Given we are psychological beings, it is no surprise that the field of sports psychology has grown rapidly over the years. There was a time that performers wouldn’t do anything that “messed with their minds,” … even though their minds were a mess. Today, however, the majority of high performers have someone they work with.

I have spent over 50 years working with athletes and teams to raise the level of their performances. The work I do is more ontological in nature than psychological. Of course I don’t know what other people do, but it seems from what many of my clients have said that my approach is more action oriented than their experience with the psychologist. Psychology seems to be more about “why” than “what.” More about “ what’s wrong” than “what’s so.”

The dictionary says this: Ontology—The branch of metaphysics dealing with the nature of being. Who we are being is the context for every action we take, i.e., everything we do. It is declared into existence by choice. No realization we experience has any value unless we take action on it. I have a client that told me that the nine years of experience she had with the therapist did not equal just six months with me.

I think one of the biggest differences in effectiveness comes from answering this question: “What is my experience on the field or court?” 25 years ago, the sports psychologist for the Los Angeles Dodgers  said this to me which surprised me that he would be so forthcoming.

“You have a big advantage over me”, he said. “Really?”, was my brilliant response. “Yes”, was his. You see most psychologists have never been at home plate with two outs in the ninth and the winning runs in scoring position. Or, at the free throw line, shooting two with no time on the clock and the chance to win, go to overtime or lose. Sometimes we win, sometimes we lose. The question is who are you in the matter of what comes next.

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