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Struggling athletes find secret to success is all in their heads
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By Kristen Haunss
Sun-Sentinel
February 15, 2005
Vince Spadea had quite a streak going -- eight months and 21 matches without a
win. After peaking at the No. 19 ranking on the ATP Tour during the 1999 season,
the Boca Raton resident started experiencing tough times and quickly fell to No.
237.
In 2001, he decided to seek help. He had heard of sport psychology and read some
books on the subject but was skeptical. After reassurances that the field wasn't
taboo, he relented and for two years worked with West Palm Beach-based John
Murray, concentrating on visualization as well as relaxation and breathing
techniques.
Spadea is back, having finished the 2004 season ranked No. 19, and was a member
of the U.S. Olympic tennis team. Although he no longer sees Murray, he said he
continues to utilize some of the techniques he learned.
"Anytime you have reinforcement ... it gives you confidence. Different aspects
improve," Spadea said. "You go over all of the details in your tennis agendas,
mental goals and mental skills, areas that are really important in life.
Guidelines and encouragement are things I don't know if anyone can use enough
of."
In an age of quick gimmicks, flashy products and infomercials promising to make
you stronger, happier, quicker and thinner, it's easy to get wrapped up in hype.
But for some athletes looking for that extra edge -- dropping a second off their
race time, hitting the ball a couple of extra feet, putting flawlessly -- the
difference could be in their heads.
"You can have the best equipment, can be highly trained, but if you can't pull
out your best performance when it counts, the other stuff doesn't matter," said
Kirsten Peterson, a sport psychologist with the U.S. Olympic Committee.
Sports psychologists can help athletes with their on-field efforts and off-field
concerns and with the emotions that accompany injuries. They help athletes learn
to focus in high-stress situations and can help teams work on cohesion and
communication, all skills transferable to life outside sports.
Some also advise businesses and corporations.
It is uncertain how many sport psychologists there are in the United States, but
the two most prominent sport psychology organizations -- the Association for the
Advancement of Applied Sport Psychology and Division 47 of the American
Psychological Association -- have about 2,170 full-time members combined.
As the field has increased in prominence and respectability in the past 10 to 15
years, it has attracted the attention of prominent players and teams in major
professional leagues, including the Marlins and the Dolphins, as well as the
U.S. women's national soccer team. Sport psychology has also found a legion of
disciples in Olympians. In research conducted by sport psychologist Dan Gould in
conjunction with the USOC, 180 Olympic athletes and 30 Olympic coaches said
sport psychology was one of the greatest factors in their success at the Sydney
Games in 2000.
"It is absolutely an area that gets neglected by many athletes and coaches,"
said Kimiko Soldati, the 2004 U.S. 3-meter diving champion, who has worked with
USOC sport psychologist Peter Haberl, for two years. "When you get to the
Olympic trials, the Olympic Games, everyone is physically trained and at the top
of their sport. Who mentally can handle the pressure and not get caught up in
outside things [will be successful.]"
Growing acceptance
Many athletes do not talk about their work with sport psychologists and, because
of patient confidentiality laws, it is difficult to know when they were first
used or how many athletes have used one.
According to Frank Webbe, president of Division 47, Coleman Griffith of the
University of Illinois is considered the father of North American sport
psychology. He first did a major assessment of personality factors for the
Chicago Cubs in the early 1920s.
However, it was not until the 1960s that modern sports psychology consulting
began with Bruce Ogilvie of San Jose State University describing the cause of
athletes' problems.
Over the next 40 years, more athletes have come forward to acknowledge their
work with a sports psychologist. Members of the 1984 U.S. Olympic team said
sports psychology contributed to their success, and in 1991 the work of Atlanta
Braves pitcher John Smoltz with Jack Llewellyn was highly publicized.
Current athletes are seeing and receiving the benefits of sport psychology, in
part because the stigma of leather couches and shrinks has been removed. But who
are these "head doctors" and what do they do?
"I want to improve overall well- being," said Murray, who has worked with
members of the Dolphins. "I want that person to be more passionate, more
content. I want to help that person grow as an individual and I also want to
help that person gain greater success."
After an initial evaluation that offers verbal and written feedback, Murray and
a client discuss recent performances and the mental aspects related to them.
Then they engage in visualization exercises and goal setting.
"Part of our job is to help them focus on things they can control, whether it is
their performance or preparation," said Doug Gardner, who has worked with the
Green Bay Packers and the Boston Red Sox. "Athletes sometimes focus too much on
the outcome or end result of what they want and they lose sight of the little
things they do or have always done to give them the opportunity to have
success."
Gardner's sessions generally last about 90 minutes and take place at a sporting
venue such as a basketball court or baseball field.
He wants athletes to have accountability for their actions and spends much of an
initial session asking questions, forcing athletes to think.
Finding the focus
Cincinnati Reds pitcher Josh Hancock is a believer.
"I tell him more than I tell my girlfriend," Hancock said of Gardner. "You don't
look at him as a sport psychologist, you look at him as a friend and that's
always been the most important thing to me."
Hancock and Gardner met when both were with Boston, but their relationship has
grown as Hancock bounced between the minor leagues and the majors.
"When I start getting into a rhythm in pitching, where I'm doing good, I'll stop
doing the things I need to do and just start coasting," Hancock said. "So I'll
call him up. The one thing he's always taught me -- when I'm out there pitching
and things are racing through my mind -- is to focus on one pitch at a time, one
hitter at a time. He makes me realize I know the stuff, he just has a way of
bringing it out."
Hancock started nine games and pitched in three more with the Reds after being
traded by the Philadelphia Phillies this season. He finished with a 4.45 ERA.
The previous two seasons he had pitched in only five games.
Like Gardner's work with Hancock, a portion of sports psychology helps athletes
separate themselves from distractions and the stress of competition. Another
aspect of sports psychology is identifying what elements and feelings lead to a
successful performance.
Soldati and teammate Laura Wilkinson, a 2000 and 2004 Olympic platform diving
gold medalist, said a lot of their work with Haberl is spent preparing so every
possible scenario is accounted for. He also helped Soldati identify what
elements helped her perform well. Was she having fun? Was she upbeat? What type
of music was she listening to?
When she recognized that, she was able to replicate those feelings in meets.
Soldati also identified the negative thoughts that hurt her diving: fear,
anxiety, worrying about results. Being able to separate and control those
thoughts in stressful situations has been crucial for her, she said.
Another aspect of sports psychology involves imagery and visualizations, or
picturing how you want to perform.
Colleen Hacker has been the sports psychology consultant for the U.S. women's
soccer team for nine years. Using DVDs and CDs, she has been able to help the
team with imagery. To motivate the players, a DVD might be made up of quick
vignettes from the movies Rocky, Hoosiers and The Legend of Bagger Vance. The
individualized CDs take players through key performances they will need to make
during a game.
Similarly, Mary Ellen Clark, a two-time Olympic bronze medalist in platform
diving and former Fort Lauderdale resident, had a tape she would watch. It was a
video of her successfully completing dives in the order she would perform them
during competition.
Off-field issues
Another area many athletes discuss with sports psychologists is their life
outside the arena, believing that what happens off the field can greatly affect
what happens on the field. Many sport psychologists say they spend about 50
percent of their sessions talking about this other area of athletes' lives.
"Trying to deal with a guy's real problems as people, not just ballplayers --
could be arbitration, could be free agency, could be a death in the family --
[is important]," said Harvey Dorfman, who has worked with the Marlins and is
contracted for clients of agent Scott Boras. "If you never get to that, it's
like taking an aspirin when you're suffering from cancer."
Marlins reliever Tim Spooneybarger, a client of Boras who has worked with
Dorfman and Don Carman, said that a lot of his time has been spent talking about
issues off the field and how to deal with people in the game.
Missing much of the past two seasons with an injury, he has discussed with
Carman the frustrations of dealing with being away from the game. He said his
confidence has improved and he is ready to use some of the principles he has
learned this season.
"Pitching is probably 95 percent confidence," he said. "I've realized, as a
reliever, that if you come in with confidence, that's what gets people out."
Jose Cruz Jr., an outfielder for the Arizona Diamondbacks, began working with
Jim Fannin in hopes of becoming more consistent. Two years later, he said he has
seen an improvement in his personal life; he spends more time with his family
and kids.
Sports psychology is not for everyone, however.
Hall of Fame golfer Beth Daniel, a Delray Beach resident, said she is not a huge
fan of the field because she has seen too many psychologists try to change a
player's game.
But Daniel found the right fit in Boca Raton-based Rick Jensen, whom she has
worked with for three years.
"I think [athletes] should look for someone who works with what they want to do,
not only in terms of the game, but in life," said Daniel. "You sometimes work
with someone and they try to tell you what to do and how to play your sport.
That's probably not a good match. You need to find someone that is a good match
... and then it works very, very well."
Gardner said a few reasons coaches and athletes do not see the merits of sports
psychology involve the negative stigma attached to the term psychology,
oversimplification of the field and the use of unqualified individuals.
"Hire a moron and then there is a belief that the entire field is full of
morons," he said.
At the college level, only a few schools have full-time sports psychologists,
including Penn State, Oklahoma, Ohio State and Washington State. Boston
University recently created a Sport Psychology Services Unit.
"I don't think you could ever take the student out of student-athlete. Likewise,
I don't think you could take the athlete out of student-athlete," said Dave
Yukelson, the Penn State sport psychologist of 16 years. "There are a variety of
different issues. I just try to separate that. You walk into practice, it's time
to be the ultimate athlete. You leave practice and put on school [mode], and it
is time to dedicate yourself to your studies. Then you go out and enjoy yourself
as a person with your friends. That is really what my role is -- to try and
maintain balance between those three different [areas]."
Jennifer Carter, who runs the sports psychology program at Ohio State, said she
and two colleagues saw about one out of every six athletes for individual
counseling sessions last school year. Sometimes it was to talk about performance
enhancement. Other times it was for depression, eating disorders or relationship
problems.
Working with collegians
No Florida school has a full-time sports psychologist, although some teams have
used them. Murray recently spoke to athletes at Florida Atlantic. Miami football
coach Larry Coker said his team meets about once a month with Kevin Elko, who
worked with the Dolphins. Barry's teams utilize assistant professor Gualberto
Cremades, whom golf coach Jimmy Stobs credits for much of his team's turnaround
-- from No. 99 in Division II to No. 8 in two years.
Teams at Florida, Florida State and Nova Southeastern also have used one.
Sports psychologists are expensive and a relatively new phenomenon, so many
schools may be slow to add a full-time staff member.
Fannin charges $30,000 per year, or $7,500 per day with a 30-day phone and
e-mail follow-up for a one-on-one session. If an individual decides to continue
working with Fannin, that fee can be applied to a full year of coaching. Fannin
said that a seminar for multiple people could cost about $12,500. For those who
can't afford the individualized attention, Fannin offers a one-year online
tutorial for $95 and CDs for $29.99.
An individual meeting with Murray would cost $450 for an initial evaluation that
lasts about two hours. Rates for teams vary based on travel and other factors.
But for some athletes, it's worth it.
"It keeps you from thinking about the negatives," golfer Donna Andrews said.
"It helps you think more positive, picture a positive shot, picture where you
want the ball to finish. It really helps you finish on the positive."
Copyright (c) 2005, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
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