What else can I do to up my game?

[clinsportpsychtbd]

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Hi all! I am going into my senior year of undergrad at an R1 university and planning to apply for my master's in kinesiology (sport psych emphasis) and my PhD in clinical or counseling psych, with a goal of ultimately working as a clinical sport psychologist. I'm looking for advice on how to maximize the time I have left in college so that I am as competitive as possible for a clinical/counseling PhD, particularly because I fear that the kinesiology master's may actually work against me (might look strange/irrelevant to someone just flipping through apps). So I think I need to be competitive for the PhD based on my undergrad qualifications alone.

I am hoping for suggestions of anything else I can do during my senior year, or post-grad, to be competitive for clinical/counseling PhD programs by the time I finish undergrad. Here's what I will graduate with, should everything go according to plan:

-2+ years of lab experience: 6 months as an RA in a social psych lab; 3 months as an RA/15 months as an assistant lab manager in a personality psych lab; 9 months as an RA in a clinical lab
-A thesis/independent research project -- planning/researching/running my own study from start to finish (currently in the data collection phase) + data analysis + writing the paper; ~1.5 yrs total, including presentation
-One conference presentation for said thesis (my U's undergrad research conference)
-1 year as an officer (membership chair) for my U's Psi Chi chapter
-2 semesters advanced stats
-Basic R Studio experience
-3.65 GPA
-GRE is TBD

I don't care about what my chances are right now -- I just want to know what else I can do to be more competitive.

Thanks! (Feel free to move this thread if needed -- first post, not sure if it's in the right place.)

 

[AbnormalPsych]

Do not do you master's in kinesiology if your end goal is to be a psychologist.

Sports psychology is just clinical/counseling psychology with a specialized population/culture. It is much more focused on the mental health and well-being of athletes, than "performance enhancement." I studied this for a bit. There is no use for this masters degree. Do a solid doctorate and do what you need to do until then to get into a good program.

Sport Psychology

Sport psychology includes psychology, sport science and medicine. It is a postgraduate focus after a doctoral degree in one of the primary areas of psychology and licensure.

www.apa.org

There is one major certificate/credential/whatever organization for doctoral level folks to join and demonstrate competence, but I cannot recall the name of it at the moment.

 

[PsyDr]

1)Sports psych is not something you do full time. Even at the pro level, those psychologists still do general clinical practice for the majority of their work. I know two who were pro team psychologists for baseball. Neither did that full time. One quit from a team that won the world series because it didn't pay well.

2) A masters in a different area will not help you get into a doctoral program.

@erg923 might be able to chime in.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

Agree with PSYDR. Sports Psych is definitely a niche area. It is far more likely teams will get to know a clinician through their individual work with an athlete, and if they like them they maaaaybe will use them as a consultant. I’ve seen this mostly for aspiring golfers, prep school baseball, and prep school QBs.

I’ve done some limited work in the area with college and pro athletes, but as a one off from seeing the athlete for a concussion eval and then having the athlete request to see me for follow-up, which I do on a limited basis. I don’t purport to be a sports psych, nor do I want to pursue that type of work, but as a one off it can be interesting. Most of the time it hasn’t been the traditional stuff (see below), instead it’s the athlete having problems with sleep, conflict with their spouse, fear of re-injury, problems with a position coach, etc. If they want to work on visualization, in-game management of stress, etc...that’s outside of my area and I decline. I also decline any straight psych, which comes up more than ppl realize, i’m guessing bc it’s under the guise of concussion/return-to-play, so it isn’t stigmatized nearly as much.

Most sports psych i’ve seen have a typical clinical practice, which includes high school athletes and maybe college athletes. They teach a lot about mindfulness techniques, breathing, visualization, self-talk, establishing pre-shot/race/etc routines, stress management, etc. They mostly work individually with athletes and not the athlete’s team, which honestly is the far better route if you want to get paid well.

 

[WisNeuro]

Second the PT not paying well thing. I know a few people who do neuropsych for sports teams. Pay sucks, Only reason they do it is pretty much to beef up CV and network for more opportunities down the road.

Focus on the general clinical piece, look for an internship that works with athletes, UPMC comes to mind. It's generally things like injuries and concussions, but you'll get exposure. After you're licensed, market yourself however you want.

 

[clinsportpsychtbd]

Thanks for the responses! I guess I want to clarify a couple of things:

-I don't think I can ethically/responsibly work with athletes, or call myself a clinical sport psychologist, without completing the CMPC (Certified Mental Performance Consultant) requirements through AASP. Kinesiology/sport psych master's programs are often designed to help you complete the CMPC requirements, hence the need to do that first. The phenomenon of clinical psychologists with no official sports background marketing themselves as sport psychologists seems to be dying out, and as more athletes/teams/athletic directors become aware of the work that CMPCs do, it seems likely that it will be more and more difficult to get hired or be taken seriously without having the proper CMPC certification. The educational route I've laid out is what has been recommended to me by those I've spoken to in the field.

-I don't necessarily expect to work full-time with athletes/teams. It seems most likely that I'll end up doing some combo of general therapy/counseling, therapy with athletes, and sport psych consulting with athletes/teams (hence the need for the CMPC). Fortunately, I'm much more interested in working with individuals than teams.

I'm definitely aware of and concerned about the fact that the kinesiology/sport psych master's isn't likely to be helpful in getting me into a clinical/counseling PhD, hence my primary question: what can I do during my final year of undergrad and/or post-grad to be more competitive for the PhD, if we cast aside the master's and ignore it entirely?

 

[PsyDr]

Advice to improve your chances:

If you ask for advice, take it. If you have no intention on using information, don’t ask for it. If you think another profession is better at a task, maybe you shouldn’t try and tell the other profession that they are incompetent or unethical.

 

[WisNeuro]

Thanks for the responses! I guess I want to clarify a couple of things:

-I don't think I can ethically/responsibly work with athletes, or call myself a clinical sport psychologist, without completing the CMPC (Certified Mental Performance Consultant) requirements through AASP. Kinesiology/sport psych master's programs are often designed to help you complete the CMPC requirements, hence the need to do that first. The phenomenon of clinical psychologists with no official sports background marketing themselves as sport psychologists seems to be dying out, and as more athletes/teams/athletic directors become aware of the work that CMPCs do, it seems likely that it will be more and more difficult to get hired or be taken seriously without having the proper CMPC certification.

At least in the neuro realm, I don't know a single person who has the CMPC certification or whatever it is. Also, clinical sports psychologist is not a protected term in any jurisdiction that I am aware of. And, out of curiosity, looked at one of the big sports psych practices in town that works with the local U and several pro sports teams. 1 person out of a staff of 12 lists having the CMPC.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

Second the PT not paying well thing. I know a few people who do neuropsych for sports teams. Pay sucks, Only reason they do it is pretty much to beef up CV and network for more opportunities down the road.

Focus on the general clinical piece, look for an internship that works with athletes, UPMC comes to mind. It's generally things like injuries and concussions, but you'll get exposure. After you're licensed, market yourself however you want.

The University of Oklahoma is known for their sports psych internship training, which is for clinical psych doctoral students. I’m not sure if they work with their clinical psych program, but it may be worth exploring.

ps. I’ve never heard of that credential either. Admittedly i’m on the neuro eval/concussion side, but i’ve seen athletes from quite a few pro leagues and i’ve never been asked about that credential or seen it used. I work primarily with the medical and training staff, so YMMV.

 

[clinsportpsychtbd]

Advice to improve your chances:

If you ask for advice, take it. If you have no intention on using information, don’t ask for it. If you think another profession is better at a task, maybe you shouldn’t try and tell the other profession that they are incompetent or unethical.

It's not my intention to offend anyone, and I apologize if I've done so! I'm essentially just reiterating what I've been told by professionals in the field. The advice I've been given is that while there are plenty of clinical psychologists out there right now who have built very successful careers working with athletes, it is going to become more and more difficult over time to do this without the CMPC as hiring directors become more and more aware that it exists. I'm just trying to plan ahead and improve my chances of getting hired in ~10 years!

 

[WisNeuro]

It's not my intention to offend anyone, and I apologize if I've done so! I'm essentially just reiterating what I've been told by professionals in the field. The advice I've been given is that while there are plenty of clinical psychologists out there right now who have built very successful careers working with athletes, it is going to become more and more difficult over time to do this without the CMPC as hiring directors become more and more aware that it exists. I'm just trying to plan ahead and improve my chances of getting hired in ~10 years!

The same thing was said 10 years ago about certain brain injury and concussion certifications in the neuro realm. Now, the only people who really have these credentials are the snakeoil salesman. They are essentially a scarlet letter that I use to cross people off my possible referral lists.

 

[clinsportpsychtbd]

At least in the neuro realm, I don't know a single person who has the CMPC certification or whatever it is. Also, clinical sports psychologist is not a protected term in any jurisdiction that I am aware of. And, out of curiosity, looked at one of the big sports psych practices in town that works with the local U and several pro sports teams. 1 person out of a staff of 12 lists having the CMPC.

Yeah, it doesn't seem to be particularly well-known at the moment, but sport psych professionals I've spoken with think it's on the rise. Much awareness/demand for the CMPC certification today than even 15-20 years ago, and increasing. (Obviously on a relatively small scale, since this is a niche field.) Maybe I'd be totally fine without it, but I don't think it can hurt me to have it as long as I can still get into a clinical/counseling program, and I'd like to go on the job market as prepared as I possibly can be!

 

[clinsportpsychtbd]

The same thing was said 10 years ago about certain brain injury and concussion certifications in the neuro realm. Now, the only people who really have these credentials are the snakeoil salesman. They are essentially a scarlet letter that I use to cross people off my possible referral lists.

I don't know anything about neuropsych or the certifications you mention, but can you explain further why this would be a red flag? Does it come across as irrelevant/uninformed?

 

[clinsportpsychtbd]

The University of Oklahoma is known for their sports psych internship training, which is for clinical psych doctoral students. I’m not sure if they work with their clinical psych program, but it may be worth exploring.

ps. I’ve never heard of that credential either. Admittedly i’m on the neuro eval/concussion side, but i’ve seen athletes from quite a few pro leagues and i’ve never been asked about that credential or seen it used. I work primarily with the medical and training staff, so YMMV.

I appreciate the suggestion -- I'll look into that! Thank you.

Many haven't heard of it, although more and more jobs in sport psych are starting to require it for hire. My university is actually in the process of hiring a full-time sport psychologist right now, and they are looking for someone with the CMPC certification and a PhD/PsyD in clinical or counseling psych. It seems to be becoming a more common requirement.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

To respond to your original question: keep getting more research experience and good grades, try to get one or more poster(s) at a national or at least regional conference, and do well on the GRE.

RE: the CMPC credential, are most of the folks recommending it to you holders of the credential?

 

[Justanothergrad]

Thanks for the responses! I guess I want to clarify a couple of things:

-I don't think I can ethically/responsibly work with athletes, or call myself a clinical sport psychologist, without completing the CMPC (Certified Mental Performance Consultant) requirements through AASP. Kinesiology/sport psych master's programs are often designed to help you complete the CMPC requirements, hence the need to do that first. The phenomenon of clinical psychologists with no official sports background marketing themselves as sport psychologists seems to be dying out, and as more athletes/teams/athletic directors become aware of the work that CMPCs do, it seems likely that it will be more and more difficult to get hired or be taken seriously without having the proper CMPC certification. The educational route I've laid out is what has been recommended to me by those I've spoken to in the field.

-I don't necessarily expect to work full-time with athletes/teams. It seems most likely that I'll end up doing some combo of general therapy/counseling, therapy with athletes, and sport psych consulting with athletes/teams (hence the need for the CMPC). Fortunately, I'm much more interested in working with individuals than teams.

I'm definitely aware of and concerned about the fact that the kinesiology/sport psych master's isn't likely to be helpful in getting me into a clinical/counseling PhD, hence my primary question: what can I do during my final year of undergrad and/or post-grad to be more competitive for the PhD, if we cast aside the master's and ignore it entirely?

1. Ignore the masters. It is unrelated and it doesnt increase your competitiveness
2. I know a handful of sports psychologists at various levels. Their careers are as described above. So are their qualifications. Some of my close friends have been recruited for that career and opted not to go after it because of the pay/schedule - that certification had zero to do with it. I've not seen any of them have a difficult time find a job in a sports psych role at any of those levels, suggesting that the certification is over-sold. Consider the source - who is telling you to get that certification?
3. Get more research experience - submit an additional poster or two as a lead author as a primary goal.

 

[WisNeuro]

I don't know anything about neuropsych or the certifications you mention, but can you explain further why this would be a red flag? Does it come across as irrelevant/uninformed?

Because these days, the only people who have those credentials, are those people selling "treatments" that are not empirically supported. Think qEEG specialists. In general in the clinical world, the more acronyms someone has after their name, the worse this person is as a clinician. It's something social workers and diploma mill psychs love to do. Number of letters after ones license credential tends to correlate very highly with the practice of pseudoscience.

 

[PsyDr]

It's not my intention to offend anyone, and I apologize if I've done so! I'm essentially just reiterating what I've been told by professionals in the field. The advice I've been given is that while there are plenty of clinical psychologists out there right now who have built very successful careers working with athletes, it is going to become more and more difficult over time to do this without the CMPC as hiring directors become more and more aware that it exists. I'm just trying to plan ahead and improve my chances of getting hired in ~10 years!

1) I don't think you were being malicious. But I really don't think you were understanding how you were playing the exchange.

You asked for advice. Many offered advice to you. Then you turned around and basically eschewed the advice, and told us that the advice of another profession was more important. In any realm of interaction, that's a bad move. Seriously, there are people here who work in sports psychology. And you just repeatedly implied that the undergrad knew better than they, that they were unethical, and etc.

2) I think you're getting conflicting advice because you're asking two separate fields. The psychologist are telling you about psychology. They are telling you that this MA will not help you for psychology. I would listen to them. Some might even be on admissions committees. Some might even be working in sports psychology.

3) Here's why this CMPC thing is meaningless:

a. A profession is only as useful as its licensure and ability to bill.
b. Let's compare: 5-7 years of training for PhD or PsyD culminating in the ability to practice, use a title, and bill. VS. 2 years of training, ending without the ability to be licensed.

 

[clinsportpsychtbd]

To respond to your original question: keep getting more research experience and good grades, try to get one or more poster(s) at a national or at least regional conference, and do well on the GRE.

RE: the CMPC credential, are most of the folks recommending it to you holders of the credential?

Thank you for the recommendations! This might be a silly question, but can you present the results of the same study/project at multiple conferences?

They are, and that's a good point -- they're likely biased. Lots of jobs I've seen, though, including a sport psychologist position at my U, do require the CMPC -- so the bias may be justified, not sure. It's probably worth intentionally seeking out professionals who don't have the CMPC and seeing what they think! Thank you.

 

[clinsportpsychtbd]

Because these days, the only people who have those credentials, are those people selling "treatments" that are not empirically supported. Think qEEG specialists. In general in the clinical world, the more acronyms someone has after their name, the worse this person is as a clinician. It's something social workers and diploma mill psychs love to do. Number of letters after ones license credential tends to correlate very highly with the practice of pseudoscience.

That's a good point, and my intuition is to agree with that! Thanks for clarifying.

 

[WisNeuro]

As a point of reference, I used the "find a professional tool" on the CMPC site. There are a grand total of 3 people holding this certification in my entire metro area. This is a metro area of more than 3 million people.

 

[clinsportpsychtbd]

1) I don't think you were being malicious. But I really don't think you were understanding how you were playing the exchange.

You asked for advice. Many offered advice to you. Then you turned around and basically eschewed the advice, and told us that the advice of another profession was more important. In any realm of interaction, that's a bad move. Seriously, there are people here who work in sports psychology. And you just repeatedly implied that the undergrad knew better than they, that they were unethical, and etc.

2) I think you're getting conflicting advice because you're asking two separate fields. The psychologist are telling you about psychology. They are telling you that this MA will not help you for psychology. I would listen to them. Some might even be on admissions committees. Some might even be working in sports psychology.

3) Here's why this CMPC thing is meaningless:

a. A profession is only as useful as its licensure and ability to bill.
b. Let's compare: 5-7 years of training for PhD or PsyD culminating in the ability to practice, use a title, and bill. VS. 2 years of training, ending without the ability to be licensed.

I do apologize that it came across that way -- that certainly wasn't my intention at all. My experience has been that most people don't know very much about sport psych because it's such a small field, so I only intended to explain what I thought people might not know. I haven't had a professor yet who knows what it is! But I really do apologize if that came across as entitled, and I can certainly see how it may have sounded that way.

To clarify, the CMPC would be in addition to licensure as a psychologist. If you were on an admissions committee, how would you view an applicant (assuming they were a strong clinical applicant otherwise) for a clinical/counseling program who had that master's degree? Would it be a red flag? Seem irrelevant?

 

[Justanothergrad]

I do apologize that it came across that way -- that certainly wasn't my intention at all. My experience has been that most people don't know very much about sport psych because it's such a small field, so I only intended to explain what I thought people might not know. I haven't had a professor yet who knows what it is! But I really do apologize if that came across as entitled, and I can certainly see how it may have sounded that way.

To clarify, the CMPC would be in addition to licensure as a psychologist. If you were on an admissions committee, how would you view an applicant (assuming they were a strong clinical applicant otherwise) for a clinical/counseling program who had that master's degree? Would it be a red flag? Seem irrelevant?

I am on admissions committees. I Would view it as relevant experience but rank it lower than if I were considering gre Research experience or GPA. It demonstrates some interests and expertise in a general domain of study but does not represent psychological approaches to that field. I'm not sports psychology however I suspect this is the same advice you'll get across-the-board. Psychology is a different field, so getting a certification in an related field is not going to promote your confidence in our specialty.

Generally speaking, no matter how or who asked the question, the answer to how you can be more competitive for graduate admissions is a higher GRE and more research experience. The more closely that research experience approximates your intended area of study within psychology, the better. To put it bluntly come on there are thousands of things that you can waste time and money on that will not for a mode you having an increased ability to ensure graduate admissions or, for that matter, obtain the type of job you think it will help you get.

 

[clinsportpsychtbd]

I am on admissions committees. I Would view it as relevant experience but rank it lower than if I were considering gre Research experience or GPA. It demonstrates some interests and expertise in a general domain of study but does not represent psychological approaches to that field. I'm not sports psychology however I suspect this is the same advice you'll get across-the-board. Psychology is a different field, so getting a certification in an related field is not going to promote your confidence in our specialty.

Generally speaking, no matter how or who asked the question, the answer to how you can be more competitive for graduate admissions is a higher GRE and more research experience. The more closely that research experience approximates your intended area of study within psychology, the better. To put it bluntly come on there are thousands of things that you can waste time and money on that will not for a mode you having an increased ability to ensure graduate admissions or, for that matter, obtain the type of job you think it will help you get.

Thank for you for this explanation! That makes a lot of sense, and I really appreciate the perspective of someone on an admissions committee.

 

[PsyDr]

I do apologize that it came across that way -- that certainly wasn't my intention at all. My experience has been that most people don't know very much about sport psych because it's such a small field, so I only intended to explain what I thought people might not know. I haven't had a professor yet who knows what it is! But I really do apologize if that came across as entitled, and I can certainly see how it may have sounded that way.

To clarify, the CMPC would be in addition to licensure as a psychologist. If you were on an admissions committee, how would you view an applicant (assuming they were a strong clinical applicant otherwise) for a clinical/counseling program who had that master's degree? Would it be a red flag? Seem irrelevant?

Yeah, you're still doing it. I told you I know pro baseball team psychologists. You proceeded to try and inform me about how sports psychology hiring works. Just now, you continue to converse in an informing rather than questioning manner.

If I were on an admissions committee, and you walked into a program and tried to inform me about professional matters, I'd throw your application in the trash. At this stage in the game, you're supposed to be trying to learn.

Think about this: I told you I knew psychologists performing at the highest level in your desired field. You could have asked just about anything. Where they went to school. How they keep business going during spring training. How they got into this job. What their dissertation was about. Where they live. What experience do they have. You could have asked ANY of that. And IMO, you would have gained useful information. Instead you chose to try and inform the board about something. If you have that tendency, you need to fix it before you interview for a program. It will not go over well.

 

[Doctor Eliza]

Is there any reason to do the unrelated masters first? What about doing the clinical PhD first and after you’re done decide if the other masters is needed? Then you could focus all your efforts on getting into a PhD program without the two year “break.”

 

[calimich]

I also have a friend working in this field. They were a D1 college athlete, earned a PhD in counseling psych, research activity focused on athletic performance / injury recovery, interned/postdoc'd at a major D1 university's college counseling center (CCC) and was supervised by the Psychologist-Athletic Department Liaison. They got hired at that CCC, quickly became the AD liaison and then within a few years was lured away by local pro teams.

I agree with others' advice -- get meaningful research experience, be 1st author on a poster at a national conference, and prepare well for the GRE.

 

[Justanothergrad]

Thank for you for this explanation! That makes a lot of sense, and I really appreciate the perspective of someone on an admissions committee.

I'd encourage you to strongly consider and think about what PsyDr is saying as well.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

Thank you for the recommendations! This might be a silly question, but can you present the results of the same study/project at multiple conferences?

They are, and that's a good point -- they're likely biased. Lots of jobs I've seen, though, including a sport psychologist position at my U, do require the CMPC -- so the bias may be justified, not sure. It's probably worth intentionally seeking out professionals who don't have the CMPC and seeing what they think! Thank you.

In general, it's somewhat frowned upon to present the exact same project at multiple conferences. Although other folks can chime in RE: presenting specifically at a school's conference, and then taking that project and submitting it to a national organization's conference. That might be more common. If you do end up presenting the same project, I would only list it once on your CV.

RE: the second part, it might also be a regional thing. And could very much depend on their training background (e.g., are they a psychologist vs. are they a kinesiotherapist or masters-level provider).

 

[clinsportpsychtbd]

Is there any reason to do the unrelated masters first? What about doing the clinical PhD first and after you’re done decide if the other masters is needed? Then you could focus all your efforts on getting into a PhD program without the two year “break.”

I guess doing the master's before the PhD seems to be the most common path, but that's an interesting idea! I hadn't thought about doing the reverse. Thank you!

 

[clinsportpsychtbd]

In general, it's somewhat frowned upon to present the exact same project at multiple conferences. Although other folks can chime in RE: presenting specifically at a school's conference, and then taking that project and submitting it to a national organization's conference. That might be more common. If you do end up presenting the same project, I would only list it once on your CV.

RE: the second part, it might also be a regional thing. And could very much depend on their training background (e.g., are they a psychologist vs. are they a kinesiotherapist or masters-level provider).

Thanks for this -- all good to know!

 

[clinsportpsychtbd]

I also have a friend working in this field. They were a D1 college athlete, earned a PhD in counseling psych, research activity focused on athletic performance / injury recovery, interned/postdoc'd at a major D1 university's college counseling center (CCC) and was supervised by the Psychologist-Athletic Department Liaison. They got hired at that CCC, quickly became the AD liaison and then within a few years was lured away by local pro teams.

I agree with others' advice -- get meaningful research experience, be 1st author on a poster at a national conference, and prepare well for the GRE.

Fantastic. Thanks for the input -- I really appreciate it!

 

[clinsportpsychtbd]

Yeah, you're still doing it. I told you I know pro baseball team psychologists. You proceeded to try and inform me about how sports psychology hiring works. Just now, you continue to converse in an informing rather than questioning manner.

If I were on an admissions committee, and you walked into a program and tried to inform me about professional matters, I'd throw your application in the trash. At this stage in the game, you're supposed to be trying to learn.

Think about this: I told you I knew psychologists performing at the highest level in your desired field. You could have asked just about anything. Where they went to school. How they keep business going during spring training. How they got into this job. What their dissertation was about. Where they live. What experience do they have. You could have asked ANY of that. And IMO, you would have gained useful information. Instead you chose to try and inform the board about something. If you have that tendency, you need to fix it before you interview for a program. It will not go over well.

I am very confused about what part of my last message to you was offensive; I agreed with you that the CMPC alone would be useless, and wanted to clarify that I would also be gaining licensure as a psychologist, in case that made a difference. The question about opinions of admissions committees was genuine — I would love opinions on what admissions committees would think of a strong clinical applicant with a sport psych background.

I think my one post where I attempted to explain my reasoning behind the kinesiology master’s/CMPC may be the issue here, and I may have written that out a bit too bluntly. Many responders seemed confused about why the CMPC was necessary/why I would do a master’s in a seemingly unrelated field, so I figured it would be helpful to explain my reasoning. It may be incorrect reasoning, I don’t know — at this point in my education, I’m simply reiterating what others have taught me.

I would really like to end this back and forth debate, especially because it doesn’t seem like we’re really going to reach a resolution. I have absolutely no malicious intent here, and my post was only intended to clarify information for posters who were confused about why I would choose the route I did. This background info was literally just me reiterating what I’ve been taught — I don’t claim to have any personal expertise at this point in my education. To anyone who found this condescending, etc., I apologize — most people I know don’t have much prior knowledge about sport psych, and I thought the background information would be helpful.