I use an Integrative and Evidence based theoretical ground for my SPP consultancy work. When I think about the dynamic of the interventions, the need to understand the background, understand the personality of the client, using a lot of observation on location (where the performances are taking place) and as I work with youth athlete, the social, cognitive and emotional developmental stages they are in and the notion that they are “in motion” are part of the challenges to consider as their self-identity is a moving construction and so are the issues they encounter (Henriksen et al., 2014).
As every athlete is unique and has an original situation, it requires to find the current best approach, test, method for the athlete’s case”. Identifying the client or group demographics, gain entry in the program, select the skills that will be developed in the appropriate time frame to help in performance excellence and proceed to the evaluation / feedback and measurement of the results are part of my “standard initial procedure”; a strong consideration for critical engagement with issues of identity, multicultural sensitivity and meaning-making are key focus area as they are crucial in sports contexts, "the WHY" often being the cornerstone for performance (Henriksen et al., 2014 ; Aoyagi et al., 2017).
This highlights the main challenge that is acquiring interdisciplinary knowledge such as biological, neurological, physiological and systemic factors in order to implement interventions. Adding the importance of what can be done when and how: every sport has a different seasonal pattern (off season, pre-season, in-season, competitive season, playoffs or not, extra championships, trails season) in different calendar timeline (spring, summer, fall or winter) with different demands and resource available. Practically knowing your ground on all those matters is again part of that so called “standard procedure” and being literate about the activity and its characteristics is mandatory.
For instance these last days I had to work with small groups, larger groups and individuals in different sports, with every time a different purpose and message; from the introductory session to SPP for a large group to a pre-season individualized work session and assessment for a single athlete. Attunement to the audience, to the athletes as a group and at the same time as individuals in order to build and maintain a trusting relationship, provide a service in a very efficient and interactive way, be able to assess and self-assess what is comfortable and what is not, what is a challenge to be tackled and what resources need to be reinforced (in both theory and practice) and understand the presented issue vs. the real issue are what I mostly consider and this by using my very own style in an agreed framework. Knowing where I stand, what are the key dynamics, stakeholders and clear objectives are the impacting context to my consultancy. I learned as well that it isn’t about the quantity but the quality of the intervention and that the form could be any; with a golfer that I saw at a practice the day before a tournament: I had a 35 min session with and we could list the different reasons for feeling a pre-performance stress for the next day and lower the anxiety. The day of the tournament I had a quick 5 min encounter - where we could create a last minute plan for the competition to come (and bounce back if needed) by including a nutritional element that was just received as a gift from a parent – candies - and create a routine to promote relaxation – which worked. Improvising, being fast and providing a simple intervention was the way to go, while it differs when having our weekly planned meeting. In a nutshell, all about Context and Content.
Making sure I keep a healthy level of energy and apply self-care and assess my own well-being in order to be available for my clients is something I work upon, being aware of the impact it can have; from my morning routine to my diet, including the sports and downtime relaxing time, I pay a lot of attention in being fit (mind, body and soul) to be ethical sound and truly available to my clients.
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