THE SPORTING MIND The newsletter of the APS College of Sport Psychologists Vol. 4 (2005), Issue 2
Contents:
From the Editors– Eugene Aidman & Lydia Ievleva Message From The Chair– Peter Terry A Great Job on “The Big One”! Reflections on the 11th ISSP World Congress– Tony Morris Jeff Bond Tribute– Peter Terry Response from Jeff Bond -- Jeffrey Bond Reflections of a Visiting Scholar-- Kenneth Ravizza 11th ISSP World Congress of Sport Psychology: My Perceptions– Leonard Zaichkowsky Images from the World Congress-Competitive Anxiety: from coping to harvesting the power of stress – Eugene Aidman Professional Development News – Patsy Tremayne Student Corner– Ferry Lee Members on the Move / In the News– Upcoming Events– CoSP Executive List–
The Editorial Team
From the Editors Welcome to the year-end issue of The Sporting Mind for 2005. The major theme is, again, our showcase event of the 11th ISSP World Congress of Sport Psychology in Sydney. A few overseas delegates have offered their reflections of what turned out to be a great festival of sport psychology. From the splendid Opening Ceremony with its more than fitting tribute to Jeffrey Bond, to the closing keynote by Ken Ravizza – the Congress was a feast for the most discerning tastes, both in the science and practice of our profession. Many thanks to all who have contributed!
Eugene Aidman 08 8259 6447
[email protected]
Along with our regular features, this edition also includes a substantial Members in the News section – with a number of concerns raised, e.g., Commando Style Training for Swimmers? We invite more members to highlight such issues for comment and action; and/or share experiences and reflections related to our profession. As always, we welcome any feedback or suggestions about the newsletter, and wish you all the best for this holiday season. Lydia Ievleva 02 9973 1058
[email protected]
The Sporting Mind (2005) Volume 4, Issue 2
1
Message from the Chair By Peter Terry University of Southern Queensland
Fellow CoSP members, As another year draws to a close, it’s time to reflect back on the events of 2005 and to look forward to the challenges of a new year. It’s fair to say that the past year has been dominated by co-hosting the ISSP 11th World Congress of Sport Psychology. August saw the dream become reality, as the Congress opened its doors for business in the vibrant surroundings of Darling Harbour Convention Centre. Almost 600 delegates from more than 50 countries enjoyed a dynamic and stimulating conference, and even the sometimes fickle Sydney weather put on a big, sunny smile for the delegates, to cap off a wonderful week. The general level of excitement at the opening ceremony almost drowned out the speeches, but thankfully the assembled throng calmed down just enough to listen to the special award made on behalf of CoSP to Jeff Bond, for his exceptional contributions to the sport psychology profession. Again, I would like to thank the Organising Committee [Tony Morris (Chair), Lydia Ievleva (Congress Director), Sandy Gordon, Stephanie Hanrahan, Mary Katsikitis, Greg Kolt and Patsy Tremayne] for their efforts in making the congress such a success. Also, another vote of thanks goes to Tour Hosts, the professional conference organisers, who really proved their worth once the congress was upon us and the troubleshooting needs grew. The proceedings CD proved a big hit with delegates, being much easier to carry home than the 7-volume set of written proceedings from Skiathos in 2001. It is also proving popular with university libraries. Tony, Sandy and I are also currently working on an edited book of the Congress that includes all keynote and invited presentations. It will be published by Fitness Information Technology in mid-2006. We had a well-attended and lively AGM on 17th August in Sydney, followed by an informal social event. Next year, we have something of a dilemma about where to hold the 2006 AGM, and it looks as though we’ll be going international. According to our traditional schedule, our AGM should occur at the APS Annual Conference, which next year is being held in Auckland, New Zealand. However, there has been an unsurprising groundswell of support for the AGM to be held instead at the SMA conference in Fiji and, tempting though it is, I think we’ll have to resist that idea. Obviously, we’ll be confirming the location in due course but, at this stage, it looks like Auckland. The Visiting Scholar Scheme was resurrected this year to coincide with the World Congress. Once again, Ken Ravizza proved a very popular choice of scholar among the academic and sporting communities alike, with his anecdote-packed presentations and energetic style. Although he was not able to visit all major cities, the residents of Sydney, Adelaide and Melbourne certainly benefited from his presence. I would like to thank Greg Diment, Andrea Furst, Tony Morris, John Saunders, Lydia Ievleva, and especially Patsy Tremayne, for their help in organising the VSS this year. I would be very keen to hear from anyone who is willing to help organise the VSS in future years. Other PD activities this year happened mostly at local level, with regular events being held in Sydney, Adelaide and Brisbane, and a half-day event at the APS Annual Conference in Melbourne. Our PD coordinator, Patsy Tremayne, would welcome suggestions from CoSP members willing to organise The Sporting Mind (2005) Volume 4, Issue 2 2
PD events locally. The College will do its best on its meagre budget, to contribute financially to such events, where appropriate. I have been delighted to see greater involvement from our student members in the activities of the College this year. It was an inspiration to see so many attending the World Congress, the energy they brought to the event, and the quality of the work they presented. Michael Lloyd, as CoSP student representative, has been very effective in bringing student concerns to our Executive meetings, and has been widely praised for his efforts. Thanks Mike. I have been a frequent visitor to Melbourne this year, attending several meetings at the APS National Office on behalf of CoSP. Committee business has included a major review of the core and specific competencies for College membership, and exploring ways to streamline the College application process. You should see the benefits of these deliberations during 2006. The APS is also in the midst of revising its website offerings, and I would like to thank Eugene and Lydia for their role in that process on behalf of CoSP and, of course, for producing the newsletters this year. I would like to conclude by wishing you and your families a wonderful Christmas. Enjoy your wellearned break, and I hope that 2006 proves fruitful and fulfilling for you all.
A Great Job on “The Big One”! Reflections on the 11th ISSP World Congress of Sport Psychology By Tony Morris Chair, ISSP World Congress Organizing Committee Victoria University
Exactly 40 years after the creation of the International Society of Sport Psychology at the 1st ISSP World Congress, in Rome in 1965, the now mature Sport Psychology profession finally came to Australia for its world congress in August 2005! In our profession, this is “The Big One”, our equivalent of the Olympic Games. We went through a similar process to nations that host the Games. First, we had to bid for the congress, a process that involved a fair amount of politicking. Then we had to prepare to deliver a great event, which required the attraction of colleagues from all round the world, and the planning of an attractive program, venue, and organisation. After that, we had to run the event smoothly and with style. Finally, as is the case with the performance of our athletes, we wanted Australian sport psychologists to be a stand out. Well, my view, biased it may be, is that the Australian sport psychology community came through with flying colours! It all started way back in 1999, when we were approached by the Sydney Convention and Visitors Bureau (SCVB), who wanted to support a bid. CoSP and the APS were a little hesitant at first, but then we decided to go for it. We established a small bid committee, including our two Sydney reps, Lydia Ievleva and Patsy Tremayne, our then CoSP Chair, Sandy Gordon, and me (being on ISSP Managing Council at the time, I had some insights into the bidding process). SCVB linked us up with Tour Hosts as our Professional Convention Organiser. With advice from many, we constructed a draft bid. Then, to give us the inside track, we arranged for ISSP Managing Council to hold its 2000 The Sporting Mind (2005) Volume 4, Issue 2
3
meeting in Canberra, at the AIS, following immediately after the Sydney Games. We involved ISSP in a special APS Annual Conference, which APS called “The Brain Games”. We showed ISSP representatives Sydney, including Darling Harbour and the Convention Centre, the proposed venue. In 2001, at the 10th World Congress in Greece, we presented our official bid. The polished document was produced by SCVB, with a lot of help from Tour Hosts. Lydia made the formal presentation, while I was on the ISSP Managing Council, which made the decision. It was certainly not a fait accomplis. I had to make a strong case during the closed discussion, but we got the nod by a clear margin. (I must admit, in hindsight, I think it was probably unfair that I was part of the decision-making group – the other bidders had nobody on ISSP Managing Council and I was a passionate advocate!) On our triumphant return from Greece, as the first bidder to bring the World Congress to the Southern hemisphere, we set about the job of organising the event. We expanded the group to create the Organising Committee, including new CoSP Chair, Peter Terry, and senior colleagues, Stephanie Hanrahan and Jeff Bond, along with Ken Hodge to represent our colleagues in New Zealand. Later Ken and Jeff took back seats, and Greg Kolt joined the Committee, representing New Zealand. We worked very closely with Tour Hosts to shape the event. Much of our work in 2002 and 2003 involved financial planning and this was pretty scary stuff. We just couldn’t get the budget to balance, mainly due to the big upward shift in value of the Australian dollar and the costs of everything, due to wars, global economic climate, and the like. Finally, we committed to run with the event regardless and our focus shifted to the much more interesting and exciting aspects (for us anyway!) of planning the program. We sent out our call for papers and held our breath to see whether people from around the world would travel all the way to Australia. Fortunately, people did come. The Congress attracted around 600 delegates from all parts of the world. This was an outstanding result, when one considers that it matched the number in Greece in 2001 and that location was much closer for the Americans and Europeans. They came in big numbers, especially from the USA and the United Kingdom. An argument I made at the selection meeting was that our colleagues from Asia would come to Australia and they arrived in bigger numbers than had attended European-based World Congresses in 1993 (Portugal), 1997 (Israel), and 2001. In particular, there were substantial groups from China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. Despite this tremendous turnout from other countries, Australia provided by far the largest number of delegates. For a country with a limited resource of sport psychologists, the 170 or so Australian delegates represented a fantastic demonstration of the place of Australian sport psychology in the world. With a great venue and a superb location all was set for an outstanding event and that is what transpired. We smiled and greeted our guests and, under the expert management of the Tour Hosts staff, we ran a very smooth and professional show. Everyone else seemed to be smiling back and the informal feedback was that people were impressed. The scientific program was high quality. All the keynotes seemed to do well and there was a good mix of sport, physical activity and motor learning among the symposia and free papers. We had a huge poster section, but it all seemed to run like clockwork; posters went up, people milled around and discussed them, posters came down, and new posters went up the next day. People seemed to appreciate having a fairly concise program booklet and a lightweight CD of the Proceedings of the 600 papers. To top it all off, the weather, which could have done anything at that time of year, was brilliant, allowing delegates to enjoy the delights of Darling Harbour by day and by night. In the evenings, whichever restaurants and bars one visited sported (no pun intended) delegates from the conference enjoying themselves and discussing their passions. The dinner cruise was a highlight, I’m sure. Certainly, the people on board enjoyed the great experience of seeing the Harbour Bridge, the Opera House and the rest of Sydney from the water by night, along with a very tasty meal. All-in-all, it was an exceptional Congress and I am sure The Sporting Mind (2005) Volume 4, Issue 2
4
that everyone went home with many special memories of Sydney, Australia, and Australian sport psychology. I would like to take this opportunity to thank some people. First, we must thank the APS for formally backing our bid and the event. Next, thanks go to CoSP for all its support of the event. I would also like to thank all those CoSP and New Zealand colleagues who agreed to review submissions. This was a big job, which would have been impossible without your help. In particular, I wish to express my appreciation to Tour Hosts. Under the guidance of their CEO Roslyn McLeod and the unflappable Kathryn Cassidy and Grace Pegg, they presented the most professional presence at all times and efficiently handled any minor drama before it became a crisis. I would especially like to express my deepest gratitude to all the members of the Organising Committee (alphabetically), Sandy Gordon, Stephanie Hanrahan, Lydia Ievleva, Greg Kolt, Peter Terry, and Patsy Tremayne. Every one of you gave unstintingly over a long, long time to ensure the event was the great success it turned out to be. Finally, I would like to give my sincere thanks to everyone in the Australian sport psychology profession and its students, who attended in large numbers, for backing “our” World Congress and making it great for everyone who came. It is likely to be a long time before we see the World Congress in Australia again. I trust everyone has great memories to cherish, as I do. Thanks and well done to all!
Tribute to Jeffrey Bond By Peter Terry, CoSP Chair
Excerpt from a speech given at the Opening Ceremony of ISSP2005. “I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to one of the most dedicated and accomplished members of our APS College of Sport Psychologists and indeed of the worldwide sport psychology community. This evening, Mr. Jeffrey Bond is being honoured with a special award for Outstanding Contributions to the Profession. I will briefly explain why this is so, and why in some respects everyone in this room owes him a debt of gratitude. Jeffrey started his professional life in physical education, having graduated from the University of Melbourne in 1965 and teaching at secondary and tertiary level for many years. He retrained as a psychologist, completing a BA (Psychology), and BEd (Educational Psychology) from Monash University and an MA (Sport Psychology) from the University of Alberta in 1979. He became a member of the APS and a registered psychologist in 1981, and worked briefly in private practice before taking the position of Head of Sport Psychology at the Australian Institute of Sport in 1982, a position he held for more than 21 years until 2004. I first met Jeff at the ISSP World Congress in Copenhagen in 1985. At the time, he appeared to be on a world tour, giving presentations about the wonderful AIS facilities in Canberra. Two years later, in 1987, Jeff’s photo was in newspapers around the globe being hugged in appreciation by Wimbledon champion Pat Cash. It was an incredibly positive defining moment for the profession, being one of the first and most public recognitions by an elite athlete of the contribution that sport psychology had made to his success. For many years thereafter, Jeff more or less became the public face of Australian sport psychology, a role that he played with integrity, modesty, and professionalism. The Sporting Mind (2005) Volume 4, Issue 2
5
The simple facts of his career speak volumes for his role as a pioneer and ambassador for our profession. He was the first sport psychologist appointed to the Australian Olympic team for the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 1984 and the first for a Winter Games in Calgary in 1988. Further appointments followed for the Summer Games of Seoul (1988), Barcelona (1992), Atlanta (1996) and Sydney (2000); and the Winter Games of Albertville (1992), Lillehammer (1994), and Nagano (1998) – nine Olympic Games in total. Along the way, Jeff has played a significant role in helping to establish sport psychology as a credible profession. In 1983, he co-convened the first National Sport Psychology Conference in Canberra, and in 1986 became the inaugural President of the Australian Applied Sport Psychology Association, serving for four years in that capacity. In 1992, he became a Foundation Member of the Executive Committee of the APS College of Sport Psychologists, and served as Chair of CoSP from 1994-1999. In 2000, he was elected as a Fellow of the APS and was awarded the Australian Sports Medal The longevity of his tenure at the AIS is ample confirmation of the enduring credibility he has managed to establish with generations of athletes and coaches. He has been an exemplary role model, a great servant of Australian sport and, to top it all off, a thoroughly nice bloke. On behalf of CoSP, I ask Mr. Jeffrey Bond to come up and receive this beautiful crystal decanter and engraved plaque.”
Response from Jeffrey Bond Jeffrey Bond, Lane 4 The COSP Award recipient Jeffrey Bond with by APS President Amanda Gordon at the World Congress Opening Ceremony I thank Peter for his very kind words, the President of the Australian Psychological Society, Amanda Gordon, and the Members of the APS College of Sport Psychologists for their support and recognition of my contribution to the sport psychology profession over the past 30 or so years. I am very humbled by this prestigious award, and will ensure that this wonderful crystal decanter and engraved plaque take pride of place in my home. It is my view that recognition by one’s professional peers is the highest accolade that one can receive. Of course it is also true that no one achieves anything without the guidance, encouragement and support of family, friends and colleagues. There are many people in this room who are a significant part of this award, and I thank them for standing alongside me over the years. It was with great surprise that I received the news about this award as I, like every person in the audience, have simply gone about my business as a sport psychologist over a long period of time without necessarily thinking about or measuring one’s ‘contribution’. It is during times like this that we are encouraged to remember the achievement of many small and not so small goals along the journey. There have been numerous milestones in my career to date, including establishing and growing the sport psychology department at the Australian Institute of Sport in order to facilitate the personal growth and achievement of many elite athletes and coaches, being part of the development and growth of CoSP, representation at summer and winter Olympic Games, assisting the career The Sporting Mind (2005) Volume 4, Issue 2
6
development of other sport psychologists, and creating strong international sport psychology networks. It was with a great sense of pride that I stepped into the ‘engine room’ with 11 other Australian sport psychologists at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. This was a massive achievement by the sport psychology fraternity in this country; one that remains the envy of many other countries. Whatever goals I have achieved over the past 30 years, they were in my mind, necessary for the advancement of our special profession, which I am pleased to say, has grown to be a significant part of the fabric of the Australian Psychological Society and sport in this country. We have come a very long way since my early days as a sport psychologist when what we did was very much misunderstood by coaches, athletes, sporting administrators, the media, general public and indeed by other psychologists. Today, I believe that we have very good credibility in all of those areas of our society and also in the minds of many of our international colleagues. Sport psychology is very much alive and well in Australia, but it is now up to others to take up the baton. I have taken on the challenge of facilitating the understanding and application of the many positive learnings from elite sport psychology within the business sector. As always, my interest lies in helping others to develop people and performance strategies, so that they may be a little better tomorrow at whatever is of importance to them, than they are today. Thank you once again.
Reflections of a Visiting Scholar By Ken Ravizza University of California, Fullerton, CA
It was great having an opportunity to be the visiting scholar again this year. I am truly a lucky man. This time I was able to bring my wife Claire with me, and she was able to see your wonderful country, beautiful cities, and most importantly, to interact with authentic, caring people. Last time she only heard about my trip. This time she lived it and it was truly special. I want to thank everyone for making it a special event in my life, especially Peter Terry, Patsy Tremayne, Kylie Baker, Tony Morris, Eugene Aidman, Lydia Ievleva and everyone else. Of course, I did not make it easy for you in terms of the emails, but I think you helped push me into the 21st century and encourage my use of technology. Don’t worry; I am certain I won’t overdo it. I have three major insights that I want to share about what I observed in my travels. First, I was impressed by the group support and collaboration that I observed among the university professors, sport psychologists, coaches, and students. It was a pleasure to observe inclusion since our common goal is to support athletes in their pursuit of excellence. I was impressed with the openness and lack of ego of people and this is so important if we are to move our field forward. We must take our work seriously but not take ourselves too seriously. The Sporting Mind (2005) Volume 4, Issue 2
7
The second thing that stood out for me, was the general appreciation that people had for the philosophical questions that I asked. For example, Why do you do or want to do Sport psych Consulting? Why do you play? In our field, I think we are often too quick to use techniques to fix things versus helping the athlete/coach gain perspective. Hopefully, I did raise some questions that will stimulate discussion, introspection, and reflection, so that new methods can be developed to meet the ever-changing and chaotic demands of our profession. Third, I was excited to share with you that at this time, my emphasis is on incorporating sport psychology skills into task-relevant performance cues. It was great sharing the importance of making the psychological skills more relevant and practical for the coaches and athletes. This is why so much of our time was spent discussing quality practice and integrating the mental skills to enhance the effectiveness of practice. It is what has helped me gain entry and trust with coaches since they are very receptive to methods to help their teams have a higher quality of practice. Plus, if we work with athletes on the quality of their practice, it provides us with so many more opportunities and less “stressful” situations for them to develop their mental game. These were three of the areas that inspired me as I reflect on my adventure in Australia, and there were a multitude of additional topics, ideas, and techniques that we discussed. I know that I gained more from the coaches, athletes, researchers, and practitioners than you gained from me, and I want to once again thank all of you for making my trip full of wonder and meaning. I hope that we planted some seeds together, and that we stay in contact as we germinate those seeds and watch them grow. This may be a little easier now since I have finally entered the 21st century. Take Care, Ken Ravizza October 25, 2005
ISSP 11th World Congress of Sport Psychology: My Perceptions By Leonard Zaichkowsky University of Boston, Massachussetts
As an overseas visitor to Sydney and the ISSP Congress I would like to congratulate the Organizing Committee for the work they did in producing a first rate sport psychology conference in a wonderful city and country. Tony, Lydia, Sandy, Stephanie, Mary, Gregory, Peter, Patsy and the countless others that volunteered. Great Job Committee! Now I know the membership of APS and CoSP had a lot to do with the planning and staging of this wonderful event. You also deserve a much deserved “Thank You” for a job well done. Opening night with the excellent reception and award to the most deserving Jeff Bond was a wonderful start to the week. My very best social interactions with colleagues from around the world occurred this Monday evening. The program that followed beginning Tuesday was superb and as such kept me moving from presenter to presenter with little time to continue my need to socialize with The Sporting Mind (2005) Volume 4, Issue 2
8
international friends that I had not seen in four years. All of the plenary speakers from Carol Dweck to Ken Ravizza, who closed out the conference, were terrific. But my favorite was the presentation by Brad Hatfield who talked about “cognitive neuroscience in sport psychology”—not your everyday topic at a sport psychology conference. Understanding neuroscience and brain mechanisms in human performance, I believe, is the next frontier for sport psychology. Great job Brad! The program featured excellent Symposia and one of the best was the program “Consulting Across Domains”. The speakers validated a great deal of the work I engage in and encourage my students to do. Sandy Gordon’s group that discussed “Mental Toughness” was also superb. The Coaching Sessions and related papers on the development of expertise, and parental behavior by the usual suspects- Bruce Abernathy, Janet Starkes, John Salmela, Jean Cote, Natalie Durand-Bush, as expected, provided a wealth of information even for those of us that conduct research in this area. John Crampton’s paper on current use of video and computer technology for consulting was “cuttingedge” and I trust will become a methodology for many of us to use. Exercise and health psychology was not slighted in this congress. I participated in a cross-cultural symposium on “Physical Activity and Ageing” that Luci Teixeira-Salmela ( Brazil) organized, and I had the privilege of listening to excellent papers on exercise motivation, drug and alcohol use in sport, as well as issues related to injury. Health issues were also prominent in the poster sessions presented on Tuesday with a total of 99 papers. Now that I am on the topic of “Posters”, it was wonderful to see so many papers (a grand total of 400) fitting rather well into the themes of “Health & Well-Being”, “Moods/Emotions” “Coaching & Psychophysiology”, “Social Psychology, Motor Learning & Research Methods”. A lot of wonderful reading on the plane trip back to Boston. Finally, I will end with a couple of points. First, I truly appreciate receiving the abstracts of papers on a CD. What a great idea. All of us would have been charged for extra luggage had we been given hard copies of papers presented. Now for my one critical comment regarding the congress. As splendid as the venue of Sydney Harbor was, it was much too large- in my opinion. I know many colleagues share my view on this point. The main auditorium was designed to handle a much larger delegation than ISSP could produce and as such “seeing” speakers and getting close to them was difficult. The vast area also precluded “bumping into” a colleague from another country, or a close friend from your own institution. Perhaps a large hotel would have served ISSP better. At any rate perhaps this lesson can be learned by our good friends in Morocco who will be planning the 2009 Congress. I still give the organizing committee an “A” for their performance. I look forward to seeing all of you in Morocco.
The Sporting Mind (2005) Volume 4, Issue 2
9
WORLD CONGRESS IMAGES ISSP2005 - a great place for catching up with old friends:
These two date their friendship back to the 1989 Meeting in Moscow sponsored by the USSR Federation of Sport Psychologists
And these two have shared more official meetings than they would care to remember (never mind the casual wear!).
➢
➡ Congress jazz buddies
One of the many end-of-Congress photos: notice the contrast between exhaustion and exhilaration on the faces and guess who’s local and who’s a visitor
➠ The Sporting Mind (2005) Volume 4, Issue 2 10
Competitive Anxiety: From coping to harvesting the power of stress By Eugene Aidman DSTO & University of Adelaide
Below is an updated version of the article published in The Australian Triathlete magazine (Aidman, 2004) as part of the APS National Psychology Week in November 2004, followed by my post scriptum updating the state of play in this area. Most of us know the feeling all too well: your pulse is racing, your tongue is dry, palms are sweaty, there are butterflies in your stomach and you can’t stop thinking about that important race ahead, or a public speech - or any number of other significant tasks that you do. Those who don’t admit to such experiences are either lying or clinically depressed, or they’ve never done anything that matters to them. You are wondering - am I going to perform to my expectations? The good news is that we all experience these feelings – they are part of the anticipation pattern common among humans, the “fight or flight” response developed by our ancestors to prepare for vigorous action in response to the danger they regularly faced - and in fact it is perfectly normal! Indeed a certain level of stress is important if we are to perform to our best. Research shows that manageable levels of stress, for reasonable duration, play an important role in mobilising our resources to help tackle the challenges we face in everyday life. This level of stress is accompanied by positive emotions such as enjoyment, satisfaction, excitement and even passion. However, an overload of stress from a situation of under or over arousal lasting for too long, produces negative emotions, and can ultimately lead to fatigue, physical damage and even death. This distinction is important. It recognises the inevitability and desirability of having some stress in our lives, while at the same time recognising the importance of guarding against its ill-effects. In other words, stress is not purely an undesirable phenomenon. The challenge is to get the balance right to ensure peak performance. A matter of perception So why is it that some people are able to cope with butterflies in their stomach and other stress symptoms at the starting line of a race better than others? The difference is in how we interpret these symptoms. Some perceive them as signals of threat, others as signals of excitement. The way we perceive these signals – known as stress appraisal in psychology – makes a huge difference as it can induce anything from debilitating anxiety to an exciting performance booster. Top five tips for learning to use stress to your advantage The Sporting Mind (2005) Volume 4, Issue 2 11
So what does all this mean for you as an athlete? What are the practical steps you can take to turn your stress into a performance booster? 1. Start by acknowledging that stress is real and must be respected. Also remember that “stress is in the eye of the beholder” and can be turned into a positive force. 2. Discard the idea of training your “stress tolerance”: as an old saying goes, “do not tolerate – embrace!” To harvest the energy of stress, learn to out-smart your natural stress response with clever stress appraisals. Practice transforming threat appraisals into excitement and challenge appraisals. There are always opportunities for gain and growth in every “threat” you encounter. Be on the look-out for them. For example, turn “I am going to be beaten by so-and-so” into “let’s see how close to so-and-so I can get this time”; or “I am under prepared for this race due to recent injury” into “what a great opportunity to test and extend my mental strength to overcome my lack of physical preparation!” Be prepared to persevere with changing your stress appraisals – treat them as another part of your training program to practice. 3. Beware of being under-excited before a major event. Being under-excited is just as detrimental to your performance as over-excitement. 4. Practice listening to your inner voice and feelings. Being in touch with them is a strength – not a weakness. At the very least, it’ll give you a better gauge of how stress affects you. 5. Trust yourself. Believe in your own ability to turn “obstacles into opportunities”, “threats into challenges” – you’ll be surprised how soon you’ll find your own ways of doing this. Finally, dealing with stress and anxiety in competition – and in life generally – is an art that everyone wants to excel in. Even the best athletes in the world struggle to get the balance right. Professional help is often a sensible option here. Sports Psychologists are particularly well trained – not only in helping people cope with stress and anxiety, but also to harness the positive powers of stress and utilise them to enhance their performance and increase the satisfaction with what they do. P.S. Since Hans Selye’s (1978) pioneering discovery of the universal adaptation syndrome, the question of individual differences in stress response remained a challenge to both researchers and practitioners. In other words, while we all experience this bodily mobilisation when faced with stressors, why some of us get more anxious and distressed than others? Everybody gets butterflies in the stomach, dry tongue and sweaty palms. The difference is in how you interpret these symptoms: some tend to see them as signals of threat, others – signaling excitement. And this interpretation – known as stress appraisal – makes a huge difference: anticipating the same event can induce anything from a debilitating anxiety to an exciting performance booster. Indeed, as an old wisdom goes, “Stress is in the eyes of the beholder”. So, appraisal is the trick in the game of harvesting stress and anxiety to your advantage. It is linked to an important Distinction - between Eustress and Dystress. Manageable levels of stress, for reasonable duration, mobilise your resources and get you going on tackling the tasks and problems in your life. This is the situation around the middle of the graph, and is accompanied by positive emotions such as enjoyment, satisfaction, excitement and even zest. To distinguish this beneficial stress, Hans Selye called it eustress - EU meaning good. An overload of stress from a situation of under or over arousal going on for too long produces first unpleasant feelings, and then physical The Sporting Mind (2005) Volume 4, Issue 2 12
damage and fatigue and ultimately even death. Not surprisingly Selye called this level dystress - DYS meaning bad. Selyes's distinction is a valuable one. It recognises the inevitability and desirability of having some stress in your life while guarding against its ill effects - contrary to popular belief of stress being an undesirable phenomenon. Stress can represent the body response to pleasure or pain. As Hans Selye puts it: Stress is the body's non-specific response to any demand on it whether that demand is pleasant or not. Sitting in a dentist's chair is stressful but so is enjoying a passionate kiss with a lover - after all your pulse races, your breathing quickens, your heart soars. And yet, who in the world would forgo such a pleasurable pastime simply because of the stress involved. Our aim shouldn't be to completely avoid stress but to learn how to recognise our typical response to stress and then to try to modulate our lives in accordance with it.
(Selye, 1978) In more practical terms, the message from stress research can be summarised as follows: if an event is seen as stressful, it may have one of three outcomes: 1. Harm/loss: Usually having to do with damage (illness or injury or loss) that has already occurred. 2. Threat: Harms or losses that have not taken place but are anticipated. What distinguishes threat from harm/loss is that it permits anticipatory coping. 3. Challenge: Provides opportunity for gain and growth. Challenge has much in common with threat in that it too calls for mobilisation of efforts. The main difference is that Challenge appraisals (i) focus on the potential for gain or growth inherent in an encounter and (ii) are characterised by pleasurable emotions such as eagerness and exhilaration whereas Threat appraisals (i) centre on the potential harm and (ii) are characterised by negative emotions, such as fear, anxiety and anger. For example, a recent study in Australian Rules football (Aidman & Bekerman, 2001) has confirmed the importance of stress appraisal for athletic performance. It was stress appraisal – and not the absolute levels of anxiety – that influenced individual players’ performance, especially in “close” (highly contested) games, compared to “easy- win” games or “bad losses” (when the team was not in contention for most of the game). In particular, players who reported a threatening appraisal of their bodily stress responses, performed worse in general and to a much greater extent when suffering a heavy loss. A couple of extra recommendations stem from mainstream stress research: 1. Beware of the inverted U-shaped connection between stress and performance (see graph): being under-excited is just as deadly to your performance as over-excitement. Search for your optimum excitement – both its level and contents (what is it you are competing for – pride, a promise, a bet, a will to live up to someone else’s hopes or a wish to provide them with a pleasant surprise?). The Sporting Mind (2005) Volume 4, Issue 2 13
2. Practice suspending your judgment. Bagging yourself for making a mistake is a waste. Everyone makes them – some can learn from them better than others. The best learn to observe and notice without judgment: corrections, when necessary, are best conceived in a cool head. Eugene Aidman is a Senior Psychologist with Defence Science & Technology Organisation (DSTO) in Adelaide, where his current research is focused on human factors in army training systems. He is also Adjunct Senior Lecturer at the Department of Psychology, University of Adelaide. This article represents the author’s opinion and carries no endorsement by DSTO.
References Aidman, E. (2004). Turning competitive anxiety into a weapon. Australian Triathlete (ISSN 1320-5773), November 2004, 80. Aidman, E.V. & Bekerman, M. (2001). Predicting achievement and performance in Australian rules football: the role of selfconcept, emotional stability, achievement orientation and stress appraisal. In: Papioannou A., Goudas M. & Theodorakis Y. (Eds.) In the dawn of the new millennium. Proceedings of the 10th World Congress of Sport Psychology. (pp. 361 - 363). Thessaloniki: Christodoulidi Publications. Selye, H. (1978). The stress of life. (Rev ed). Oxford, England: Mcgraw Hill.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT NEWS By Patsy Tremayne CoSP Professional Development Coordinator University of Western Sydney In October 2004 Peter Terry advised that the APS had confirmed the revised requirements for College membership, and it became clear that all DPsych graduates are automatically eligible for full membership of their respective college; and that MPsych graduates are only required to complete an additional 80 hours of "college-related activities". Peter then put together a draft policy for use by CoSP which was discussed, and recommended by the CoSP Executive. This policy was also accepted by the APS, and in fact was used as a model for other Colleges. At the request of CoSP at the Executive Meeting at the last AGM, I have put together a template for comment. The 80 hours of college-related activity should address one or more of the college-specific competencies. This includes attendance at conferences, seminars or workshops that qualify for specialist PD points. Applicants are particularly encouraged to complete practitioner hours with clients in the sport and/or exercise domains, with appropriate supervision (approximately one hour of supervision for every eight hours of client contact) from a full college member. Applicants should demonstrate that they are addressing perceived gaps in their college-specific expertise during the proposed program of activities and each proposal will be judged on its individual merits. Credit for up to 40 hours can be awarded retrospectively.
The Sporting Mind (2005) Volume 4, Issue 2 14
CoSP Membership Application has to be accompanied by a Record of Professional Development. For example, a summary of all significant occasions of service conducted following the completion of Master Psychology (Sport) are recorded in Table 1. Month and Year, e.g.: Direct Supervision with CoSP Member in hours (name) Case consultation with other sport psychologists Individual Consults Team Consultations with Athletes Team Lectures (first delivery of topic) Lectures to University/TAFE Students Supervision of Interns Training Courses Any other?
Mar-
Apr-
May-
Jun-
Jul-
Aug
Sep-
Oct-
Nov-
TOTAL HRS
Team lecture topics delivered for first time during this period appear in Table 2. Table 2. Team Lecture topics (examples only) Understanding TOPS Feedback Confidence Managing Anxiety Psychological Rehabilitation from Injury Developing Team Goals Olympic Preparation Team Development Sport Psychology for Junior Divers Experiential Learning Training Diaries Effective Key Performance Indicators Professionalism
Significant training courses completed around this period are recorded in Table 3. Table 3. (examples only) Training Courses Supervision Training (APS Accredited Course) Modern Business Writing
Date Date
The Sporting Mind (2005) Volume 4, Issue 2 15
STUDENT CORNER Sport Psychology in Australia By Ferry Lee, Masters student, University of Western Sydney I am one of the fortunate few to have been selected into a Masters program. The problem is it wasn’t the one I wanted. Since I started the Sports Studies program at the University of Western Sydney in 2001, my mind was made up that I’d end up as a sport psychologist. My passion for sport in general was the driving force to end up in this field. Three long years of an undergraduate program in Applied Science (Psychology) and one extra year of postgraduate studies in psychology would be enough to be eligible for a Masters position. Unfortunately, the university had other ideas for the Sport Psych program. After attending the CoSP AGM earlier this year, I was amazed to hear that another program would fall victim to university cut-backs. Throughout my years at uni, I’ve been told that Australia has one of the best sport psychology programs in the world. Yet that’s not enough to sustain the Masters programs available. I am aware of the current programs operating in Victoria, Queensland and South Queensland but is that really enough? Will sport psychology continue to flourish in Australia? What can one do to get a foot into the profession when programs are being cut-back? Although I’m in another Masters program, I’m trying to find ways to stay in the sports field. Being apart of the Sydney Sport Psychology Group (SSPG) has helped me to network with other psychologists, and the ISSP in Sydney renewed my passion to continue persevering in becoming a sport psychologist. Meeting Ken Ravizza made me realise that psychologists should be able to share their techniques with others to enhance their skills. My fear is that sport psychology will be monopolised by those trained in sport psychology, leaving people like me (someone with a strong desire to work with athletes) with no opportunities to learn new skills. I’m not sure if it sounds like I’m standing on a soapbox, and I certainly don’t mean to sound arrogant in saying this next point. The SSPG has been operating for the last two years and has been running successfully. I’m grateful that these psychologists are willing to take the time to set-up seminars and presentations to help me (and others) get that one step closer to becoming a sport psychologist. What is your state or city currently doing to promote this field? How are you helping the people in your state develop their skills outside of textbooks and classrooms? And how are you helping to reach those who want to learn about sport psychology but don’t know where to start? I count myself very lucky that I have a group such as the SSPG to continually renew my passion for this field of psychology. I want Australian sport psychologists to be recognised as the best in the world. I just hope there will be opportunities for myself, as well as the others who aren’t in a Masters or PhD program in sport psychology, to get support from people all over Australia to help us follow our passions. I’ll finish up with a question I posed to Jeff Bond. I asked him, ‘What does it take to become a great psychologist?’ He replied, ‘Be empathetic and have a good foundation.’ While my foundation is not built on sport psychology, I hope that there are plenty of other people who will be willing to help build my foundation to become a great sport psychologist. The Sporting Mind (2005) Volume 4, Issue 2 16
MEMBERS ON THE MOVE / IN THE NEWS
A hearty welcome to our newest CoSP Members: Andrea Furst Jocelyn Penna Cliff Mallett Samantha McLeod
COMMANDO STYLE TRAINING FOR SWIMMERS? See the URL link to the story in the Herald Sun below regarding an alarming issue of commando style training at a swim training camp. The incident in question has been brought to our attention by Mark Andersen and Harriet Speed – prompting a call to action from CoSP beginning with Peter Terry’s Letter to the Editor below. Mark found the terror tactics (i.e., “abuse”) described in the article, to be “shocking and horrible!” Mark further points out: “the Sri Lankan kid they ‘executed’ lost a lot of his Mum’s family in the tsunami.” Harriet adds that “this must be one of the worst cases of abuse that I’ve come across.” Further comments and suggestions for action are welcome from the membership. www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,17548167^2862,00.html Letter to the Editor, Herald Sun: It was with considerable alarm and serious concern that I read your recent article Terror Tactics for our Swimming Stars. In the article, your journalist described strategies, including mock executions, used by Nathan Schrag, a Royal Australian Navy physical training instructor, to apparently prepare prospective members of the Australian swimming team, some as young as 16, for the pressures they might face at the forthcoming Commonwealth Games. As President of the College of Sport Psychologists of the Australian Psychological Society, I am writing to express a sense of disbelief that such strategies would not only be used with children but would be proclaimed as a great alternative to conventional training, which according to coach Rohan Taylor “can get a bit boring.” Having worked with athletes at seven Olympic Games and countless other international events, I have learned a thing or two about preparing them for competition. Most sport psychologists would agree that adding variety to repetitious training is a good thing, but some of the techniques reported in your article are not only scientifically unsound but may constitute psychological abuse. There is no scientific evidence whatsoever that physically and mentally distressing young athletes to the point of tears, or pointing an imitation 9mm pistol to the heads of 16 year olds and “executing” a couple of them, leads to improved performance in swimming or any other The Sporting Mind (2005) Volume 4, Issue 2 17
sport. There is, however, plenty of scientific evidence, such as from Zimbardo’s prison studies and Milgram’s obedience studies, that placing people in simulated traumatic and stressful situations can do significant psychological damage. Would the instructor or the coach have any idea of the very real potential for such simulations to evoke painful memories or past traumas in the “victims?” Although physical fitness activities in a new and challenging environment can produce enhanced effort and persistence in the face of adversity, unless there is some tangible metaphoric transfer between the boot camp environment and the swimming pool, no improvement in actual swimming performance is likely. Sport psychologists often help to run adventure-based learning experiences to assist with communication, team building, problem solving, dealing with frustration, and such things, but would always include a structured debrief designed to promote transfer of what was learned during the experience back to the sport environment. According to your article, more sessions of a similar nature are planned for these Commonwealth Games aspirants before Christmas. Perhaps the Royal Australian Navy and the coach’s employers might want to rethink whether they really wish to be associated with the content of these camps. More importantly, perhaps the parents of these young swimmers might consider whether the possible benefits of such experiences really outweigh the potential harm to their children before they give their written informed consent, assuming the organisers bother to ask for it. Professor Peter Terry President, APS College of Sport Psychologists and Head, Department of Psychology, University of Southern Queensland.
ON LINE opinion - Australia's e-journal of social and political debate Sport as a model of life By Eugene Aidman Posted Monday, 26 September 2005 at http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=204 Reproduced with permission of the author
Sport is a model of life. It is like a mirror, reflecting the society’s ills and triumphs and often amplifying them, like a lens. Like any other model, sport is also a tool: it is a means to an end. And hence, its virtues tend to be coloured - and often confused - with the “ends” themselves. The commercialisation of sport has replaced its politicisation during the Cold War era - but the resulting hyperpressures remain and keep distorting its original core values. The ever-increasing premium on winning keeps raising the temptation to violate the principles of fair play. As a result, the public may hear about a string of doping scandals and conclude “all is rotten” in this field of human endeavour. Or we may learn about less than dignified conduct of a sporting luminary - and jump into superficial moralising along the lines of “these are a bunch of spoilt brats - how can they possibly be role models?” This is where it’s important to keep things in perspective. Apart from being a reflection of fluctuating social practices, sport has its own, quite stable intrinsic properties that keep me optimistic about its core virtues. And true sporting heroes do represent these virtues, I believe, rather well. By and large, they occupy their limelight position on merit. Their strength, endurance and agility are unmistakingly the fruits of dedicated effort and certainly not a “lottery win”. The Sporting Mind (2005) Volume 4, Issue 2 18
I will argue that it’s not what meets the eye in their physical excellence that matters (though impressive it might be!). The spoils that such excellence affords are another matter altogether. Far more important is what brings it about - the inner strength and dedication stemming from boundless love for what they do. And that’s a good enough model to follow. After all, it’s up to us which models we choose to derive from the stories of our sporting heroes - the cynical, regurgitating their weaknesses, or constructive, focusing on the core virtues that are “bound to be found” in each of those stories if you read them well. For example, it is hard to reconcile - especially for the inexperienced - the astronomical earnings most sporting stars enjoy with their love for their sport. Remuneration in professional sport is a big issue. When I hear, as a sport psychologist, an envious remark from a budding champ along the lines of, “If only I earned THAT much, it’d be so easy to be the best!”, I can’t help but remind them that the only way to “earn THAT much” is to enjoy doing it for nothing. Psychologists and educators have known all along that no amount of incentives can match intrinsic interest in breeding excellence. This intrinsic interest - “for the love of it” - is what makes you practice mega-hours with no respect for any external evaluation or reward. And these mega-hours get overlooked by too many of the general public. Practice doesn’t make for a good media story, and it takes retirement for our superstars like Andrew Gaze (see "The Gaze plan for success" in Diners Club Spring 2005 Newsletter) to admit that there is no substitute for it. An average Jo Bloggs’ lack of first-hand experience with regular training makes athletic success all too easy in his eyes. On the other hand, let’s assume that we’ve convinced our Jo Bloggs that massive practice is a requirement and you can’t achieve it without the love for what you practice. How do you cultivate this love? It doesn’t materialise out of thin air: it requires multiple opportunities and a license to fail or opportunities to switch sports at the initial stages (our widely differing talents take trial-and-error to discover). This discovery is, by and large, left to individuals and families. A culture of optional PE in schools and “user pays” attitudes to community sport both disadvantage all but the already dedicated. In this context, abandoning compulsory school PE and state-sponsored community sport seems like throwing the baby out with the bath water. Let’s turn to the positives though. Sport is widely acknowledged as a strong character builder. And that includes being conducive to the development of adaptive skills, sound values and positive attitudes and dispositions. Ample evidence exists linking committed sport participation to growth in motivation, self-discipline and self-respect. Developing physical prowess becomes secondary - a natural medium for character development. This original, undistorted idea of sport as a meaningful, dignified pursuit of physical excellence can be traced back to the ancient Olympics and to the various traditions of martial arts. In this form, sport is meant to trigger the best in every person who cares to take it up, to elicit “their best” to the maximum, and to encourage it to grow further. Consider the influence of soccer on generations of underprivileged youth in Brazil, or that of basketball in the US or distance running in Kenya. The massive positive impact these sports have in their respective countries can never be matched, I believe, by any government intervention. So what is it that makes sport a positive influence? First, it teaches you to value learning and to appreciate the slow growth of strength and competence, i.e. “earning your stripes”, rather than “demanding you rights”. It also teaches you that strength and competence are tools to be used wisely, and their growth depends emphatically on your own effort and commitment. Attributing this growth - as well as most other "happenings” in your life - to your own effort is well known to psychologists as a key personal quality - “locus of control” that lies at the very foundation of responsibility as a character trait. Second, sport is one of the most positive transformers of spare time and energy. Consider an all too familiar observation: when schooling becomes too easy for a child, they start “looking for trouble”: unless, of course, they have other meaningful commitments to occupy their spare time to the brim. And sport is one of the best The Sporting Mind (2005) Volume 4, Issue 2 19
candidates for this time-filling role, along with various artistic pursuits (and beating them in terms of health benefits). Educators of all ages know that spare time means trouble - especially with children and adolescents. It leads the young person, almost invariably, to traveling down the path of least resistance. And modern society offers no shortage of such paths, laced with consumerism and a culture of inflated egos and self-entitlement. In fact, modern adults are not immune to this temptation either. “Paths of least resistance” all too often lead away from their own long-term goals and values to what’s immediately more pleasurable, such as consumerism. “Having” is seen by many as more important in life than “being”, and instant “having” as better than delayed “having”. In this regard, sport is much more than a simple time-filler. It offers, perhaps, the most natural opportunity to discover the pleasures of one’s own constructive effort. And this opportunity works at both physical and psychological levels. First, the physical side of sport - rigorous exercising - is immediately rewarding through a range of neurochemical brain responses (such as endorphins). It also leads, through recovery, to increased fitness and feelings of confidence, which act as longer-term rewards. Second, sport offers feedback opportunities that are, arguably, as immediate, transparent and fair as they get in human affairs. Through this feedback we learn, very quickly, the pleasures of growing mastery - fair praise, opportunities to recover from mistakes and setbacks, and encouragement for getting better next time. Fortunately sport, at its grassroots at least, is not infested with false praise and unearned promotions. And this breeds persistence and dedication: the only way to recover from getting beaten in an athletic contest at any level is to take it on the chin, learn from it and ask for more challenge. And yes - to sweat through what is usually a protracted journey of self-improvement. Incidentally, sport psychologists have known for a long time that the hallmarks of a true champion - a sporting star - have nothing to do with strings of easy wins but everything to do with an ability to recover from errors, regroup and rebound from setbacks. In summary, sport is a rare human endeavour that provides an opportunity - even for the uninitiated - to enjoy both its results (a win, a well executed movement, or the growing physical competence in the long run) and its process (the effort). With regards to effort, some sports are more novice-friendly than others - for example, tennis requires a far more advanced level of skill for a useful cardio work-out than, say, basketball or jogging. While a “tennis dummy” may stay “cold” for the most part of their first few training sessions (simply because their lack of skill prevents them from exerting much effort), basketball and jogging starters are assured of a good sweating workout “from the word go”. Sweating, literally, is required to reap the physical benefits of exercising and this is what your doctor would recommend. Sweating, figuratively, through difficulties, temptations and setbacks towards your long-term goals, is a far less popular endeavour in the modern culture of instant gratification. The good news is it can be learned by extension from physical sweating, which is a natural, intrinsically pleasurable process - our body has physiological mechanisms that reward physical exertion yielding sweat (if your personal experience disagrees, you must have had a bad run with your first PE instructor). Any youth coach knows that until kids learn to “enjoy sweating through effort” they stand little chance of making progress in their sport. And this learning implicitly teaches a much bigger idea - that getting tired as a result of sustained, deliberate effort is “good” in itself, quite in addition to all the good things it leads to (such as, better skill, improved fitness or greater chance of winning). So, instead of tolerating discomfort, sport teaches you to embrace it. Hard work ceases to be a curse, it becomes a blessing, even before yielding its fruit. From that grows a natural interest in extending your comfort zone, you begin to enjoy pushing and trespassing its boundaries, actively exploring your own weaknesses and aiming to overcome them - in sum, being able and willing to improve and transcend yourself. The Sporting Mind (2005) Volume 4, Issue 2 20
True sporting heroes epitomise these types of scenarios and personal qualities. They are not flawless, nor should we expect them to be. But they show us how the willingness to learn from own failings gives you much more than an absence of a flaw, it gives the ability to overcome different flaws, now and in the future, as well as lifting yourself from wherever you are to becoming an even better human being. And that’s a real good model to strive for. Dr Eugene Aidman is an Executive Member, APS College of Sport Psychologists, and co-editor of The Sporting Mind. He has co-authored Jogging the Brain: Mental Exercise Program for Daily Use (LaTrobe University Press, 1996), and a chapter in the latest Australian text on sport psychology, Sport Psychology: Theory, Applications and Issues (Wiley, 2004).
One of the comments posted in response to this article: By Dr Erich Heinzle, Workhealth Clinic, Adelaide
(posted Thursday, 6 October 2005 4:39:36 PM)
Reproduced with permission of the author
Mindless consumerism with immediate (+/- consumer credit) ego-gratification is the lifeblood of our consumer economy. Perhaps sportspeople can indeed be virtuous, but whether or not they accumulate wealth and fame has more to do with how profitably they can be marketed to the public as someone to aspire to. If the sportsperson pays tax, like any non-sporting garden variety millionaire, does it even matter whether or not the sportsperson is "seen to be delivering" on moral conduct? Perhaps the reason why a sportsperson is held to a higher standard of conduct than, say, a millionaire, is because the sportsperson - in fact their brand - has been marketed to the public as something to aspire to or emulate. Can you really expect the consumer to comprehend or value the unglamorous effort that went into achieving the sporting excellence in the first place? On the other hand, catering to narcissism and tempting it with wealth beyond any single person's needs is not necessarily a good thing. The personality traits required to excel in sports, business, politics or other professions are arguably adaptive in our society, but not necessarily conducive to being a well balanced, well adjusted person, since they may in fact arise from deep seated insecurities and a pressing need for external ego-reinforcement. Gautama Buddha probably would not have made a good US football or baseball player. Those that excel in our society, are, I believe, some of the most dysfunctional people in our society. Why should adaptive, obsessive traits - or put another way, single mindedness - be considered virtuous or lauded as a triumph of the human spirit?
UPCOMING EVENTS Sport and Mental Health Conference From Chemistry to Communities 6-7 March 2006 Hilton on-the-Park, Melbourne www.med.monash.edu.au/general-practice/conf/ APS Coaching Psychology Conference 14-15 July 2006 Gold Coast, Queensland Hosted by the Queensland Coaching Interest Group, APS The Sporting Mind (2005) Volume 4, Issue 2 21
2006 Joint Conference of APS & NZPsP Psychology Bridging the Tasman: Science, Culture and Practice 26-30 September 2006 Auckland, New Zealand www.apsconference.com.au ASICS Conference of Science & Medicine in Sport Sports Medicine in Paradise: Perspectives from the Pacific Fiji, 19-21 October 2006 www.sma.org.au/ACSMS/2006
CoSP EXECUTIVE LIST Chair Secretary Treasurer Prof. Development Course Approvals Newsletter Eds Student Rep Co-Opted
Peter Terry Lydia Ievleva Stephanie Hanrahan Patsy Tremayne John Gross Eugene Aidman Lydia Ievleva Michael Lloyd Tony Morris Michael Martin
[email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]
The Sporting Mind (2005) Volume 4, Issue 2 22
