Sport Psychology Consultant

[spconsultant]

Hi Golfers,

My name is Vania and I am a graduate student in the University of Ottawa's Masters of Human Kinetics program. A requirement of the program is to gain hands-on experience through free consulting sessions. If you are interested in improving the mental aspect of your game, don't hesitate and email me today!

Vania Hau

[LobWedge]

PM sent...

[nokids]

Please analyze Donny.

[Steve_Oakey]

PM Sent...

[DenisO]

Does anyone want to explain what a sports psychology consultant would be doing with a golfer? Are there drills or something to make you think positively?

[nokids]

Does anyone want to explain what a sports psychology consultant would be doing with a golfer? Are there drills or something to make you think positively?

maybe she can prescribe ritalin.

[adam]

Does anyone want to explain what a sports psychology consultant would be doing with a golfer? Are there drills or something to make you think positively?

Sports psychology will help you with being in the right frame of mind to play competitive sports. Some people (ie. Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky, Tom Brady) are unflappable and don't need psychologists to help them visualize knocking down a jumper with 0.7s left, throwing a perfect pass on 4th and goal or making everyone else on the ice look just plain stupid on your way to an overtime winner.
As far as golf goes, just watch Tin Cup for the extreme case of where golf psychology is needed.
Can't be thinking about the getting the cart girl's number if you're gonna sink a 20 footer to win a certain team match play event

[Adska]

There are very few legitimate practicing "psychologists" that specialize in sport in Canada, and even less in Ottawa. The designation of psychologist is a protected shingle and reserved only for those who are fully qualified AND passed provincial licensing exams.

That being said, a sports "consultant" can help any athlete with basic psychological principles such as goal setting, attentional control, arousal reduction, etc. However, each sport has its own intricacies, and golf is no exception. Principles that will work well for say a hockey player, will not necessarily transfer over to a golfer, and may in fact be detrimental. The biggest difficulty that arises in one-on-one work is tailoring your treatment/coaching for each individual, rather than using "canned" golf clichés (e.g., Bob Rotella). Don't get me wrong, I think it's important for golfers to understand all of the basic premises of a sound mental approach... However, the implementation/drills/practice that go into incorporating these skills into your game are rarely talked about.

In my experience, every golfer wants to work on their mental game, but very few actually follow through with what it takes. Most people want a 'quick fix' - they think talking to someone once will miraculously cure their maladaptive thought processes. In reality, all established therapeutic techniques usually take a minimum of 12 sessions, spanned out over a period of months, with considerable homework being done by the client.

Lastly, mental practice is better than no practice at all, but it does not take the place of physical skills practice. Any mental work needs to be done above and beyond a regular practice regiment.

[goochy]

There are very few legitimate practicing "psychologists" that specialize in sport in Canada, and even less in Ottawa. The designation of psychologist is a protected shingle and reserved only for those who are fully qualified AND passed provincial licensing exams.

Funny you should say that, because one of the absolute legends and fathers of sport psychology is right here in Ottawa, Dr. Terry Orlick. I remember having to read his stuff "In pursuit of Excellence" etc when at Uni. in the UK

When I was playing top rugby many moons ago we had a sport psych, Alma Thomas. She was good, in a sort of "oh yeah, that makes sense" way. Just things like imagery, locus of control, routines etc...it certainly all makes sense and at a level where everyone is good and physically capable, then being menatlly "right" can certainly make a difference. She also did a lot of work on team cohesion which I remember was useful.

I would guess that in an individual and highly "mental" sport like golf then if you are serious about competing to your full potential then this stuff can definately help. Lots of it seems common sense, but you know what they say about common sense...it's not that common