AASP Newsletter - December 2016

Angus Mugford, PhD, CC-AASP, Toronto Blue Jays

It’s an honor to serve as AASP’s 31^st President, and to be involved in a pivotal time in the history of our organization. For those of you who were able to attend the Annual Conference in Phoenix, AZ, this year, we not only had a packed schedule and our second largest ever attendance, but also voted in a significant landmark as the culmination of the job task analysis (JTA). This process began in 2011, which set way to the recommendation that we create an externally accredited certification through the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA). This was not an easy decision, and I am extremely proud of the process by which we could work together across our community, taking time and discussion to consider the implications for the future of our field. Like most things in life, it would be wonderful to have a crystal ball and know what the best decision is for our profession. However, since this is not possible, many have taken a leap of faith based on the tireless work of Jack Watson and the Interim Certification Council, knowing what this process of certification has done for similar organizations like the NATA (National Athletic Training Association), NSCA (National Strength Coaches Association), ACSM (American College of Sports Medicine) and others.

This is perhaps a good segue to share some of my thoughts on the landscape of sport and exercise psychology, and how I plan to support and focus my efforts in my role as AASP President this coming year. I recognize that my personal experience and role over the last two decades has focused on performance enhancement in North America, and is far from representing everyone’s interest. My passion with the opportunity I have, is to focus on the sustainability of job growth in our field, knowing that there are a lot of opportunities for the skills and expertise of our membership. Having said this, there is a long way to go in terms of both our market penetration and recognition of some of the systemic challenges by stakeholders who have the power to create jobs for our field. There are some key aspects of our strategic plan that address these and I am excited to see progress and hope that we begin to see continued growth not only here in North America, but also across the globe.

In the presidential address, I shared some crudely collected data that represent a rough estimate of current full-time sport psychology professionals working in some key industries, along with the traction of CC-AASP credentialed people in these roles. This is not published anywhere, but garnered from leaders in each of the respective fields and cross referenced with our CC-AASP database, with an emphasis on full-time and not part-time consulting roles.

* This approximates full-time athletic department, acknowledging there could be potentially 150 in hybrid roles.

There are internal factors we need to address, in addition to external relationships and thankfully, we can be smart about addressing these concurrently.

External Focus
As was recently announced, we have signed a contract with The Rosen Group as our new marketing partner. They have a strong track record collaborating with their clients and taking a proactive approach to engaging with relevant media. While some of the opportunities that are generated here are reactive relative to the current events of the day, we want to align these opportunities to help create more visible brand awareness as well as objectives in line with our more global strategies (Strategic Plan Objective - 2.1).

We also want to begin fostering more strategic and collaborative relationships with organizations that have overlapping or similar goals. There is an exciting opportunity this coming January, with an invitation to the Inter-Association Summit on the organization of health care services in the college environment. Brian Hainline from the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) is co-chairing this event along with Jim Thornton from the NATA, where 14 associations have been invited to contribute and share thoughts. Where our renewed certification efforts may have direct positive repercussions for us may be in the ability to better integrate into health care services. Dr. Traci Statler will be representing us at this Summit to further align ourselves and provide future pathways for collaboration.

We also look to grow global relationships with organizations like the International Society for Sport Psychology (ISSP) and others to foster better collaboration and fast track the learning curve to address relevant issues around certification and job creation outside membership in the United States.

The strategic liaison role that Jon Metzler has been helping grow, will also create opportunities. Jon and Antony Kontos have been able to cast a wide net and focus energy on identifying collaborations that make sense for us. I think there is another level of strategic focus that can happen here by leveraging many of the relationships our membership has and driving collaborations and opportunities through AASP to have a more meaningful impact (Strategic Plan Objective - 2.2).

An area that has been fascinating to me given some privileged insight into front office and management in professional sport, collegiate athletics, the military and government is the lack of clarity decision makers have on the roles of sport psychologists, and the return on investment for these roles. It is clear that there are many different successful and sustainable models of service; however, many stakeholders actually don’t know what we can offer and this becomes a significant barrier to entry. One of our strategic goals to address this is to create an interactive job description template (Strategic Plan Objective - 2.1.5).

Internal Focus
While many of the initiatives above sound like exciting and clear pathways to job creation and opportunities for growth, there is a great deal of work to be done internally to maximize these.

Defining a unifying core identity and message around who we are and what we do is perhaps the most fundamental. As obvious as it sounds, this is perhaps the elephant in the room for many people. Part of the challenge in our community is that we are inherently complex, and largely contextual depending on the clientele with whom we work. However, despite where and how we practice, there are core commonalities that bind us together. Leveraging The Rosen Group to help us generate clarity, without diluting the breadth and diversity that make us special is an important step (Strategic Plan Objective - 4.1).

With the passing of the amendments to the constitution that allow us to pursue NCCA accreditation, there is tremendous work to be done by the Interim Certification Council (ICC), and ultimately the Certification Council (4.3.2). This is not just about shifting to an exam-based certification, but about helping us develop a more credible certification using the job task analysis and best practices to add more reach and value to consultants and consumers. This will lead to improved professional and ethical standards, training (e.g., regarding diversity and cultural competence) (4.2.3), and accountability for our service profession (4.3.1).

Thus far, the job task analysis has allowed us to develop a strong basis for a framework of competency-based standards (4.3.4). These have a key link in the graduate training pathway that lead to graduate programs (4.3.5), and ultimately the potential for graduate program recognition, as well as globalized certification through access and recognition and reciprocation of certifications (4.3.6).

The Challenge for You to Take On

We have an amazing E-board that is working diligently towards achieving these goals outlined in our Strategic Plan. We have been empowered by the AASP community, from students through to the Fellows, who believe in our mission to raise standards, and lower the walls that will allow our field to flourish. Having said that, I want to remind all of you that our collective strength is a result of your individual work and service. In my address at the conference, I highlighted a few key factors I think are in the hands of each and every one of us.

• Think with the end in mind – (A) One of the areas of alignment for the AASP community is that we are service-oriented. We serve others who seek to better themselves and better society. Our ability to be comfortable with being outcome-driven, but process-focused in our service delivery is important. I challenge you to create clarity around your value and service deliverables. Our clientele and consumers have diverse needs, but we do need to do a better job at creating clarity and making sure we understand what is our ‘value proposition’.
• Embrace our diversity – (B) As an organization, we have wasted a great deal of energy working in silos and getting caught up in internal politics. Indeed, I challenge our community to create opportunities for one another with a balance between research and practice, where practitioners invite research partnerships and collaborations, and where researchers seek to engage with those practicing in the field. While we aspire to adopt the science-practitioner model, the reality for many is that it is challenging to do both well. However, we have the expertise as a community to make each other better. An Executive Board can’t do this; it will be you being proactive with your relationships that will make this a reality.
• Be relevant & collaborate – (C) Both health and performance operate along a complex continuum that requires a high degree of collaboration and integration. Indeed, psychology is just one of many components that significantly impacts human behavior and we would do well to remember the role of other experts and practitioners involved. Our field offers a breadth of expertise across the mental health/performance continuum - from clinical psychologists and counselors addressing dysfunction to mental performance consultants and educators facilitating optimal function. Embracing both makes us better. Think not only about how you can make the team, but also how you can make the team better. Our clients don’t always care about ‘who’ is getting the job done; rather, they care that the job is getting done. We need to think bigger picture and work with others to ensure that qualified and competent practitioners are hired by consumers to do the job and that we are accountable to doing it well.

Again, I want to thank everyone for their continued commitment to AASP. Know that those serving on committees and the E-Board are working hard for you, but we are always looking for others to volunteer their time and passion to help. Indeed, Lani Lawrence, as our new Head of Membership Services, is striving to connect people who want to contribute, and we want to hear from you. There are many ways to get more involved. We have a busy year ahead, but I’ve never been more excited for the opportunities that are within our reach.