Coaching olympic athletes with sport psychology.

In recent years, there have been increasing calls for graduate programs in sport psychology to include supervised practicum experiences. While supervision and applied experience is vital to the professional growth of graduate students, periodic evaluations are also needed to determine students' effectiveness in providing sport psychology services. This study represented an initial attempt to assess athletes' and coaches' perceptions of services provided by graduate students at one NCAA Division I university. Analyses showed 118 participants' ratings of consultants' effectiveness were comparable to those provided by U.S. Olympic athletes for professional consultants in earlier research by Gould, Murphy, Tammen, and May.

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The Sport Psychology Consultant Evaluation Form

The Sport Psychologist ◽

10.1123/tsp.1.4.309 ◽

1987 ◽

Vol 1 (4) ◽

pp. 309-317 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

John Partington ◽

Terry Orlick

Keyword(s):

Sport Psychology ◽

Validity And Reliability ◽

Evaluation Form ◽

Olympic Athletes ◽

Consultation Services ◽

Evaluation Inventory

An evaluation inventory was developed to help sport psychology consultants assess and improve the field services they provide. Consultant characteristics included in the inventory were based on extensive interviews with Olympic athletes and coaches. The inventory was administered to 104 Canadian Olympic athletes who assessed 26 sport psychology consultants. Data from this survey were used to determine the validity and reliability of the Sport Psychology Consultant Evaluation Form (CEF). Practical suggestions are provided for enhancing the quality of sport psychology consultation services through the use of the CEF.

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The Sport Psychology Consultant: Analysis of Critical Components as Viewed by Canadian Olympic Athletes

The Sport Psychologist ◽

10.1123/tsp.1.1.4 ◽

1987 ◽

Vol 1 (1) ◽

pp. 4-17 ◽

Cited By ~ 39

Author(s):

Terry Orlick ◽

John Partington

Keyword(s):

Training Program ◽

Sport Psychology ◽

Olympic Games ◽

Elite Athletes ◽

Mental Training ◽

Olympic Athletes ◽

Critical Components

Intensive interviews were conducted with each of 75 Canadian Olympic athletes representing 19 different sports in order to evaluate the sport psychology services offered to them. Athletes representing 12 of the sports indicated they had worked with 1 of 11 sport psychology consultants in preparation for the 1984 Olympic Games. Some were highly satisfied with their consultant and his or her mental training program, others were highly dissatisfied. A profile of the best and worst consultants was developed based upon the athletes’ perceptions of desirable and undesirable consultant characteristics. Suggestions are provided for improving the quality of sport psychology services for elite athletes.

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