As one of a number of solid educational resources in Sport Psychology, Jack’s annual workshop covers a gamut of issues for the current as well as potential future practitioner in this field. Some take-home highlights of the workshop:

1) Who (might) practices in this field? Licensed clinical/counseling psychologists who have gained the additional knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA’s) to practice in sport psychology (see ethics/qualifications below) may augment their practice with this type of consulting. These are the people that can legitimately use the title “Sport Psychologist.” Imagine clients who seek you out and are highly motivated to comply with necessary assignments and goals. Sport Psychology would appropriately and naturally wed with I/O Psychology for practitioners on either side of the I/O coin. Sport Psychology methods are wholly appropriate for individual as well as group/organizational development and certainly “performance” counts in the workplace too. For those without licensing (many I/O people) but possessing appropriate KSA’s and other qualifications/credentials to perform this type of counseling, the title “Performance Consultant” (or something similar) may be appropriate.

2) Jack provided a comprehensive multi-faceted Sport Psychology model replete with theoretical/research underpinnings, assessment instruments for individual as well as group, and specific as well as general interventions and treatments. I will not attempt to convey the rich detail of this aspect of the workshop (see the Ohio Center for Sport Psych. website noted above) here, but I believe these would have been wonderful tools when we worked with UA sport teams a few years ago.

3) Potential Sport Psych. business models including marketing methods were discussed in detail.

4)Ethics/Qualifications/Credentials and more information;
Of course there are others in the field, but it would seem that being a member of and compliant with these two organizations would be minimally and ethically desirable to anyone wishing to practice Sport Psychology.
a) APA Division 47 Sport and Exercise Psychology. This APA division has developed excellent proficiency criteria for practice in this field but as yet no certification program.
b) AASP, Association for Applied Sport Psychology (appliedsportpsych.org). This highly regarded organization offers a Certified Consultant certification program.

Now of course, in this context, I can only offer summary highlights from this two-day workshop that I found salient. I could not begin to relate all that Jack shared from his 20-plus years of experience in providing Sport Psychology services in the context of his practice.

Finally, I’d like to mention the special presenter we were honored to experience; Dr. Charlie Maher. He is renowned for his work with numerous professional sport teams such as the Cleveland Indians and the fact that he is one of a small handfull of Sport Psychology practitioners whose livelihood/practice is fully devoted to Sport Psychology (and quite successfully). Charlie’s presentation was refreshing to anyone seeking an antidote to the all-too-often staid approach in academia. In fact his being a native New-Yorker I could not help but think that, with his speech and overall demeanor, he could compellingly portray one of the legendary Westies (Irish-American gangsters from Hell’s Kitchen, NY). Please forgive me for this analogy Charlie–I have a very active imagination. Jack also revealed to we attendees who he is planning to have as his special presenter in next year’s workshop. I think this speaker will be very exciting, but I’ll leave it up to Jack to let that cat out of the bag when he’s ready to do so.

Looking for a way to turn off qualified applicants in one easy step? The City of Bozeman, MT may have put its finger on it. Turns out they have had–for several years–a requirement that all applicants seeking a position with the City must, after a conditional job offer that required a background check, turn over their ID and passwords for all social networks they’re on, including Facebook and Twitter. After a firestorm of criticism, they decided to suspend the policy pending “a more comprehensive evaluation.”

As working fathers face increased financial pressure, fewer are willing to give up the traditional breadwinner role. Thirty-one percent of working dads said they would leave their jobs if their spouse or significant other’s income could comfortably support the entire family, down from 37 percent in 2008 and 49 percent in 2005 .  Working dads continue to explore different options that would free up more time to spend with their families. Despite a tough economy, 30 percent said they are willing to take a pay cut to spend more time with their children, down from 37 percent in 2008. Forty percent would consider a cut of 10 percent or more.

The above suggests that work-life balance remains an important issue and not just for working women. However, traditional issues such as job security and pay never go away either.

10th Annual Sport Psychology Professional Training Workshop
Date: June 26-27, 2009

“Developing Your Knowledge, Skills, and Practice in Sport Psychology”, an intensive workshop, will be conducted by the Ohio Center for Sport Psychology, June 26-27, 2009, Friday and Saturday, at the Courtyard by Marriott, Middleburg Hts., OH, a suburb of Cleveland. The program is designed for mental health and sport science professionals and students who are interested in starting or expanding practices in sport psychology. The workshop will be conducted by Jack J. Lesyk, Ph.D., author of Developing Sport Psychology Within Your Clinical Practice. For additional information check the center’s website www.SportPsych.org or contact Dr. Lesyk at (216) 575-6175 or jjlesyk@SportPsych.org.

Camille Noe Pagan has written an interesting article on driving for women for Forbes magazine. You can check it out here. According to Pagan, “Automobile accidents are the leading cause of death in women under the age of 35, according to the Centers for Disease Control, and are also a major cause of traumatic brain injury and fatality in women of all ages.”

Of course, what makes the article most interesting is that she cites me and some recent research. We are currently looking at whether defining yourself as a good driver actually increases the risk that you will respond with aggressive driving. Will update you with the final results of that study, when it is finished.