As a Certified Consultant of Association for Applied Sports Psychology (CC-AASP), Dr. Macri has trained and studied theories specifically developed to enhance performance.
Sport remains one of the great metaphors in life. Through our participation, we increase confidence and motivation, learn teamwork and sportsmanship, manage our emotions under pressure, and learn how to win and lose gracefully. Children, weekend warriors, and elite athletes spend countless hours enhancing their life through sport. Our focus has remained on the physical aspects of training; however, fewer hours are spent addressing the mental aspects of sport performance.
Sport and performance psychology is an evidenced-based science which focuses on enhancing sport participation. Primarily, this is accomplished by mental training in the following areas:
Goal setting: Goals that are specific, measurable, realistic, and challenging produce the greatest benefit to an athlete. Additionally, an athlete needs to develop both practice and competitive goals which are within one’s control, not based on the performance of other’s around him/her. Finally, setting goals which are based upon the steady improvement over the win/loss scenario benefit the athlete greatly.
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Have you established short and long term objectives in your sport?
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Are the goals vague or measurable?
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Do you set specific practice and competitive goals?
Imagery: One’s ability to incorporate multiple senses and experience emotions (both positive and negative) associated with sport facilitates effective performance in real life situations. Developing skill in this area can be applied to multiple skills within a sport. Imagery can also assist in learning and mastering a physical skill.
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Do you have the capacity to vividly imagine and rehearse skills within your sport?
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Are you aware that effective imagery activates muscles associated with a given movement?
Optimal Relaxation and Energization: In order to develop consistency in performance, an athlete needs to be able to regulate their emotions. The ability to find the optimal arousal level for a given skill at the appropriate time remains a daunting process for the athlete. Competitive stress often leaves an athlete mentally and physically exerted. More importantly, the ability to transition from fast paced action to slow movement where thoughts can interfere with performance remains a challenge to recreational and elite performers. Learning how to regulate emotions may lead to greater peak performance.
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Do you have the capacity to remain calm in high pressure situations?
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Are you aware of your optimal zone of arousal for a given skill?
Self -Talk: An athlete’s behavior and emotions are determined by what he/she thinks or says to himself/herself, on a conscious or even unconscious level. Negative thought patterns lead to pessimistic thinking and reduce the athlete’s focus on the present moment. Optimizing positive self-statements leads to an increase in performance in the present moment and a greater positive mental attitude.
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Do you use the most effective self-talk statements to facilitate your performance?
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Do you keep a positive mental attitude when you are not performing well in sport?
Who can benefit from sport and performance psychology training?
Anyone who has answered with doubt to any of the questions listed above can benefit from consultation with a person specializing in sport and performance psychology. The following is a list of people who have benefitted from consultation:
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Parents
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Coaches
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Recreational athletes
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Elite athletes
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Musicians
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Actors
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Surgeons
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High Risk Occupations
Why Dr. John Macri?
Dr. Macri has made this an area of specialization which complements the behavioral training he has completed as a licensed psychologist. Dr. John Macri is a member of American Psychological Association: Division 47 (Exercise and Sport Psychology) as well as Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP). He has pursued the addional training to become a Certified Consultant through the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (CC-AASP).