Sports Psychologists

Sports Psychologists

I was finally watching the tape I made of the Worlds (CTV coverage) although I still did not get all of the coverage. Anyway, there was a segment on the benefits of sports psychologoists in figure skating. I know the Canadian team used one extensively through the 80's. Some coaches still use them when they think it's necessary. What do you folks think? Do you think Sasha would benefit from a few sports psychology sessions? Jennifer Robinson says she did and feels younger skaters would definitely benefit.

Ladskater


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Psych

Yagudin seemed happy with his. On the other hand, Brian Orser's didn't seem to do too much for him. But he had such stress from public expectations that perhaps that was too much to ask from the shrink.

Re: Sports Psychologists

DORISPULASKI :

I don't think Brian's sports psychologist had much to do with the results Brian had the Olympics. I saw Brian at Skate Canada in Victoria and he did not look well to me. I don't know if he was already feeling the stress - perhaps. The expectations were incredibly high for him. Who knows?

Ladskater

Re: Sports Psychologists

I personally think it's a crock. Down with Dr. Phil!

MM

Re: Sports Psychologists

Mathman3,

Than how do you explain Irina's great comeback? She couldn't control her nerves back in 97-99 season and almost always made major mistakes in her programs. Some of her solo triples lutz, flip and loop were really inconsistent for her. With determination and the help of a sports pschologist she made a huge turn around. She mentioned a few times that her sports psychologist had something to do with her success.

Yagudin was also incosistent at one time and he used a sports psychologist to help him out.

Re: Sports Psychologists

I definitely believe in them. However, not all sports physchologists are good. The really good ones, however, can succeed in teaching the athlete to forget about everything that is unimportant and just concentrate on doing their best. Yagudin is a very good example. And yes, I think Sasha can definitely benefit from one -- on the positive not, TT most certainly believes in them, so if she feels Sasha needs a psychologist I am sure she will invite one.

Re: Sports Psychologists

I think a lot of the results an athlete gets from working with a sports psychologist depends on how well the athlete and the psychologist relate to and understand each other--just like regular folk and psychologists.

The US is very loose in terms of who can hang out their shingle as a "therapist," everybody from MD psychiatrists to PhD psychologists to Master's level social workers to priests, pastors, etc. to people who have certificates from the official institutes specializing in the therapeutic ideas of various psychologists, ie, Freud, Jung, Rogers, Reich, u name 'em. Personally, I think some of therapeutic idealologies are more spiritual/religious in nature than anything else. IMO, any time you have one person in an authoritative role dealing with and often judging the way another person's mind works, there is always the temptation for idiotic behavior. OTOH, you never know what helps people make it through difficult situations or feel better about themselves.

IMO, the most effective sports psychologists (SPs) focus on techniques to help the athlete focus on what will help them achieve their goals. One athlete may have to focus on performance rather than winning while another may have to focus on winning rather than performance. I think SPs can also help athletes by becoming someone in whom the athlete can confide about things s/he can't discuss with anyone else--coach, family, friends, etc. But like any other human endeavor, some SPs help some athletes, some don't help, some make things worse. Also, it's not something you can measure.

Having said all that, I can't stand Dr. Phil either, although I thought he was pretty funny on Letterman. But then, I haven't seen a media psychologist or philosophy-promoter yet that I didn't think was cardboard, ie, John Bradshaw, Deepak Chopra, Wayne Dryer (sp) and their ilk. However, I think the sports psychologists doing good work with athletes every day are as important a part of training for elite athletes or those on an elite-track as physical trainers. After all, it's not only strength, endurance, and technique for the body, but also for the mind.
Rgirl

Re: Sports Psychologists

rgirl181:

Isn't it funny skaters like Karen Magnussen made it all the way to becoming World champions and Olympic champions without the aid of a sports psychologist? And those were days of figures as well! Here is a quote from Karen Magnussen about her coach Linda Brauckmann:

<blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>"I learned from Linda that there's no ego involved in coaching," Magnussen said. "You're there to be a buffer for the skater.[/quote]

If a skater can't confide in his/her coach then who can they talk to? Good coaching should also be about communication between athlete and coach.

I think sports pschologists may have a beneficial role if a skater suffers from bad nerves - but it still comes down to the skater and the coach working together. In the end its the skater out there alone - as Jennifer Robinson said they are the ones that have to do it.

Ladskater

Re: Sports Psychologists

Well, I know that Jamie and David used a sports psychologist after her SBS jump troubles at the 2000 Worlds so it must have done a great deal of good for them. Their 2000-01 season was wonderful for them. I just think it depends on the skaters. Some of them will benefit from this and others will not. It's all about the skaters knowing what is going to work for themselves.

I, for one, only need psychological help when Michelle is competing and that is only when the Tums and hands over my eyes watching the TV stop working......LOL :rollin:

Re: Sports Psychologists

<blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>I think sports pschologists may have a beneficial role if a skater suffers from bad nerves - but it still comes down to the skater and the coach working together.[/quote]
No one is disputing the importance of the coach. But look at this way: a coach may hire a seperate choreographer, a seperate jump coach, a seperate costume designer etc. So, why not hire a proffessional who can go straight to the root of the problem? Also, some coaches are more invoved in their skaters' lives than other (think TT vs. Carol), just as some athletes want more independence from their coaches than others. Every athlete is unique.

As to the skaters who made it without SPs... look at it another way: do you know how many didn't make it because of nerves but could have with some proffessional help?

Re: Sports Psychologists

Ptichka:

Skating has become a more "complicated" business than when skaters like Karen Magnussen or Barbara Ann Scott skated. In those days is it was pretty much the skater, their coach and their parents (who footed the bill for pretty much everything). Now skaters have everything - from choregraphers to managers to sponsers and sports psychologists. It's big business now.

Ladskater