. Other graduates have obtained fulltime performance consulting positions with sport organizations like IMG Academies and the USA Ski and Snowboard Association or with collegiate athletic departments. The next Deputy Director of the Center for Enhanced Performance at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point is currently completing his Ph.D. requirements. In the past several years, six of our M.S. graduates have also obtained staff positions with the Army’s Comprehensive Soldier Fitness – Performance and Resilience Enhancement Program (CSF-PREP). I hope students who looked at UT but chose to attend different programs that would equip them to achieve their career goals are experiencing Rather than endorsing a single model of graduate training for all future students in sport psychology, I feel that AASP needs to maintain its current position of openness to persons with primary training in either of the current models (i.e., Kinesiology or Psychology). similar satisfaction in their current jobs. Concluding Comment Rather than endorsing a single model of graduate training for all future students in sport psychology, I feel that AASP needs to maintain its current position of openness to persons with primary training in either of the current models (i.e., Kinesiology or Psychology). At the same time, I think AASP could do some things to facilitate more fruitful discussion of this issue. For example, we might offer more conference sessions that enable presenters to explain the various components of their respective graduate programs, describe the kinds of experiences that students receive, and provide more details about the jobs that graduates are obtaining. It would also be beneficial to provide a session or two that includes a panel of current or prospective recipients of performance psychology services (e.g., athletic administrators, coaches, athletes, performers in non-sport domains), so AASP members could hear what these people say they are looking for in a consultant. In conclusion, while I respect the opinions expressed in the article published in the Fall 2011 issue of the AASP Newsletter, I’m not convinced the model that was proposed represents the best “next step” for connecting education and practice in performance psychology. My hope is that the discussion will continue, that future debates regarding graduate training or other important issues of interest to AASP members will be open and respectful, and that diversity will continue to be a strength of our organization. References Kornspan, A.S., & Duve, M.A. (2006). A niche and a need: A summary of the need for sport psychology consultants in collegiate sports. Annals of the American Psychotherapy Association, 19(7), 1-12. Voight, M., & Callaghan, J. (2001). The use of sport psychology services at NCAA Division I universities from 1998 - 1999. The Sport Psychologist, 15, 91-102. Wilson, K.A., Gilbert, J.N., Gilbert, W.D., & Sailor, S.R. (2009). College athletic directors’ perceptions of sport psychology consulting. The Sport Psychologist, 23, 405-424. AASP Newsletter // Spring 2012 // Re-Thinking the Connection between Education and Practice in Sport Psychology 11 In This Issue Visit us Online: www.appliedsportpsych.org
Page 1 and 2: Spring 2012 Newsletter Volume 27 //
Page 3 and 4: President’s Message Jack J. Lesyk
Page 5 and 6: Attendance at the Commission’s an
Page 7 and 8: Editor’s Note Sarah Carson, Ph.D.
Page 9: Concern #1. There is a wide array o
Page 13 and 14: interacting with the world around u
Page 15 and 16: Using Cooperative Learning in the S
Page 17 and 18: we used the information the groups
Page 19 and 20: About Atlanta Atlanta is home to CN
Page 21 and 22: last two years, I have served as a
Page 23 and 24: Q: What do you find most rewarding
Page 25 and 26: Culturally Safe Research Praxis Rob
Page 27 and 28: of meaningful methodological approa
Page 29 and 30: past decade. Professional members w
Page 31 and 32: another initiative to establish the
Page 33 and 34: on their own. Therefore, they decid
Page 35 and 36: Student Report Stephen Gonzalez, M.

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