AASP SPORT PSYCH BULLETIN - DECEMBER 2013

AN INVITATION TO JOIN AASP

With nearly 2,000 members from 47 countries worldwide, the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP) is one of the largest organization of professionals dedicated to promoting ethical practice, science, and advocacy of sport psychology and positive experience of people in sport, exercise, and performance endeavors. If you are not already a member, we invite you to join in 2014!
AASP members enjoy the following benefits:

Four (4) print issues of the Journal of Applied Sport Psychology

Three (3) online issues of the Journal of Sport Psychology in Action

Discounted registration fees for quarterly educational webinars, on-demand viewing, and distance learning courses

Opportunity to submit Research & Outreach Grant Proposals - $30,000 USD in funds available in 2014

Discounted Registration Fees for the 2014 Annual Conference in Las Vegas, NV, USA

Eligibility to submit an abstract for presentation at AASP's 2014 Annual Conference

Eligibility to apply for one of AASP's annual prestigious junior and senior member awards

Eligibility to serve on one of AASP's volunteer committees or Special Interest Groups (SIGs)

Access to the Member Directory

Discounts on AASP's Graduate Program Directory - new online edition to be available in 2014!




AASP has a Developing Country Membership, which allows persons residing and working in Developing Countries, as defined annually by the World Bank, to be eligible for a 50% discount off all membership types.

To join, please click here for an online application. Multi-year memberships are available for your convenience.


AASP UNVEILS NEW, DYNAMIC WEBSITE





AASP launched a revamped website at its conference this past October, which is aimed at providing members, sport psychology professionals, and consumers with a number of valuable new resources right at their fingertips. The site also provides users with a cleaner, more professional look as well as easier navigation and a convenient configuration that can be accessed from your desktop computer, tablet, and mobile device. Visit www.appliedsportpsych.org for more details.

NEWSLETTER AVAILABLE FOR SPORT PSYCHOLOGY PROFESSIONALS

Interested in more information about what is going in the field? The AASP newsletter, which is published 3 times per year, features insightful articles about a wide range of sport, exercise, and performance psychology topics, educational webinars, and grants opportunities. AASP has made this resource available to the public at http://www.appliedsportpsych.org/publications/newsletter-past-issues/ Check it out!

AASP 2014: ABSTRACT SUBMISSION & TRAVEL AWARDS
The abstract submission system for AASP's 2014 conference, to be held October 15-18 in Las Vegas, Nevada USA, will be open January 1 - February 15, 2014. To submit an abstract, please join as a member and then login to the member's area of the website,here. If you have any questions, please email the Scientific Program Chair.

NEW FOR 2014: The AASP Foundation will be offering Travel Awards for student members who wish to attend AASP 2014 to present their work. Sponsored by Taylor & Francis, ten (10) awards at $750 USD each will be available. Any student wishing to submit an abstract for Travel Award consideration must check the appropriate box on the online abstract form and submit no later than February 15, 2014. Applicants must be the first author of the abstract.

WE CAN - Entrevista com Consultor em "Mental Performance" Derek Robinson

Q&A with Derek Robinson

As we count down the days to the Sochi Olympic Winter Games (22 days!), the Canadian Sport Institute Calgary will be featuring members of our team that have had a direct impact on athlete preparation for the Games #WE CAN

To kick things off, meet Derek Robinson. Derek, M.Ed. is a registered psychologist working as a mental performance consultant with the Canadian Sport Institute Calgary since 2003. He is currently involved with many different sports and teams at the National and International levels, including Hockey Canada, Long Track Speed Skating and the Canadian Alpine Ski Team.

Derek strongly believes in the value of specific mental preparation and simulation to best prepare elite athletes to perform on demand. "To win at the top level requires learning and developing the right habits required to compete with confidence and grit. Strengthening these habits in training and competition builds belief. And it comes down to belief and focusing on the task when it matters."

Here is our interview with Derek Robinson.

Q | What is your day-to-day role with the athletes?

A | My day-to-day role with the athletes is a collaborative process of working on these three goals.
1. Performance enhancement so athletes and coaches win
2. Coping with and overcoming adversity
3. Personal and relational well-being

Q | How did you get in the field of Mental Performance?

A | I played hockey at the University of Lethbridge and always loved sports and psychology. I never really thought I'd become a psychologist as I saw myself as a "hockey player." However, my passion for sport psychology allowed for decisions to naturally emerge in building towards living my dream job. And that's working with coaches, athletes, and integrated support teams (IST) towards a common performance goal.

Q | Why did you choose to work in elite sports? What inspires you about working with high performance athletes?

A | The emergent decision making (that I referred to above) led me to capitalize on the right opportunities when the chance came along. A lot of hours, work, and preparation went into becoming a psychologist and mental performance consultant. However, it never seemed like work. The privilege to work in elite sport came about through passion, hard work, opportunity and positive relationships with other people.

What inspires me to work with high performance athletes can be summarized as a love and respect for competition. Winning and most importantly, what it takes to win under different competitive situations/conditions really engages me and gives me energy.

Q | What is the role of a Mental Performance Consultant (MPC) within the IST?

A | The main role of a MPC is to support athlete performance, to effectively collaborate with the coaches, and to integrate within the IST to best support the coach-athlete relationship.

Q | Can you give us two to three mental exercises that you believe everyone should include in their daily routine? Something that you do with athletes and that the public does not necessarily know about or think about doing?

A |1. Identification of the athlete's "Go To" strategies to prepare, the ability to refocus, and to fully engage in the task. This involves the athlete applying mental skills (e.g., self-talk, breathing, mental rehearsal, acting on routines, etc.) in their daily training habits.

2. We debrief which "Go To" strategy is effectively used so that the athlete can focus on the task. The skill to focus really means the ability to refocus quickly. Being in the Zone/Flow is ideal; however, the athlete must learn to perform when not in the Zone. Olympic performance is about clear goals and a plan. Emotional resilience and mental toughness to execute the plan through adversity and distraction.

Q | How can Canada innovate in the field of Mental Performance?

A | It is truly a privilege to work with the people at the Canadian Sport Institute Calgary. The people along with the new Canadian Sport Institute facility at Winsport, is a combination that drives our field of Mental Performance. We can innovate Mental Performance in Calgary by being a great Team of MPCs and working together better than ever. Currently, it is recognized that each Canadian Sport Institute MPC brings individual strengths and by maximizing individual strengths in an environment of strong leadership, trust and respect, we have world leading performance.

Q | What will a "day in the life of Derek Robinson" be like in Sochi?

A | A day in Sochi is about being 100 % available as needed by Canadian coaches and athletes. This availability is always purposefully driven to ensure these basic Olympic lessons:

1. Do not stop doing what works (Trust the right preparation and let the performance happen. Trained habits and belief)
2. Do not start doing what doesn't work (Commit to the right plan with value-driven behaviours vs. changing things last minute in response to Olympic stress/pressure. Perform with poise and focus)

Olympic performance is about the athletes and coaches. It is imperative for an MPC to support coach and athlete performance.

Q | What moment of the Sochi Games do you most look forward to and why?

A | The feeling of seeing the athletes and coaches WIN

Q | What is it about the Olympic Games that inspires YOU?

A | Performance under pressure, through adversity, when it matters. It is really hard to win an Olympic gold medal - And that is awesome.

Motivação no Contexto Esportivo e na Educação Física - Visão dos Praticantes

Pesquisa sobre “Motivação no Contexto Esportivo”. Participem, pois com o envolvimento de todos, a psicologia do esporte sai ganhando!

Este é um convite para participar de uma pesquisa intitulada: “Motivação no Contexto Esportivo”. O instrumento utilizado, e já validado, é o “Questionário de Orientação Motivacional para o Desporto”, que é uma versão traduzida e adaptada para a língua portuguesa do “Task and Ego Orientation in Sport".


https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1KYP9LeOelOKgtANIQmPqmVI48esezZinVgwnqhcqbI0/viewform

Cristiano Ronaldo - Testado ao limite

Excelente documentário produzido por uma rede de tv Britânica sobre o Cristiano Ronaldo.

Esta versão esta em português de Portugal.

Jogos de Inverno - 2014

Os Jogos de inverno de Sochi estão se aproximando rapidamente. Com isso, algumas campanhas de patrocinadores foram ao ar e estão fazendo muito gente encher os olhos. Esse é o caso do comercial criado para a P&G em que mostra crianças praticando diversos esportes de inverno, caindo e levantando, se divertindo e seguindo com o sonho olímpico. Tudo isso com o amparo dos pais.

Não sei se é porque eu estou com três filhos pequenos no Canada onde essas cenas de escorregões, quedas, choro, são misturadas ao riso e ao prazer de realizar algo desafiante como esquiar e patinar, mas fiquei especialmente emocionado ao assistir ao filme.

Espero que gostem.

Mas como nem tudo é como na propaganda, vale relembrar uma postagem onde o tema foi a influência dos pais na vida de atleta. 

2014 - tempo de mudanças

Muita coisa aconteceu desde que comecei a escrever este blog em fevereiro de 2009. Naquela época eu cursava o último ano do curso de psicologia e tinha vários sonhos entre eles fazer mestrado e doutorado fora do Brasil. Hoje, quase cinco anos mais tarde, alguns sonhos já se tornaram realidade e deram lugares a novos sonhos trazidos por uma visão diferente sobre a psicologia do esporte.

Mas não fui só eu que mudei, a psicologia do esporte mudou. Mudou pra melhor, se em 2009 o que me motivou a iniciar o blog foi a dificuldade de acesso a informações sobre o que ocorria na área, hoje diversos fatores facilitam quem se aventura por essas águas. Primeiro, iniciativas estruturadas por grupos de pesquisa e associações são responsáveis por uma série de eventos (congresos, cursos de introdução...). Se em 2004, o Brasil contava com um congresso realizado bianualmente (se não me falhe a memória) pela SOBRAPE (Sociedade Brasileira de Psicologia do Esporte), somente em 2013 houveram três grandes eventos conduzidos pelos maiores grupos de pesquisadores no país (ABRAPESP, SOBRAPE e LEPESPE). Segundo, houve um aumento de visibilidade dado pela mídia aos trabalhos desenvolvidos por psicólogos do esporte. Desde a mais recente conquista mundial pelo handebol feminino (Alessandra Dutra), a medalha de ouro nos jogos de Londres pelo voleibol feminino (Sâmia Hallage), além do futebol com a parceria perene entre a Regina Brandão e o Felipão isso para citar apenas alguns esportes. Outro espaço importante nos veículos de comunicação foi alcançado pela Kátia Rubio sendo co-apresentadora do "Segredos do Esporte", um programa televisivo que dedicou uma série de episódios para discutir diversos aspectos relacionados à psicologia do esporte. Terceiro, se antes os poucos sites sobre psicologia do esporte estavam um pouco defasados, hoje diversos blogs (entre eles o meu), páginas e grupos de discussões em diversas redes sociais trazem visibilidade aos temas e também aos profissionais que constroem a psicologia do esporte no Brasil. Ou seja, a evolução da área e de seus personagens são notáveis a olhos nus.

Neste novo cenário me resta reavaliar o posicionamento desde blog. Ao observar meu histórico de postagens fica claro que andei afastado nos últimos tempos. Acredito que uma das razões desse afastamento não seja apenas a agenda abarrotada de compromissos do mestrado e agora do doutorado, mas a falta de motivação de trazer informações já veiculadas por outros tantos blogs ou grupos de discussão. Ao refletir sobre quais as motivações para manter o blog ativo, reencontrei num cantinho escuro a vontade de compartilhar meus pensamentos não apenas sobre a psicologia do esporte no Brasil, mas também sobre as novas perspectivas que adquiri nesses anos vivendo no hemisfério norte. Portanto, preparem-se para muitas postagens sobre esportes de inverno!!!