Sports Mastery

Need for Mental Health Services in Sport

1.Prevalence of clinical issues in sport

*Anxiety, depression, eating disorders *Personality challenges/disorders *Issues with identity *Consequences of concussion history

2. How current structure of sport influences the need for services on all levels.

*Multi-billion dollar industry *Pressure to succeed + stress *Life demands vs. sport demands

3. Social perspective and expectations of the "athlete"

*How can we best service athletes at all levels. *Approaches and best practices *Rise of Clinical Sport Psychology *Clinical training vs. Sports Science vs. Knowledge in Both

In the fall of 2019, the NCAA decided to allow college athletes to earn compensation — but it says it's only starting to work out the details of how that would take place. The organization's board of governors said that it had voted unanimously to permit student-athletes to benefit from the use of their name, image and likeness.

"We must embrace change to provide the best possible experience for college athletes," said Michael Drake, the NCAA board chair who is also president of Ohio State University. In a statement, Drake stressed the need for "additional flexibility" in the NCAA's approach.

Drake added, "This modernization for the future is a natural extension of the numerous steps NCAA members have taken in recent years to improve support for student-athletes, including full cost of attendance and guaranteed scholarships."

SPORTS California Governor Signs Bill Allowing College Athletes To Profit From Endorsements

The NCAA, the national governing body for collegiate athletics, said its decision followed input over the past few months from "current and former student-athletes, coaches, presidents, faculty and commissioners across all three divisions.”

Notably, the decision follows California's adoption of a law that bans schools in the state from preventing student-athletes from accepting compensation from advertisers and allows them to hire agents. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the legislation late last month, calling it the "beginning of a national movement.”

Indeed, it did spark a trend. Politicians in Illinois, New York, Florida and other states have introduced bills allowing endorsement deals for college athletes. And days after the California bill was signed, national politicians signaled they would push for something similar in Congress.

Amid this groundswell of political support for paying college athletes, the NCAA has quickly eased its public resistance to the idea. After initially pushing back hard on California's measure, the NCAA has recently been taking a more conciliatory tone, suggesting it would "move forward with ongoing efforts to make adjustments" to the organization's practices.

The NCAA has reported annual revenues topping $1 billion, largely on the strength of TV rights and marketing fees connected with its most prominent sports and events, such as the highly lucrative Division 1 men's basketball tournament.

And though the organization long argued that it was converting those revenues into scholarships and other opportunities for students, that line had lately attracted prominent skeptics — such as NFL cornerback Richard Sherman and NBA superstar LeBron James.

 In this episode, Angela R. Lewis discusses

• The Female Presence In Sports
• College Recruiting Process
• Distractions
• Time Management

Angela has traveled the country giving presentations at colleges, universities, k-12 schools and conferences. Given Angela’s global experiences she offers insightful keynotes addresses, workshops, panel discussions and seminars. She has also served as a consultant for various educational institutions regarding community development.

Partial List of Past Events Include:

I Define Me Girls Summit

Florida State University Athletics

St. Louis University

University of Missouri St. Louis

Riverview Gardens High School

National Youth Summit on Justice, Education and Economics

SETTING GOALS IS NOT YOUR PROBLEM

THE SECRET IS DOING

Do. Or do not. There is no try. - YODA, THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK

It turns out that "JUST DO IT" is pretty shitty advice. It might make for a good marketing tag line and it's certainly one of the most commonly shrieked instructions from exasperated coaches, parents, and teachers, but the scientific reality is that this call to action is almost always ineffective. In fact, some evidence suggests that it can actually undermine motivation, confidence, and enjoyment. The sentiment behind just do it is perfectly well intentioned - stop overthinking it, stop talking about it, stop procrastinating, and stop forcing me to keep asking you to take action.

We must turn our thoughts, ideas, and goals into action.

A goal: An aim or action usually with a specific time limit. So having a specific timeline is important for goal setting.

SMART goal (Specific, Measureable, Achievable/Adjustable, Realistic, Time (time-dependent))

Why athletes benefit from setting goals:

Increase performance – goals give focus and directs efforts. Performance can increase when goals have been set

Increase positive thoughts – athlete sees himself make progress towards a goal, he/she is likey to have positive reactions

Increase confidence – as challenging and realistic goals are completed, helps create stronger beliefs that the athlete/performer can cont to move forward

Types of goals in sport psychology:

Outcome goals: goals related to the desired result of a competition (i.e., winning the game) Athlete has not control over this

Performance goal: refers to athletes performance in relation to previous performance (i.e., improving free-throw shot from 70% to 80%Athlete has more so control over this

Process goals: how an athlete performs a particular skill. These goals usually focus on practice or training (i.e., a batter keeping his eye on the ball) Under athletes control

So basically it’s important for athletes to essentially focus on process and performance goals because these are under their control. Ultimately focusing on these goals gets them to the outcome goal. -- The brave athlete Saying just do it is pretty silly advice or as the Brave Athlete books states, in ch. 4 “Setting goals is not your problem,” it’s pretty shitty advice.

The just do it can be a challenge and can undermine motivation. Most things in life, it’s easy to know what to do but to actually do it is the hard part!

The best way to mobilize the what, how, and do is goal setting! Most folks have an understanding of the important of goal setting – given that we are all human and carry a brain we are wired to be goal oriented. For example, our brain naturally gives us basic goals to accomplish like stay alive, eat, sleep.

References

Cheadle, C. (2017). Week 4 goal setting [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from Lecture Notes Online Website: https://www.nu.blackboard.com/

Marshall, J. S., & Paterson, L. (2017). The Brave Athlete: Calm the f*ck down and rise to the occasion. Boulder, CO: Velopress.

I DON'T THINK I CAN

Building Confidence & Self-Belief

Whether you think you can, or you think you can't - you're right.

Henry Ford

Self-confidence is the psychological wonder drug! Everything improves when an athlete's confidence is high. Athletes with high confidence feel less anxious, relish adversity, set higher goals, try harder, tolerate more exertional pain, feel more in control, are more optimistic and enthusiastic, and do better under pressure. They also give less of a $#!+ when things don't go according to plan. And these are just outcomes that have been studied extensively.

KEY TERMS:

Self-Confidence - A feeling of trust in one's abilities, qualities, and judgement.

Self-Esteem - Confidence in one's own worth or abilities; self respect

Self-Efficacy - Refers to an individual's confidence in in their ability to complete a task of achieve a goal.

Self-Worth - is based on deeply held feelings about your true value & worth as a person.

What's the single-most -important psychological skill for an athlete to possess? It isn't motivation, tenacity, optimism, concentration, or attitude - it's SELF-CONFIDENCE, the belief that you can succeed.

YOU NEED TO HARDEN THE F*CK UP

Learn To Embrace Life When It Sucks

Alaskans might have 50 words for snow, but athletes have 51 words for suffering. One thing that sets most athletes apart from others is that their success depends in large part on their ability to tolerate exertional discomfort. Its a fancy way of describing the personal suffering that comes from increasing practice, training, or exercise intensity. The harder you push, the more it hurts. All other factors being equal, the one who can suffer the most will rise through the ranks of competition. If you're new to athletics, you need to learn the difference between pain and suffering.

Stay tuned as we explain both.

Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, success achieved.

- Helen Keller

RESISTING THE URGE TO QUIT

We've all been there. You've started a new training routine, joined a new team, learned a new position, or just something that is uncharted and challenging. Buoyed by adrenaline, motivation, and pride, everything seems to be going fine; perhaps you're even enjoying things. And then without much warning, things start heading south. The discomfort feels worse than normal, or perhaps the motivation to keep getting up early begins to wane. For some, it's the just the boredom of doing the same thing over and over again. Perhaps you don't actually stop but you mentally throw in the towel. You ease up or let the other athlete next to you win the sprints in team conditioning. It feels to hard to stay with him. You go into coast mode, even though you've got more in the tank. before long you just want it all to stop. The argument in your head gets louder and louder as parts of your brain frantically try to cut deals with other parts of your brain to avoid bailing or permitting your body to ease up or come to a grinding halt.

Stay tuned as we provide solutions and fixes on "resisting the urge to quit."

Trigger warning: This story explores suicide, including the details of how the author’s mother took her own life. If you are at risk, please stop here and contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline for support. 800-273-8255

Many people may not show any signs of intent to harm themselves before doing so, but some actions can be a sign that a person needs help. People in crisis may show behaviors that indicate a risk of self-harm. The following can all be warning signs:

Appearing sad or depressed most of the time Hopelessness; feeling like there’s no way out Anxiety, agitation, sleeplessness, or mood swings Feeling as if there is no reason to live Feeling excessive guilt, shame, or sense of failure Rage or anger Engaging in risky activities without thinking Losing interest in hobbies, work, or school Increasing alcohol or drug misuse Neglecting personal welfare; a deteriorating physical appearance Withdrawing from family and friends Showing violent behavior, like punching a hole in the wall or getting into fights Giving away prized possessions Getting affairs in order, tying up loose ends, or writing a will

The following signs require immediate attention:

Thinking about hurting or killing yourself Looking for ways to kill yourself Talking about death, dying, or suicide Self-destructive behavior such as drug abuse, weapons, etc.

IF YOU DON’T LIKE THE OUTCOMES YOU ARE CURRENTLY GETTING, THERE ARE TWO BASIC CHOICES YOU CAN MAKE.

1. You can blame the event (E) for your lack of results (O). In other words, you can blame the referee, the weather, a teammate, your parents, the coaching staff, racism, gender bias, the lack of support, the political climate, the system, and so on. If you’re a golfer, you’ve probably even blamed your clubs and the course MAKE THE MOST OF SETBACKS

E (event) + R (response) = O (outcome) The basic idea is that every outcome you experience in life (whether it is success or failure, wealth or poverty, health or illness, intimacy or estrangement, joy or frustration) is the result of how you have responded to an earlier event or events in your life. No doubt all these factors do exist, but if they were the deciding factor, nobody would ever succeed.

Lots of people overcome these so-called limiting factors, so it can’t be the limiting factors that limit you. It is not the external conditions and circumstances that stop you –it is you! We stop ourselves! We think limiting thoughts and engage in self-defeating behaviors. We defend our destructive habits (such as drinking and recreational drugs) with indefensible logic. We ignore useful feedback, fail to continuously educate ourselves and learn new skills, waste time on trivial aspects of our lives, engage in idle gossip, eat unhealthy food, fail to train, fail to study, avoid necessary conflict, fail to tell the truth-- -and then wonder why our lives don’t work. But this, by the way, is what most people do. They place the blame for everything that isn’t the way they want it on outside events and circumstances. They have an excuse for everything.

2. You can instead simply change your responses (R) to the events (E) ---the way things are ---until you get the outcomes (O) you want. You can change your thinking, change your communication, change the pictures you hold in your head (your images of yourself and the world) ---and you can change your behavior---the things you do. This is all you really have control over anyway. Unfortunately, most of us are so run by our habits that we never change our behavior. We get stuck in our conditioned responses. We are a bundle of conditioned reflexes that operate outside of our control. You have to regain control of your thoughts, your images, your dreams and daydreams, and your behavior. Everything you think, say, and do needs to become intentional and aligned with your purpose, your values, and your goals.

Confidence in Sports

Confidence defined: Believing that you can successfully perform a desired behavior or act. For example: “I have confidence to perform that jump shot.”Confidence actually has a direct correlation/link to success, but not saying they cause one another – instead there is a relationship between the two.

Another definition of confidence: A person’s belief that they can do whatever it takes to be successful In their sport (Williams & Krane, 2014, p. 275)

Confident athletes and even any performer believes in themselves, their ability to handle tasks and challenges – often you can see their confidence by the way they walk, their demeanor or body language.

Building confidence: How? Before we begin on the how… confidence does not happen by chance instead athlete/performer/individual goes through a process at which athlete must commit and persist.

Goals, strategies, and focus needs to be set, but first an athlete needs to choose confidence. Also take advantage of mental skills like goal setting, positive self-talk and imagery to name a few. Basically, fostering confidence should be a goal or focus.

Strategies to build confidence:

1. Preparation 2. Recognizing athletes strengths 3. Seeing confidence modeled 4. Self-talk 5. High light video’s 6. Highlight list 7. Wins, but also things they learned in the win

Moments they are proud of, qualities they possess...

AFFIRMATIONS: “statements that reflect positive attitudes or thoughts about themselves” (Williams & Krane, 2014, p. 295) – this helps foster confidence and create strong positive beliefs about themselves.

Example: I am strong; I am ready; I perform well under pressure.

References William, J. & Krane, V. (2014). Applied sport psychology: Personal growth to peak performance (7th ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill Education.