http://www.SmartProInsight.com
Dr. John F Murray - 561-596-9898
Explaining Interview re: Miami Dolphins
Many persons, including several NFL coaches, have contacted me over the past 8 weeks after seeing my NBC TV interview conducted from my office in West Palm Beach by sports anchor Ben Becker. In the interview, which you can watch by clicking on the link below, we talk about the terrible effect Ricky’s retirement had on the Miami Dolphins, and how this just further illustrates the urgency for NFL teams to proactively involve more sport psychologists in a preventive manner.
Most of the emails I have received about the interview have been supportive. About 25% asked for further explanation about how sport psychology could have helped in this case, and why my sport psychology work has not helped the Miami Dolphins who are off to their worst start in team history.
First, as mentioned in the interview, I know that the success of athletes and teams depend in great part upon the enormous potential benefits of mental training. Legitimate sport psychologists can, given the opportunity, also address personal issues before they hurt the team. As a result, players become more confident and focused, reduce mistakes, and the teams and coaches prosper. Coaches should not be expected anymore to do it all on their own!
Second, I have never been asked to work with the team. I have worked with individual Miami Dolphins players in the past, and the results were tangible and positive. The thanks of both the General Manager and the Coach were proof positive of the value of timely professional intervention.
As a licensed clinical and sport psychologist, I cannot stress enough the benefits to NFL managers and coaches of proactively involving legitimate sport psychologists to help teams hone performance and to help individual players deal with personal problems before they become destructive to the team.
You can watch the interview about Ricky Williams and the need for teams to take sport psychology more seriously for the TEAM, and not just in isolated instances at:
http://www.SmartProInsight.com/images/rickywilliams.wmv
http://www.SmartProInsight.com
Dr. John F Murray - 561-596-9898