Table Of ContentPsychology in Professional Sports and the
Performing Arts
The relationship between sport and exercise psychology and the realm of professional sport
and performance has grown exponentially in recent years. Elite athletes increasingly see the
value in seeking psychological advice and expertise, while consultants now work in a wider
range of elite performance environments.
Psychology in Professional Sports and the Performing Arts: Challenges and Strategies is a
unique and timely collection that brings together the experiences and knowledge of a range of
applied psychologists working in these exciting industries. The book begins with a section
outlining the core skills that practitioners require in the field, before chapters discussing
individual sports, team sports, and the performing arts. Each author looks at how theoretical
principles can be applied within a particular professional context, delineating how performers
may benefit from working with a psychologist, as well as the ethical and cultural challenges
that they faced.
Assessing the role of applied psychologists across a truly unique range of activities, from
polo to motor racing and ice hockey to modern dance, Psychology in Professional Sports and
the Performing Arts: Challenges and Strategies offers unrivalled insights into how sport and
exercise psychology can be put into practice in challenging professional environments. It will
appeal to anyone studying sport and exercise psychology or working in the field.
Robert J. Schinke is the Canada Research Chair in Multicultural Sport and Physical Activity,
and a professor at Laurentian University, Canada. He is both a mental training consultant to
Olympic and professional athletes and an active researcher.
Dieter Hackfort is a Professor for Sport Psychology and Head of the Department for Sport
Science at the University FAF Munich. He has served as a counselor for professional
performers and athletes of various sports at the Olympic Centers in Germany. His research has
been published in 27 books and edited volumes and in more than 150 contributions in national
and international journals.
International Perspectives on Key Issues in Sport and Exercise Psychology
Series Editors: Athanasios Papaiouannou and Dieter Hackfort
International Perspectives on Key Issues in Sport and Exercise Psychology is a series of edited
books published in partnership with the International Society of Sport Psychology. Each title
reflects cutting-edge research in the psychological study of high-level sport, written by key
researchers and leading figures in the field of sports psychology.
Books in this series:
Athletes’ Careers across Cultures
Edited by Natalia B. Stambulova and Tatiana V. Ryba
Routledge Companion to Sport and Exercise Psychology:
Global Perspectives and Fundamental Concepts
Edited by Athanasios Papaioannou and Dieter Hackfort
The Psychology of Sub-Culture in Sport and Physical Activity:
Critical Perspectives
Edited by Robert J. Schinke and Kerry R. McGannon
Psychology in Professional Sports and the Performing Arts: Challenges and Strategies
Edited by Robert J. Schinke and Dieter Hackfort
Psychology in Professional Sports and the
Performing Arts
Challenges and strategies
Edited by Robert J. Schinke and Dieter Hackfort
First published 2017
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2017 selection and editorial matter, Robert J. Schinke and Dieter Hackfort; individual
chapters, the contributors
The right of the editors to be identified as the authors of the editorial material, and of the
authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78
of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any
form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented,
including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks,
and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Schinke, Robert J., editor. | Hackfort, Dieter, editor.
Title: Psychology in professional sports and the performing arts : challenges and
strategies / edited by Robert J. Schinke & Dieter Hackfort.
Description: Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2016. | Series: International
perspectives on key issues in sport and exercise psychology
Identifiers: LCCN 2016003130 | ISBN 9781138808614 (hardback : alk. paper) |
ISBN 9781138808621 (pbk. : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781315750569 (e-book)
Subjects: LCSH: Sports—Psychological aspects. | Professional sports—Psychological
aspects. | Athletes—Psychology. | Professional athletes—Psychology. | Performing
arts—Psychological aspects. | Sports psychologists—Biography.
Classification: LCC GV706.4 .P6844 2016 | DDC 796.01/9—dc23
LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2016003130
ISBN: 978-1-138-80861-4 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-138-80862-1 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-75056-9 (ebk)
Typeset in Bembo
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
Contents
Biographies
1 Embarking on sport psychology with professional level athletes
Dieter Hackfort and Robert J. Schinke
Section I
Core skills
2 Context is everything: working with the transitioning athlete
Angus Mugford
3 How to become a consulting business
Robert M. Nideffer
4 Overcoming resistance from clients and stakeholders
Frank L. Gardner
5 Working with transnational professional athletes
Zella E. Moore
6 Ethical practice challenges of consultation in professional sport
Edward F. Etzel and Jack C. Watson II
Section II
Individual and pair sports
7 Twenty years’ experience working within professional tennis
Chris Harwood
8 My consulting life on the PGA tour: a 25-year experience
Richard Gordin
9 How a plant pot led me to performance psychology in women’s professional golf
Christian Smith
10 The strategies and methods for working with professional motor racing drivers
Dieter Hackfort
11 Consultancy with elite professional boxers and their working teams
Robert J. Schinke
12 Working within professional mixed martial arts
Rebecca Symes
13 Mental training program for a sumo wrestler
Yoichi Kozuma
Section III
Team sports
14 Working within polo: a wonderland experience
Stiliani “Ani” Chroni
15 Working within the National Hockey League
Paul Dennis
16 Working within professional football
Mark S. Nesti
17 Working within professional rugby union
Stephen D. Mellalieu
18 Working within elite professional cricket: the role of a sport psychology consultant
Stewart T. Cotterill
19 Working within professional baseball: reflections and recommendations on the practice of
sport and performance psychology
Charles A. Maher
Section IV
Aesthetics and the performing arts
20 From the sport world to the big top: Jean Francois Ménard’s journey with Cirque du Soleil
Leslee A. Fisher and Jean Francois Ménard
21 Performance psychology in ballet and modern dance
Sharon A. Chirban and Miriam R. Rowan
22 My journey into sports psychology: strategies, challenges, and case studies
Lois Butcher-Poffley
23 Synthesis and reflections on professional sport consulting
Dieter Hackfort and Robert J. Schinke
Index
Biographies
Co-editors
Robert J. Schinke, EdD, is the Canada Research Chair in Multicultural Sport and Physical
Activity and a Professor of Sport Psychology in the School of Human Kinetics at Laurentian
University in Canada. As a Canadian Sport Psychology Association registered practitioner,
Schinke has extensive experience working with national teams and professional athletes of
North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean. Robert has authored
more than 100 refereed publications and co-edited 15 textbooks, including the Routledge
International Handbook of Sport Psychology. His research has been supported by the Social
Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Indigenous Health Research
Development Program, and the Canadian Foundation for Innovation. In addition, Robert
served as an associate editor for Psychology of Sport and Exercise, and he is presently the co-
editor for the International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, and associate editor for
Case Studies in Sport and Exercise Psychology and with the Journal of Sport and Social Issues.
He is also on several editorial boards off other peer-reviewed journals. Robert is also the
current Past-President of the Association for Applied Sport Psychology and serves as a
member of the Managing Council for the International Society of Sport Psychology. He, his
wife Erin, and their two sons, Harrison and Pierce, reside in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada.
Dieter Hackfort, PhD, is a professor for sport psychology, Head Department for Sport
Science, at the University FAF Munich. In 1986 he was a visiting professor at the Center for
Behavioral Medicine and Health Psychology at the University of South Florida. From 1991 to
2004 he was the Head of the Institute for Sport Science at the University FAF Munich. From
2004 to 2009 Dr. Hackfort was the founding Dean of Aspire the Academy for Sports
Excellence in Doha, Qatar. From 2009 to 2010 he served as a founding Director of the Sport
Science Program at Qatar University. He has served as a counselor for professional performers
and athletes of various sports at the Olympic Centers in Germany. His research has been
published in 27 books and edited volumes and in more than 160 contributions in national and
international journals. From 1996 to 2008 he served as a co-Editor-in-Chief for the
