PEAK

28 P E A K | S P R I N G 2 0 1 5 28 "Sports psychology has traditionally been part of kinesiology and physical education," he explained. "So it was helpful for me to go back and get some of the academic foundations of kinesiology and motor learning." Hudak, who like Patton regularly makes use of Hiatt's expertise, was first exposed to sports psychology when he was at West Point and took a class with the sports psychologist who was working with the Army football team. "I was able to see first hand that, wow, this stuff really works," he said. "I think it's been helpful to get our kids to understand how important this can be, not just on the ice but in other parts of their life as well." In that vein, having Hiatt to lean on was extremely helpful for Patton last year when former lacrosse player Blaine Steinberg '15 died and one of her players lost a parent. "I'm not sure we could have gotten through it without Mark," the coach said. "He was our rock. He is so calm and steady. Our kids really trust him because he has such a good way about him." Hudak has seen the same thing. "Mark is just a really nice person and the kids figured that out very quickly," the hockey coach said. "It was, OK, here's a person that I can approach. "I trust Mark. It's very easy for me to suggest to the players on our team to think about talking to him individually. I know some of the kids have, and I'm certain some have that I don't know of. As a coach it's not just about the Xs and Os and what it takes to be successful on the ice. Essentially, we're talking about life." While it is rewarding for Hiatt to see an athlete who was struggling have competitive success and Dartmouth teams win, he takes added satisfaction from knowing the value of what he's teaching extends beyond the playing field. "The skills we use in sport and performance psychology can translate to a variety of areas of performance," he said. "A student- athlete may use the relaxation strategies we use in preparing for a test or an interview." Hudak ratcheted up his team's interaction with Hiatt during the fall, having the squad meet with him every other Tuesday for the first couple of months of the school year. While that became impractical once the season began, he still had the sports psychologist come by practice on occasion to get a sense about how the season was unfolding, and just as importantly, so his players could have casual interactions with him. "In the early part of the year we talked with him about goal setting and positive self-talk," Hudak said. "We talked about where the energy comes from, both emotionally and mentally. "We needed to recognize what we have to do to perform our best by looking at past performances when we worked well, and trying to re-create that environment so we could have have that peak performance over and over again. We talk a lot about focus and mental imagery." Hiat's early involvement with women's lacrosse centered around improving team chemistry, the approach to big games and visualization. Over the past year or more Patton has looked to him to help develop leadership and to spend time with individual players on whatever they need to improve in their mental game. He's been meeting with the lacrosse seniors every week or two and the other classes once a month. Helping athletes approach both games and practices with the right focus has been a point of emphasis for Hiatt this year. "We use cognitive, emotional or energy activation strategies to help people get pumped up and focused when they need to be," he said. "I've been integrating these approaches into practice this year to help teams be really focused and committed during practice. With all the demands on the student-athletes' time it's important they make the most of the time they have. "The idea is to be able to bring 100 percent of their focus and attention to every drill when they walk into Boss Tennis Center or onto the lacrosse field. There's a tremendous benefit to that even outside of competition. Those are skills they will use on a day-in and day-out basis." Hiatt knows there will always be athletes, coaches and fans who question if sports psychology is a little bit too new-age. He's fine with that. "Everybody has a different level of comfort with psychology," he said. "Whether it's clinical work or sports psychology that's OK. What I try to do if I am working with a team is to present it as, 'Here are some strategies or some approaches. We've got a lot of research evidence that shows this can be helpful for athletes.' "But everyone's different. One person might find visualization really helps while someone else may really find more of a cognitive approach helpful. I try to be flexible and tailor the kinds of solutions that make the most sense for that particular athlete and what they respond to. Sometimes people say it's not for them That they are not comfortable with it. That's OK. I try to present it as just more tools to have in your toolbox." Hiatt's interest in expanding his own toolbox was on full display when he put himself through the women's lacrosse summer running program. "Let me tell you," an impressed Patton said, "that's no easy shakes. The reason he wanted to do it was, he wanted to feel what the kids were feeling. And he's out there doing it in the heat of summer. "He was so into it. He felt like if he did it he could understand the team better. Who does that? Who devotes themselves in that matter?" Small wonder that Patton almost feels as if she ought to get Hiatt his own whistle and a desk in the lacrosse offices. "We feel very grateful and blessed to have him," she said. "I feel like he's part of our staff. That's how I think of him." The skills we use in sport and performance psychology can translate to a variety of areas of performance. A student-athlete may use the relaxation strategies we use in preparing for a test or an interview" "

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