The Sport Psych Handbook

368 pages published: 2005

About the Book

Athletes’ physiques and conditioning levels have advanced significantly in the past decade. Now, it’s time for their mental prowess to catch up.

The Sport Psych Handbook makes significant performance improvement possible through training the mind to parallel the body’s enhanced development. Experts covering each facet of the mental game present research-based, field-tested approaches to enhance individual and team performance. More specifically, this comprehensive guide will give athletes breakthrough methods to do the following: Optimize inner drive for training and competition

Maintain emotional and mental control for unwavering focus

Improve communication skills for better leadership and teamwork

Avoid and overcome slumps, injuries, and other challenges to a successful season

Complement your physical skills with sharper mental skills. Make The Sport Psych Handbook part of your training arsenal, and start performing to your potential.

About the Author

Shane Murphy, PhD, is one of the nation's leading sport psychologists, with expertise in performance excellence, competitiveness, and teamwork. He is currently assistant professor at Western Connecticut State University. Murphy served as a sport psychologist to the U.S. Olympic team at the 1988 Summer Games in Seoul, the U.S. Olympic team at the 1992 Winter Games in Albertville, and the 1996 U.S. slalom canoe and kayak teams in Atlanta. In addition, he was sport psychology consultant to the U.S. snowboard team from 1999 to 2002. For seven years he worked for the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) as head of its sport psychology department and later as the associate director of its sport science and technology division.

Murphy is a popular speaker and author of the best-selling book The Achievement Zone: An 8-Step Guide to Peak Performance in All Arenas of Life. He has appeared on many television and radio programs on ABC, CBS, MSNBC, CNN, and NPR. He also has had articles containing or referring to his work in USA Today, The Washington Post, The New York Times, Newsweek, and other major publications. He is a former president of the division of sport and exercise psychology of the American Psychological Association (APA) and is a fellow of the Association for the Advancement of Applied Sport Psychology (AAASP).

Murphy lives in Trumbull, Connecticut, with his wife, Annemarie, and two children, Bryan and Theresa.