The North Dakota State University volleyball team got off to a roaring start. They currently lead the Summit League standings and are gearing up for a potential conference title.
While hard work and practice help players succeed on the court, Sanford Health supports their coaching staff in other ways.
Improving physical performance through mental health
Andy Gillham, PhD, CMPC is Chief Performance Psychology Specialist at Sanford Sports and works with Bison’s coach, Jennifer Lopez, to get better mentally, not physically.
“Considering sports psychology, coaches are also performers. If coaches are just going insane on the sidelines, it affects athletes. That’s how we talk to people and build teams.” said Gillam. “How these parts are set up can make a big difference in an athlete’s life, and sometimes coaches may not be the best at it.
“They know the X’s and the O’s. They have systems, they know what they believe in, they love sports and it’s a great passion that will be passed on to the next group of kids. But they don’t always know how to do the coaching part either.
Lopez agrees, saying that by working on the non-volleyball side of coaching, he can develop more relationships with his players than ever before.
“It helped us take a step back and understand how we work with our athletes, how we communicate with them. How are we adjusting to what’s going on?” said Lopez, himself a former Bison standout. “You get used to one method, and that method doesn’t always work for every child you go through the program with. It’s kind of a special part of getting someone.
coach coaching
Gillam has supported similar sports psychology training in sports programs across the country, including Division I college and university and high school club teams. A focus on mental health, he says, can be its own version of the practice.
“I’d say we’re smarter, which means we’re more careful now,” Gillam said. “Thanks to Jen and her staff, she said, ‘I want to be a better coach.’ As in, “You have to get better in the off-season. You have to go to the train, you have to get up, you have to watch a movie. In fact, coaches improve too.” That’s probably part of the new way of thinking.”
An added benefit for Lopez is that Gillam’s help isn’t just for one offseason session. He continues to work with the team throughout the year.
“I honestly think it’s really positive to have someone in our corner who not only supports and helps us but also challenges us in some ways. “It’s better than just going to a convention and trying to learn. I get this every week. That’s kind of the cool side about it,” Lopez said.
For Sanford Health, Gillham’s work continues to demonstrate the organization’s commitment to local athletes and coaches, not just physically through Sanford Sports training and rehab, but in all aspects of athlete and coach health.
“The services and opportunities that their staff can assist in our athletics department are enormous. There are so many external sources of information available to improve athletes and coaches that ultimately we all We have the same goal of wanting to be better,” said Lopez.
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Posted In Behavioral Health, Fargo, Sanford Sports, Sports Medicine
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