I am a high school student and am flirting with the option of becoming a sports psychologist, but I honestly have no clue what they do! If someone is willing to give me a brief rundown on what it is that these particular psychologists do, that'd be great! Thanks in advance for your help!

-- Melody Gammon (gymgrrl2@yahoo.com), November 13, 1998

Answers

E-mail me (steveed@okway.okstate.edu) or call me (405-744-7476) and we can discuss this in more detail.

Short answer: Sport psychologists work with individual athletes or teams to improve athletic performance (e.g. choking), or help with sport-caused or sport-related psychological problems (e.g. anxiety). Some sport psychologists are college professors who do research and teach in the field. Some are combinations of all three above.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Steven W. Edwards, Ph.D., FACSM Professor and Certified Consultant Association for the Advancement of Applied Sport Psychology

-- Steven W. Edwards (steveed@okway.okstate.edu), November 16, 1998.