AASP Newsletter - March 2018

Angus Mugford, PhD, CMPC, Toronto Blue Jays, Canada
Interviewed by Sebastian Brueckner, PhD, CMPC, University of Münster, Germany, on behalf of the Newsletter Committee

Five weeks after the AASP Annual Conference in Orlando in October 2017, Past-President Angus Mugford gave a keynote presentation at the BASES-FEPSAC Conference in November 2017 in Nottingham, UK. Angus spoke about his insights in "Developing a high-performance culture: Recommendations for research and practice". But he was also able to share much of his experience as an AASP leader with the current Managing Council of the European Federation of Sport Psychology (FEPSAC).

What was your overall experience of the FEPSAC conference, which the European Federation of Sport Psychology co-hosted with BASES, the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences?

Nottingham provided a terrific location for the approximately 400 delegates. The keynotes and breakout session offered high-quality content. Compared to AASP conferences, there were fewer overall sessions. But the concept of co-hosting the conference was fascinating to me. One of the things I’ve always appreciated about BASES as a sport science organization is that it is interdisciplinary in nature and approaches sport and exercise issues from the strands of physiology, psychology and biomechanics, which creates some more collaborative discussions and opportunities. FEPSAC certainly increased the percentage of psychologists in attendance, but I think that the diversity within the group is a healthy thing.

Besides your keynote where you shared insights gained as a performance director in professional baseball, what was your involvement with the conference organizers as an AASP leader?

You are right. My take-home messages in the keynote were largely around my role as a performance director, in thinking from an interdisciplinary perspective about how we approach problem solving in an increasingly complex and demanding environment. But I also highlighted many of these points in my presidential address as an AASP leader at the annual conference in Phoenix in 2016. I see a huge opportunity for academic, research and applied professionals to come together more effectively to answer questions that help performers achieve their goals.

What actions do we as individual professionals, AASP as an organization, and the field of applied sport and exercise psychology have to initiate in that regard?

As individuals, as an organization and as a field, I think we need to do a better job of understanding what organizations and consumers want from us, and how we can better integrate our services with other providers and industries. Creating opportunities to exchange ideas, experiences and perspectives through co-hosted conferences seems like a great first step in initiating collaborative efforts, creating common goals and improving understanding for each other – ultimately to the benefit of our clients. Of course, I’m talking from a professional sports environment perspective, which is not representative of everyone. But I hope my message focused on rallying more around our common goals, rather than our differences and how we’re trying to leverage that within my context in professional baseball.

What opportunities for collaboration and exchange did you have during your trip?

I was able to spend an afternoon at Loughborough University the day before the conference to speak with faculty, students and staff by the invitation of Dave Fletcher, which was great. I also had an opportunity to meet with FEPSAC president Anne-Marie Elbe and her Managing Council the day before the conference. They walked through their thoughts and considerations around certification for sport psychology professionals in Europe. I shared with them some of the perspectives on AASP’s journey regarding advancing professional standards and certification from the job task analysis, to the present day and our intent around the CMPC. It was great to hear the enthusiasm among the FEPSAC Managing Council and their specific considerations to support applied sport and exercise psychology in Europe.

Looking ahead: Can AASP benefit from increasing its collaborative efforts?

Absolutely! Over the past few years, FEPSAC and AASP have been strengthening their ties. In 2016 there was a FEPSAC invited symposium at the annual conference in Phoenix, and at the Orlando conference in 2017, FEPSAC past-president Paul Wylleman presented as the 2017 Distinguished International Scholar award winner. Vice versa, AASP was invited to join an international round-table at the 2015 FEPSAC Congress in Bern, Switzerland, where many AASP members not only from Europe, but also from North America attended. At the 2019 FEPSAC Congress in Münster, Germany, there will be an invited AASP symposium and many applied sessions, making the conference very attractive for AASP members to attend.

I think providing even more opportunities for collaboration and exchange of ideas will serve the organizations and the field well. Creating opportunities at our respective conferences are obviously low hanging fruit, but I think continuing to be resources for each other around professional issues like certification and professionalization is significant. While contexts are clearly different across different countries and cultures, there are lessons to be learned from each other and through collaborative efforts. Much like my thoughts on the benefit of inter-disciplinary efforts within the different strands of sport science that I discussed earlier and in my keynote, intra-disciplinary collaboration within the sport psychology profession will benefit individual consultants, our organizations, our clients and the field of sport and exercise psychology as a whole.