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The authors review the historical context of sport psychology to explore the present state of sport psychology and make suggestions for the future of the field. The origins of sport psychology are rooted in efforts to improve athletic performance. However, the label "sport psychology" has been used to describe two different service delivery models: performance enhancement and therapy with athletes. Presently, advancements have been made in terms of organizational structure, but there has been little impact on the applied profession. In order to advance the profession, protect the public, and resolve confusion, sport psychology is examined. The authors identify performance excellence as the unique aspect of sport psychology and propose the field be identified as "performance psychology." In order to practice performance psychology competently, four areas of training are identified: (a) performance excellence, (b) mental health counseling, (c) consulting psychology, and (d) performance specialty domain(s). Finally, the authors recommend that a licensure specific to performance psychology be developed.In many significant ways sport psychology has been ahead of its time. When psychology was largely focused on pathology, sport psychology identified growth and psychological enhancement as worthy goals. When physical education was trying to isolate motor pattems, sport psychology expanded to mind-body connections. When academic departments were becoming increasingly specialized and segregated, sport psychology established interdisciplinary collaborations.Yet, in many significant ways sport psychology has lagged behind the times. While psychology distinguished itself from the medical field and established its own licensure and accreditation, sport psychology is still searching for its own unique identity. While physical education evolved into sport science and created applied professions, such as certified strength and conditioning coach and certified athletic trainer; sport psychology is struggling to identify and gain widespread acceptance in its target markets.

The Performance Interview Guide (PInG) is a semistructured approach to initial sport and performance psychology (SPP) consultations. The PInG is designed to be person centered and strengths based with a focus on performance excellence. We emphasize building a safe, trusting, and collaborative relationship with the client, and provide an overview of information to gather when forming an initial conceptualization of the client. There are 7 components to the PInG: (a) identifying information, (b) reason for seeking consultation, (c) background of areas for improvement, growth, or concern, (d) details of sport/performance, (e) life/identity outside of sport/performance, (f) significant relationships/support, and (g) self-care. As foundations for the PInG, a philosophy of interviewing, guidance on gathering information, and pragmatic considerations such as holistic consulting (i.e., attending to the person and the performer), multiculturalism, and connecting interviewing to a theoretical orientation to performance excellence are presented.

A multiple case study investigation is reported in which emotions and performance were assessed within the probabilistic individual zone of optimal functioning (IZOF) model (Kamata, Tenenbaum,& Hanin, 2002) to develop idiosyncratic emotion-performance profiles. These profiles were incorporated into a psychological skills training (PST) intervention, with a focus on three emotional dimensions, that is, arousal, pleasantness, and functionality, and several psychological strategies employed during practice and competition. Two female varsity golfers at a major Division I university in the Southeast participated in the case study during the Spring 2002 season. The PST intervention resulted in enhanced emotional self-regulation skills and improved golf performance. Directions for future research into the IZOF model and implications for practical application of the model are discussed.

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