SPORTS
Sports psychologist alleviates student-athlete pressures
By Erick Studemcka
Emofaicl C< miriDutor
As intercolleglnto sports have
expanded, tlus need for support
faculty and staff for student
athletes lias also expanded
In recent years, athletic train
crs. managers and academic ad
visors have become integral
and necessary positions within
athletic departments, improv
ing the athletes' physical and
scholastic well dicing.
Nowadays, as athletes are
forced to cope with the stress
and pressure of major .college
athletics, it is only natural that
athletic deportments are ex
panding to help the athletes'
mental well-being
At the University, the posi
tion of sj ats psychologist Was
established this tail to assist
student-athlete's with concerns
ranging from stress manage
ment and injury rehabilitation
to eating disorders and person
ul problem < ounseling
The new University sports
psychologist, Karen Nelson, is
not entirely "new" to Oregon
athletic s. having spent the past
six seasons as a sports counsel
or to the football team Howev
er, this will be her first season
working department-wide, in
University hires full-time counselor for all teams
volving herself with athletes in
hill and winter sports such .is
volleyball, cross-country, wres
tling and basketball:
"I think other coaches began
to notice inc reused perform
ances in athletes who had been
able to speak to a sports coun
selor and take care of personal
problems, and they war. d to
make the counseling uv.idable
to every athlete," Nelson said
U hat I Ir\ to do is lea .
mental skills m the hopes of
improving the athlete s conll
rience and mental attitudes,"
Nelson said of her job. "The
leaches and trainers take cari
of the physic al aspects of per
to,•mani c1 while I work with the
mental part of performuru c "
A very common problem (hat
Nelson deals with is the elicit
that an injury has on an athlete.
"A lot of athletes Itecomu de
pressed and lose their confi
dence while .they’re Injured.'
Nelson said "To combat de
pression, I use mental rehearsal
and visualization lei hnlques
with tile athletes so that they
can picture themselves per
forming at 100 percent even if
their bodies aren't ready for
competition "
The cfTect of an injury that
hit very ( lose to homo was
vvh.it first caused Nelson to
think about a career in sports
psvi ho logy
"My s;,n Brett suffered a seri
ous footf>.iJ1 injurv while in
high school " she said He had
been so active in sports that it
really her nine traumatic when
he was forced to quit. 1 saw a
real nei d for counseling people
like my sun who were forced to
give up something that had
been a major part of llieir
lives
it was at that point that Nel
son gave up her counseling job
at Mansi High School and re
turned to the University to get
her -Master's in (aitinsefing Psy
chology and begin her career in
sports counseling
Throughout the athletic de
partment. coaches and faculty
are seeing the benefit of having
a sports psvt hologist on staff
"I’ve really notir ed an im
proved attitude on tile football
team since Karen began work
ing with the players," Oregon
Athletic Director Bill Byrne
said "She's able to deal with a
wide variety of problems, in
cluding Injuries I'm really
pleased that she's going lo have
the opportunity to work with
all of the teams this fall, not
just the football players.
The University's football
strength and conditioning
coach Jim Radcliffe sees Nelson
filling a void in the players'
lives
"Sometimes players need to
discuss things, but they can't
really talk to a coach," Rad
cliffe said 'Tor example, a
player might be disappointed
about his amount of playing
t i rn e o r about his being
dropped on the depth chart. In
those situations, Karen is an
understanding adult the ath
letes can turn to."
Volleyball coach Gerry Greg
ory sees Nelson alleviating
some of the pressure placed on
collegiate athletes.
"We exper t our athletes to be
perfect, but they have the same
pressures every other student
faces," he said "Karen is avail
able when athletes begin feel
ing pressure and need some ad
vice and perspective on certain
. t&/ - It’ \
Karen Nelson
problems."
Nelson said that when she
began sporls counseling seven
years ago, there were few posi
tions in the field. Now, almost
every large athletic department
employs a sports psv< hologist
"It's really no wonder the
field is growing so rapidly,"
Nelson said. "Conches are be
ginning to realize it is not so
much the physical skills but
rather the mental skills that
separate a great team from an
average team."
Experienced Men’s Club soccer team hopes for repeat season
By Sieve Mims
f merakl Contnbuii a
The Oregon Men's (Bub
sports succor te.mi will pluy
their second home game of the
se.ison lit A |i m today at South
Hank Field vs Willamette Uni
versify.
"We can he competitive with
W i I lamct to, ‘' junior de
fenseman Mark 1‘nule said
"We really want a vocal home
crowd there It should he a
good game "
The Ducks are off to a 1-2-1
sl.irt after im H-1 iii fr.it ut the
hiiiuis of Oregon State on
Wednesday.
Oregon is coming off u sue
cessful 1 <»<)0 season, when they
finished 7-1-J The Ducks have
a new heati coach tills season
in player i oacli Mike king
The senior lii'fenseman is op
timistic iihoul the luitt cam
paign. "The team is playing
well, and we are learning a lot
each game," he said.
The team got off to a good
start, tying Pacific University,
and then defeating (ieorge Fox,
2- 1 Hul Oregon has fallen oft a
hit lately, losing lo Portland
State, 2-1, and then to Oregon
State on Wednesday
King w as happy with the ef
fort against Portland State
"It was our first game on urti
fil ial turf, and we did well,” lie
said "They scored in the last
five minutes, hut it was good to
show well there "
This year's strengths appear
to he experience and team uni
ty Thciro is only one freshman
and four sophomores on the 19
man squad
Some of this season’s top re
turners are striker Skip U'ein
trauh, midfielder Andy Gagnier
and defenseman Ansel Evans
"We have 12 returners scat
tered everywhere on the field."
i’oolo said. "The junior and se
nior experience really helps
out."
Perhaps the largest obstacle
the team faces is its schedule.
The Oregon team is a club
sport, and this season's 11
game schedule includes only
two other club sport oppo
nents The remainder of the
schedule is against NAIA or
NCAA Division II teams.
King calls tin; schedule "the
toughest ever."
One bonus for this year's
group is the involvement of a
sponsor for the first time ever
beets Plus has agreed to spon
sor the team and give them new
jerseys and warm-ups.
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