Enter Sandman: Sports Psychology Discussions

                                            By: Connor Sand Covid-19 has changed the landscape of the sports world since March, and collegiate spring sports have been dramatically affected with the cancellation of their seasons. These cancellations have robbed these athletes, especially seniors, of their ability to complete their collegiate careers and in some cases dramatically hampered their ability to position themselves for a professional career. They are left to feel disappointed, frustrated, and most importantly uncertain of what the future holds.  The state of uncertainty is a mental state which comes from a lack of knowledge. This is not saying when you are uncertain you aren’t smart, but it’s explaining that uncertainty comes when someone isn’t familiar with, or understanding of the situation they are in. This could be in a job, a relationship, ...

By: Connor Sand While  the physical rehabilitation of an athlete after injury is obviously important for their return to sport, the psychological side of injury rehabilitation plays just as important of a role. In talking with Joel Condreay on the paired podcast, this became even more evident as I was able to hear his thought process while navigating the first six months of his Tommy John rehab after tearing his Ulnar Collateral Ligament. Once athletic injury has been conceptualized as a stressor in the life of an athlete, they then evaluate or appraise that stressor in accordance with personal or situational factors (Williams, 2015).The response to injury comes from how the athlete is able to perceive the injury; this cognitive appraisal they develop determines the emotional response which then determines the following behavior in their injury rehabilitation. The way an athlete perceives their injury sets the tone for their entire injury rehabilitation.    Cognitive Appr...