Ezra Jenifer Senior Project

Blog #19 Today I worked on my senior project visual for my table. I spent lots of time making this trifold look the best it can. Incorporated tons of pictures, I wrote out footnotes, and I made it colorful. I also have handouts for people to look and understand. I want to give people as much information as possible, so I think between my visuals, poster board, and the book I will have tons of info to share. Overall, I've had a great time on senior project, I worked very hard to make this the best experiences I have had so far. I learned from the top professionals in the world of Sports Psychology and I look forward to showing off my knowledge and educating individuals on how to use there minds. The mind is a powerful tool, if you can master it, there is not limit to what you can achieve.

Blog # 18 Today I worked on the images for social media again. I also did more research and found some articles that talked about Sports Psychology and how that field is rapidly developing. I found it very interesting that I was at the forefront of a field and was in a way trailblazing it. I can honestly say that I’m in great place right now and can't wait to keep exploring and learning new things. There are endless possibilities and so many routes to travel in this field, I want to explore them all then find my niche and do that job to perfection. The faster I can find out what I want to major in, the fast I get to turning my dreams into a reality and achieving the goals I have set for myself. I look forward to sharing my knowledge with the proctor community!

Weekly Reflection #3 This last week has been the best yet. I was able to finish my research paper, I met with Dr. Shinitzky to discuss his social media presence, and was able to start wrapping up my time in Florida. I wanted to boost Dr. Shinitzky’sInstagram, facebook, and twitter pages. I worked with a new app called Image Quote, I had never used this app and was interested to see what I could make. I learned that the app allows me to make the background anything I wanted, and then use a text box to write the quotes. I found it really cool to repay Dr. Shinitzky and teach me how to use this technology to his advantage! I had acquired them to use the app and thought that Dr. Shinitzky would appreciate me teaching him as well. We spend a lot of time working with this app to really make these images that best they could be. I wanted them to look professional and really pop for the reader. The idea behind this project came from someone asking Dr. Shinitzky to post quotes about the th

Blog #17 Today I worked on the images for social media again. The list that Dr. Shinitzky gave me had over 50 quotes on it. I was running out of images to use and asked Dr. Shinitzky to send me some on the ones that wanted or liked. We have a variety of backgrounds, sports, nature, water, etc. He sent me 20 images that he thought were a must have, I agreed with him and used them. We both then agreed that it was important to post those first and establish a posting cycle. Dr. Shinitzky changed his mind and wanted to post twice a week. So, we were able to send a out one today and we will be sending one out Monday. I was very happy to be posting the quotes and having people get the information. There is nothing like seeing a quote that resonates with you, and allowing that quote to motive, push and want you to work harder. I think these quotes will inspire people and keep them following their dreams. All I can say is hard work pays off, just keep on your grind and believe in yourself.

Blog #16 Today was a huge day for me, I was able to show Dr. Shinitzky what I come up with. I spent a ton of time trying to make these quotes look amazing. I used images of me playing football for a few and even incorporated some other athletes who were my friends. Dr. Shinitzky loved the images, he thought they were really cool and loved what I could do what the technology, he gave me numerous compliments and was very shocked with how fast I was able to put it together. He asked me to send them to him so they can go on his page asap. I was very proud of the work I had done and looked forward to the continued work on them. With that being said, I wanted to keep making them better, I’m not a professional by any means but, I take pride in my work and will keep going to get the best product I can. Dr. Shinitzky and I also had a dinner meeting. We spoke more on the social media posts and how he should post them. We thought that a post a week would be great. We wanted to space them ou

Blog #15 Today I met with Dr. Shinitzky to discuss his social media presence. Dr. Shinitzky wanted my help with boosting his instagram, facebook, and twitter. He proposed an idea, He wanted to post inspirational quotes for athletes that follow him. I was able to find an app called ImageQuote. This app allows me to post his quotes over an image of sport. Dr. Shinitzky found this to be very useful. He compiled a list of Shinitzky Isms that he has accumulated over the years. He wanted to post these out and allow athletes to see these quotes. The idea beside the project was to make sure that he could reach a larger audience. With posting the quotes out, the athletes can read them and repost them. I really liked this idea as well, Dr. Shinitzky has a lot of knowledge and great quotes. The day was short as sweet as it was a quick lunch but I am excited to get started on this project and see what I can come up with!

Blog #14 Today was my second day at IMG. I arrived early and was able to talk with the team and figure out who I am shadowing. My first session was with Lindsay, she works with all the soccer teams. Lindsay had set up a whole end of term family feud game which were questions about all the things they had covered this year. Unfortunately the soccer coach didn’t put her session on the soccer schedule so only 3 players showed up. Now this could have been a bust, however, one player had a problem. She was struggling to communicate with coach and explain that she will need to miss practice for academics. Lindsay said to her that the biggest thing was to communicate. Communication is a huge step into self advocating. The young lady walked away with an understanding that she has the power to only control the factors within her control. Yet self-advocacy is vital and asserting herself increases her probability of reaching a mutual understanding between she and her coach. She can't worr

Blog #13 Today I had the pleasure of shadowing multiple mental conditioning coaches at IMG Academy. My day started with a tour, I started with the draw dropping performance center. The performance center was three floors, they had 25 racks and a gatorade bar with smoothies, snacks, and all the protein athletes need to recover after a workout. The second floor had a mental training room, with two neuro trackers, a Dari, and a few other tools. The third floor was where all of the mental conditioning staff is housed. They have 11 mental conditioning coaches on staff. Each team member has one main sport and then two or three overlapping sports with their colleagues. This team is in the field while the athletes are training, each coach is always at practice to talk with the athletes and help them process mental to help it translate physically. My first session was with the tennis team. I was about to shadow coach Jose and Duncan. Both of these men know the sport of tennis very well, t

Blog # 12 Today my the first patient I worked with was a nationally ranked swimmer. She and her mother came into the room, Dr. Shinitzky allowed the mom to open up dialogue about what she is noticing with her daughter. This relationship between the athlete and her mom is an interesting one, when mom goes into detail or gets colorful with a story the athlete flashes her a look. Mom wanted to tell the story as she saw it and Dr. Shinitzky and I wanted to gather as much information as we could about the updated progress of the athlete since the last visit. The mother said the young lady is making great strides when it comes to swimming. The athlete has been dedicated both mentally and physically to changing her stroke in the freestyle. Now, keep in mind this is a very hard transition, having to change the way you have done things for years is very challenging. The athlete choose to change her technique because she wants to swim in college. She is well aware of what it takes to succeed

Blog 11 Today I had the opportunity to shadow Vincent Lodato, he is a Sport Psychologist who uses technology to train athletes. He also works with the Tampa Bay Rays as one of 3 Sport Psychologist on staff. Vince has done a lot of research and is always looking for more ways to improve his training methods. He took the time to sit down with me and tell me about the profession from his point of view. He gave me deeper insight into the world of Sport Psychology. Vince gave me great advice and I appreciate that he was open with me and was willing to give knowledge to the next up and coming wave of Sport Psychologist. He strongly believes in using the neuro tracker programs to make the brain sharper and stronger. You start off with level one and as you increase in difficulty the levels increasingly get harder and harder. As you get better in the program, you can add simple movement to the focusing program. The program is designed to use working memory along with your eyes.  The idea is

Weekly reflection #2 This week has been phenomenal, I have been able to gain so much clinical experience so much in what feels like such a short time. Dr. Shinitzky and I have done so much this week. The opportunities I have had are life-changing, the knowledge, insight, and wisdom I have obtained this week have placed me in a great position. I was able to shadow, Dr. Lodato, meet with Paris Figure skaters, talk on the phone with James Schwabach, and many other elite junior athletes. Early in the week,  I was able to have a phone call with James Schwebach, he is the Tampa Bay Rays mental Conditioning coach. I was nervous and excited at the same time. I was able to ask him a few questions. My questions were as follows: How do you work with athletes that have explosive emotions? What steps do you take? How do they recenter themselves and go back to competing at a high level? Also, what made you want to be a mental Conditioning coach. These questions were important to me and I wante

Blog #10 Today I had a meeting with two phenomenal figure skaters. These two are trying to work out the kinks in their relationship. They spent more time together than they do apart. The female said that she wants a more encouraging partner who will listen to her and not over analyze everything. The male athlete lacks empathy and the ability to get his point across in a productive and supportive way. He is quick to defend himself and gets very ridge when he feels attacked. We met with there coach and had him sit in on the session to provide his perspective on things and give areas where he wants them to focus and improve. When We sat down, Dr. Shinitzky allowed both athletes to talk about what they wanted to focus on. The female athlete said she wanted to focus on being more supportive and kind during practice. The male said he wanted to focus more on getting out of his own way and getting his point across. Now, the female athlete wants to get her point across too, she feels as t

Blog #9 Today I met Dr. Shinitzky at his North office. Our first meeting was with a dominant junior league baseball player. He has emotional outburst and gets very angry when things don’t go his way. He will hit the bat on the ground and throw his batting helmet into the dugout. His parents got in touch with Dr. Shinitzky to address their son’s emotional reactivity. In our meeting, Dr. Shinitzky allowed the young man to speak on how he feels he’s doing. It's important that he opens himself up to self reflection in order to be aware of his behavior. The young man says that he has gotten better and his parents agree. Yet he still gets in his own head while the game is going on. At his age the frontal lobe is still developing and tends to lose control and go crazy with emotions when things don’t go to plan. Dr. Shinitzky implemented several exercises with him that would help train his brain. He played a game called don’t do what  Dr. S says, which is simulator to Simon Says. The

Blog #8 Today I had a lunch meeting with Dr. Shinitzky, we talked about my research paper that I started working on. He suggested that I share it with Lynne and himself in order to get feedback and seeing if there are any major areas I needed to hit on. Its important for me that I do a thorough job on this to ensure I can succeed with the business side of Sport Psychology. We then discussed posting my videos on the Facebook page and how that was to be regulated. I wanted the seal of approval on all my videos and information to be spot on, that way I am ensuring the athletes are getting the best information possible. Dr. Shinitzky suggested that I make a video of the things that I learned as well. This will give athletes in my age group insight from one of their own. It would be a eye opening expirnace to see someon your age expressing the importance of mental conditioning/ sports psychology. I liked that ideas, so for my next project I will be working to create a video which will h

Blog # 7 Today was very exciting, I was able to have a phone call with James Schwebach, he is the Tampa Bay Rays mental Conditioning coach. I was able to ask him a few questions: How do you work with athletes that have explosive emotions? What steps do you take? How do they recenter themselves and go back to competing at a high level ? Also, what made you want to be a mental Conditioning coach. He answered my questions and gave me so great advice. He told me to look for job experience and reach to people. The worst someone could say is “No”. I really appreciated that because he showed me that opportunities are tangible for all people, no matter who you reach out to, most people are willing to help and are human enough to understand that you are in search of experience. He also hammered on the fact that experience is important. The more you work with athletes at an elite level, the more you notice patterns and behaviors that will help you nagaite working with athletes. I really app

Blog #6 Today I worked on a research paper and met with Dr. Shinitzky to go over a slide show that he put together. With the research paper, I was looking how to strongly succeed in the world of Sport Psychology, Sports Hypnosis, and Mental training from a business perspective. As we all know having a successful business depends on the clients (athletes) and regular patients, but what happens when you can't be found? I was looking gain feedback from athletes and online sources. With this feedback, I will be able to gain better knowledge of what it takes to have a successful, strong, and lasting business in the world of mental conditioning. I also looked at the slide show that I mentioned in the introduction paragraph. The life after sport presentation was part of media Psychology. The slide show that Dr. Shinitzky broke down, showed ideas and outlined what’s happens to athletes after their competitive sport days are over. The first topic was looking at morals and behavior, we

Weekly Blog #1 This week has been amazing, I have been able to learn so much in what feels like such a short time. From my first meeting with Dr. Shinitzky, talking about the opportunities in store for me, to now. This first week has expanded my base knowledge and given me real life experience with is the best teacher. Working with Dr. Shinitzky I have been able to, learn the 3 step Olympic Calm, respectfully disrespectfully interrupt in conversation, learn the importance of interpersonal relationships, the 5 phases of change, and elite athlete attributes.  The 3 step Olympic calm helps athlete an to find peace and calm when competing or just feeling the stress. The first step is Diaphragmatic Breathing, The second part is Muscle relaxation, this is done with the Diaphragmatic breathing, and the last step is Visualization, first you go to you happy place, a place where you are safe, alone, and protected. You then move into you playing a sport and then watching yourself as a specta

Blog #5 Today I had a casual meeting with Dr. Shinitzky. We talked more in-depth about his book. This allowed me to dive deeper into me in my education about the field of Sport Psychology. We spoke about the importance of positive self-talk and the need to put things in perspective. We also talked about fan/fanatics/frenemies, it's an interesting concept. When people jump to frenemies they think about the external, however, you have an internal frenemy. When you think negative or have the negative self talk you put yourself at a self at a disadvantage! You think negatively, you will have a negative outcome, period. We also spend time reflecting on personal stories, I was able to draw connects with the reading and my own life. Dr. Shinitzky said it's great that I can connect to what I am learning. I also spend time going over my information to post on the Facebook page. I want to give a huge shout out to Amie in tech, she has helped me to discover what I needed to in orde

Blog #4 Today I had the opportunity to shadow a Sports Hypnosis by the name of Lynne Cuchara. We first outlined the work she does and how it translates to the sports world. The idea is to relax your body and subconsciously fix the problem. In this state, the subcone part of you is taking in information and interpreting quite literally. Lynne was a Yoga and Meditation instructor for 15 years prior to her job now, so she knows and understands what it takes to relax someone. Her idea is to allow athletes a place to relax and use positive self-talk methods to help an an an athlete push past their fear or mental block. The athlete we worked with is an amazing gymnast, she was a regional champion, a state champion, and is on her way to being an Eastern champion! Yet, she suffers from fear and has struggled to stay motivated at times. She wanted to work on her nervous and mental block. This mental block eats away at her to the point that she forces herself to do what she loves. The way th

Blog #3 Today I was able to show off my research and use of technology to Dr. Shinitzky and Todd Reinbolt. I was able to open them up to the app Notability and show them the resources that Proctor has provided me with to succeed. As I mentioned in my last post I have been gathering information to post on Dr. Shinitzky’s business Facebook page. This information will be posted over a period of time and help athletes who maybe struggle in the areas outlined with each video. The videos also provide the person watching real-life experience and explains the power of mental conditioning. Each post is up there forever, allowing the athlete to access them at any point in time. These resources are there to allow the athlete to access to knowledge and other informational platforms that may push them to grow themselves in this part of the training process. With that being said I will have the opportunity to collaborate with Todd Reinbolt, he works for the Dupont Registry. Todd helped revolu