League of Fans' Sports Forum

In this episode, we talk with Dr. Tim Rice, the lead faculty member for the Sport and Performance Psychology program at the University of Arizona Global Campus.  Dr. Rice is a long-time coach who transitioned into the field of sports psychology.  He has been in higher education for nearly 20 years at colleges and universities across the nation.  He is also a consultant with Basketball Ireland, the FIBA governing body for basketball in Ireland, as well as with Admirals Basketball Academy in the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine in Eastern Europe.

Our discussion centers around the growth of sports psychology at all levels of sport.  We talk about the positive impact that the number of high profile athletes (Michael Phelps, Kevin Love, Naomi Osaka, Simone Biles, etc.) who have opened up about their mental health struggles has had in changing the "just suck it up" narrative when it comes to psychological challenges in sports.  The importance of everyone involved in sports -- athletes, coaches, trainers, physicians and parents -- caring for the whole athlete, mind and body, is emphasized.  In addition, we talked about the need for increasing awareness of the mental health challenges coaches have to deal with in a high-pressure profession.  We close with ways to find psychologists and counselors in the field of sports and what to look for in sports psychology education programs.