Reaching Peak Performance with Sports Psychologist Dr. Rick Aberman

When the lights are on and the ball is in play, we tend to forget that athletes are human too. They have families, friends, bills, obligations, and commitments like everyone else. And their jobs are really, really stressful. Failure can lead to the scorn of fans in the arena and on social media. Pundits can be unusually cruel. Coaches and General Managers can be fickle when players underperform and losses mount.

To deal with these pressures, collegiate and professional athletes often turn to a sports psychologist to help them overcome their doubts, regain their confidence, curiosity and purpose, and strive toward performing at their potential. One of those sports psychologists is Dr. Rick Aberman. He is a pioneer in the field and has been working with elite athletes and corporate executives for 30 years.

In this discussion, Dr. Aberman talks about how business leaders and sports coaches can more effectively assess talent, help team members move past failure, manage emotions, build healthy work cultures, and help their people live full, well-rounded lives. One of his most powerful tools is simply asking the people he works with “how good do you want to be?”

After receiving his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Dr. Aberman became one of the first psychologists in the country to be hired as a member of a sports medicine staff. He initiated a program designed to specifically meet the needs of high performing competitive student-athletes, coaches, and administrators at the University of Wisconsin. Dr. Aberman served as the Director of Peak Performance on the medical staff of the Minnesota Twins. In addition, he continues to be a long-standing advisor to athletic teams and coaches at the University of Minnesota. He utilizes the latest thinking in psychology, motivation, neuroscience, and peak performance.

“They get the ball stripped away. What do they do? Well, some of them get up and start yelling at the player or yelling at the ref for a foul. Others might be yelling out to their teammates. Some are just upset and pounding their fists on the ground while the play continues. And some just get back up and get right back in the play and try and make something happen…how you handle that tells me about what competition means to you, your commitment, and your desire to get better, your level of achievement that you strive for.” Dr. Rick Aberman talking about assessing talent and why the biggest, strongest, fastest athlete is not always the best choice for a team, just like the most credentialed, most experienced candidate isn’t always right in other business scenarios.

Reaching Peak Performance with Sports Psychologist Dr. Rick Aberman

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