Performance Excellence: Stories of Success from the Real World of Sport and Exercise Psychology

by Michael L. Sachs (Editor), Lauren S. Tashman (Editor), Selen Razon (Editor)

Overview

Performance Excellence: Stories of Success from the Real World of Sport and Exercise Psychology provides concise and effective lessons on a variety of psychological skills and broader concepts within the domains of exercise, sport, and performance psychology. These skills and concepts include team cohesion, dynamics, and leadership; goal-setting, motivation, and adherence; exercise identity, athletic identity, transitions, and self-awareness; mental training; mindset; and facing and overcoming challenges such as anxiety, burnout, and rehabilitation. Each chapter includes a short educational piece that centers on the select concept and subsequent examples that highlight how the concept works in real life. At the end of each lesson a few takeaways are provided.

Over 60 stories of real-world examples provide poignant and compelling lessons and make the material come alive. These stories show the reader in an accessible and engaging way how to apply the sport and exercise psychology concepts outside the classroom. Ultimately, Performance Excellence serves as a wonderful resource for students, as well as for sport and exercise practitioners.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781538128909
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	02/14/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	266
Sales rank:	845,559
File size:	4 MB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Michael Sachs is a Professor in the Department of Kinesiology, College of Public Health, at Temple University, Philadelphia, PA. He is co-editor of Applied Exercise Psychology: The Challenging Journey From Motivation to Adherence, and is associate editor of Psychology of Running and coeditor of Running as Therapy: An Integrated Approach. He also co-wrote The Total Sports Experience for Kids: A Parents' Guide to Success in Youth Sports. He is a co-editor of the 12th edition of the Directory of Graduate Programs in Applied Sport Psychology. Sachs is a past-president of both the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP) and Division 47, the Society for Sport, Exercise and Performance Psychology, of the American Psychological Association (APA). He is a Certified Mental Performance Consultant with AASP.

Lauren S. Tashman, PhD, CMPC, is a Certified Mental Performance Consultant with the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP), providing mental performance coaching, leadership advising, and team/organization consulting in sport, exercise, and non-sport performance settings in New York City and worldwide. She has consulted with a variety of sports, such as golf, softball, baseball, gymnastics, soccer, rowing, swimming and diving, tennis, basketball, and volleyball at a variety of levels including youth, collegiate, professional, and national/Olympic.

Tashman was previously an associate professor in Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology (SEPP) as well as Coordinator of the Master’s program in SEPP at Barry University in Miami Shores, Florida. She also served as the Coordinator of Sport Psychology Services, providing mental performance coaching to the Barry athletes, coaches, and teams as well as supervising the master’s students with their practicum experiences. She is the co-editor of two books: Becoming a Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology Professional: A Global Perspective (2014) and Global Practices and Training in Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology (2016).

Selen Razon is an assistant professor in the Department of Kinesiology, College of Health Sciences at West Chester University. She is co-editor of the recently published Applied Exercise Psychology: The Challenging Journey from Motivation to Adherence. Razon’s research interests focus on exercise promotion in underserved populations and the effects of exercise on cognitions and affects.

Table of Contents

Introduction



Chapter 1: Teams: Cohesion, Dynamics and Culture, and Leadership

Is A “C” Really Necessary? - Matthieu Boisvert & Todd Loughead

Never Satisfied - BernadetteCompton

UCLA Gymnastics Team Culture - Deborah Munch

On Being & Becoming Fearless Female Athletes - Ellen Staurowsky

Culture Eats Teambuilding for Breakfast - Lauren Tashman



Chapter 2: Pursuit of Goals: Motivation, Goal Setting, and Adherence

Journey Toward Becoming an Everyday Exerciser - Bradley Cardinal

The Gruppo Ciclistico - Jeff Cherubini

Perfect Pitch - John Heil

Star Spangled Sport - John Heil

Ask the Kids - Rick Howard

One Hour at a Time - Michael Sachs

Ringer - Michael Sachs

Valuing Physical Activity/Exercise - Michael Sachs


Chapter 3: Identity and Transitions: Exercise Identity, Athletic Identity, Transitions, and Self-awareness

Embracing Change - Bassey Akpan

How my Athletic Role Affected my Identity - Arna Erega

Who Am I After Everything is Said and Done? - Shaya Schaedler

Life After Sport - Alexandra Szarabajko

Hello Life: This is Swimming Joann, It’s Nice to Meet you - Joann Wakefield

The Split Dodge - Diana Wildermuth

The Value of a Sport Transition - Taylor Wise

Leaving Sport With a Spinal Cord Injury - Derek Zike and Monna Arvinen-Barrow


Chapter 4: Mental Training: Imagery, Attentional Focus and Control, Self-talk, Arousal Control and Energy Management, and Emotion Regulation

Trying to Take it One Pitch at a Time - William Brown

Act it ‘til you In-act it - Kevin Burke

“It’s not a Typo.” - Mark Cheney

Hurdle by Hurdle - Michael Clark

Controlling a Racing Mind While Racing the Mile - Emily Galvin

Imagining Success and Staying Positive: One Lap at a Time - Al Kornspan

See it to Believe it! - Dora Kurimay

Learning to Read Your Physiological Stress Gauge - William Land

Up and Down the Ladder: The Ebbs and Flows of a Champion Jockey - Karen Lo

Ride it Out: Stress and Anxiety Management Strategies on the Slopes - Michelle McAlarnen

A Tennis Journey - Nikola Milinkovic

Be the Best Carley - Deborah Munch

The Background Noise of the Overachieving Helicopter Parent - Kate Nolt

These are the Moments we Live for - Max Pollack

Make no Mistake: Your Thoughts Build Your Game - Meghan Ramick and Selen Razon

Be The Ball - Michael Sachs

Imagining the Power - Joann Wakefield

Pool of Tears: In The Water They Can’t see you cry - Joann Wakefield

Ranger Up - Cedric Williams and Matthew D. Powless


Chapter 5: Mindset: Confidence, Emotion, Mental Toughness, Anxiety/Stress/Pressure, and Staleness/Burnout

Pidä hauskaa - have fun! - Monna Arvinen-Barrow, Amanda Visek, and Amie Barrow

The Big Three - Arna Erega

The Extreme Stupor/крайний ступор - John Heil and Paul Sotor

To DNF or not to DNF, That is the Question … - Anna-Marie Jaeschke, Michael Sachs, Dolores Christensen, and Lauren Tashman

Down But Not Out - Lindsey Keenan

You Get to Choose - Jen Schumacher

Confidence: A mindset, not a feeling - Lauren Tashman

Teeing up for Success by Exploring and Shifting Mindset - Lauren Tashman

Chapter 6: Facing and Overcoming Challenges: Mental Toughness, Anxiety/Stress/Pressure, Staleness/Burnout, Resilience, and Rehabilitation from Injury

More than that, I was Never Just… - Megan Buning and Tiffany M. Kasdorf

Coping With Injury: Deep Breathing and Praying - Damien Clement & Monna Arvinen-Barrow

Grit at 335 Miles Per Hour: A Drag Racing Story of Guts, Resilience, Initiative, and Tenacity - Tami Eggleston

Failing Forward - Kerry Guest

Being There - John Heil

Psyche of the Injured Athlete - Laura Miele

Running to Cope or Running Away - How Much is Too Much? - Kate Nolt

Defying the Odds - Selen Razon

Do Not Quit! - Selen Razon and Meghan Ramick

Coming Back From Injury - Shaya Schaedler

Life Changes for Athletic Excellence - Tshepang Tshube, Karin Jeffery, & Stephanie Hanrahan

Unconventional Success through Injury - Taylor Wise

Resilience and Recovery After Bike Collision - Anna Weltman

The Dormouse: Recollections of a Lightweight Rower with Overtraining Syndrome - Lindsay Woodford

Conclusion

Bibliography

Appendix: Recommendations for Utilizing This Book in the Classroom

Index

About the Editors

About the Contributors

Editorial Reviews

Stories—it’s all about stories. Some are first person accounts, while some are about other people; some describe exercise while others are framed around competitive sports; some are academic, others are anecdotal. Throughout, the immediacy of the story will engage and inform those who are learning about mental performance training, those who practice and those who are their clients.

Kate F. Hays

Whether as a valuable teaching tool or as an excellent template for “research to practice” in sport consultancy work, Performance Excellence: Stories of Success From the Real World of Sport and Exercise Psychology provides authentic examples of real-life, powerful stories from both individuals and teams. This book will serve as an outstanding addition to any scholar-practitioner in the field who seeks compelling examples to frame evidence-based, best practice working with clients and to students in sport psychology classes both graduate and undergraduate.

Colleen M. Hacker

The editors’ fealty to the notion that stories constitute a powerful teaching and learning device is uniformly supported in their work. The book is a worthy addition to the typical sport and exercise psychology library. Its brief and interesting stories and their messages will certainly be of considerable value to students and their teachers alike.

David Pargman

Performance Excellence: Stories of Success from the Real World of Sport and Exercise Psychology is designed for a diverse array of readers. These include professionals in the field, coaches, athletes, parents, and other individuals who enjoy inspirational stories related to performance excellence. Sachs, Tashman, and Razon have artfully selected vignettes that can serve as teaching tools to illustrate key theories and concepts in the field of sport and exercise psychology. In addition, applied practitioners may choose to pass these stories on to their clients who are encountering similar challenges. I highly recommend this book! It is a joy to read and provides poignant reflections on meaningful topics in both sport and exercise psychology. Performance Excellence is a must-have contribution to the literature!

Bonnie G. Berger

This thoughtful collection of stories provides a comprehensive view across many major applied sport psychology topics while personal narratives with heartfelt insights describe a multitude of perspectives on success as defined by athletes, coaches, and performers. As a seasoned professional, I have gained additional examples that I never would have thought to use, while students will be exposed to the inner workings of these private sessions which they often cannot access in class or in a typical textbook. I highly recommend this useful book for the classroom and will be using it in my own practice with athlete-performer consultations.

Paul Salitsky

This unique and interesting book is a valuable contribution to understanding sport psychology concepts through real life stories. Each chapter successfully integrates a short personal narrative with major concepts of sport psychology and concludes with highly practical “Take Home Points” that will be valuable to athletes, coaches, and mental performance consultants. An enjoyable, interesting, and creative approach to learning about sport psychology and its practical applications.

Jack J. Lesyk

While most books in the area of sport and exercise psychology have extensive reviews of the research literature, and provide an overview of related concepts and theories, it is relatively rare to find a book that applies this literature from the viewpoint of elite athletes. In Performance Excellence, the chapter writers tell their stories in a very personal and compelling way; abstract concepts (e.g., mental skills, leadership, confidence) are transformed into concrete thoughts, emotions, and desirable performance outcomes. The athletes in this book tell their own personalized story, applying concrete experiences and familiar concepts through “take home points” located at the end of each chapter. Readers will be fascinated by the challenges, obstacles, and innovative ways the performers go from “good” to “great.” This book meets a long-standing need in the sport psychology literature by describing how elite level performers effectively apply cognitive-behavioral techniques, and are rewarded by the high status of their achievements.

Mark H. Anshel

Performance Excellence: Stories of Success from the Real World of Sport and Exercise Psychology is designed for a diverse array of readers. These include professionals in the field, coaches, athletes, parents, and other individuals who enjoy inspirational stories related to performance excellence. Sachs, Tashman, and Razon have artfully selected vignettes that can serve as teaching tools to illustrate key theories and concepts in the field of sport and exercise psychology. In addition, applied practitioners may choose to pass these stories on to their clients who are encountering similar challenges. I highly recommend this book! It is a joy to read and provides poignant reflections on meaningful topics in both sport and exercise psychology. Performance Excellence is a must-have contribution to the literature!

Stories--it's all about stories. Some are first person accounts, while some are about other people; some describe exercise while others are framed around competitive sports; some are academic, others are anecdotal. Throughout, the immediacy of the story will engage and inform those who are learning about mental performance training, those who practice and those who are their clients.

The editors' fealty to the notion that stories constitute a powerful teaching and learning device is uniformly supported in their work. The book is a worthy addition to the typical sport and exercise psychology library. Its brief and interesting stories and their messages will certainly be of considerable value to students and their teachers alike.

This thoughtful collection of stories provides a comprehensive view across many major applied sport psychology topics while personal narratives with heartfelt insights describe a multitude of perspectives on success as defined by athletes, coaches, and performers. As a seasoned professional, I have gained additional examples that I never would have thought to use, while students will be exposed to the inner workings of these private sessions which they often cannot access in class or in a typical textbook. I highly recommend this useful book for the classroom and will be using it in my own practice with athlete-performer consultations.

This unique and interesting book is a valuable contribution to understanding sport psychology concepts through real life stories. Each chapter successfully integrates a short personal narrative with major concepts of sport psychology and concludes with highly practical "Take Home Points" that will be valuable to athletes, coaches, and mental performance consultants. An enjoyable, interesting, and creative approach to learning about sport psychology and its practical applications.

Whether as a valuable teaching tool or as an excellent template for "research to practice" in sport consultancy work, Performance Excellence: Stories of Success From the Real World of Sport and Exercise Psychology provides authentic examples of real-life, powerful stories from both individuals and teams. This book will serve as an outstanding addition to any scholar-practitioner in the field who seeks compelling examples to frame evidence-based, best practice working with clients and to students in sport psychology classes both graduate and undergraduate.

While most books in the area of sport and exercise psychology have extensive reviews of the research literature, and provide an overview of related concepts and theories, it is relatively rare to find a book that applies this literature from the viewpoint of elite athletes. In Performance Excellence, the chapter writers tell their stories in a very personal and compelling way; abstract concepts (e.g., mental skills, leadership, confidence) are transformed into concrete thoughts, emotions, and desirable performance outcomes. The athletes in this book tell their own personalized story, applying concrete experiences and familiar concepts through "take home points" located at the end of each chapter. Readers will be fascinated by the challenges, obstacles, and innovative ways the performers go from "good" to "great." This book meets a long-standing need in the sport psychology literature by describing how elite level performers effectively apply cognitive-behavioral techniques, and are rewarded by the high status of their achievements.

From the Publisher