Speaking Engagement Descriptions

Richard D. Ginsburg, Ph.D.
MGH Sport Psychology Program
Harvard Medical School

Parent Talk

Managing the Pressure to Perform:

Helping Your Child Perform Well on and off the Field Travel teams, early specialization, daily practices, and competitive tryouts are dominating our recreational and school sports programs across the country at all levels. While there is much attention given to the pressures our sporting culture places on athletes, parents are in need of support to guide their young athletes through these challenging times and endeavors, particularly as athletes move from one developmental stage to the next. In this talk, the Three-Step-Approach (Know Your Child, Know Yourself, and Know Your Child’s Environment) will be reviewed as a means to help parents navigate this unpredictable and demanding sports environment in the service of helping their children achieve to their best ability while developing strong and lasting character. (For parents of youth, high school, or collegiate athletes).

Duration: Evening Talk.    Return to Speaker Form

Coaches’ Workshop

The Pressure to Perform: Managing Athletes and their Parents.

We are living in an extremely competitive and outcome oriented culture that is influencing schools, programs and families across the country. In particular, the pressure to perform in the sports arena has increased dramatically over the past decade. With an over-emphasis on college scholarships and elite teams, coaches at the youth and high school levels are increasingly under the scrutiny of parents with high performance expectations for their children. Many attend practices, offer their opinions freely, and coach their children from the sidelines. How can coaches help relieve athletes of parental and other pressure that may impede their performance and enjoyment? How do coaches manage challenging input and behavior from parents? How do coaches manage teams with varying degrees of athletic talent? How can coaches teach character in a competitive and outcome oriented sports environment? In this workshop, participants will review and develop effective team mission statements and an overview about the most effective ways to understand athletes of all ages and help them achieve to their potential. This workshop is designed for coaches and physical educational teachers and professionals at the youth, high school, or collegiate levels. The sessions are highly interactive with extensive Q & A as well as video and power point aids.

Duration: Full or half-day course    Return to Speaker Form

Athletic Director’s Talk

Managing the Changing Landscape of Independent School Sports

The role of the athletic director has changed dramatically over the past two decades. While the same responsibilities of running an athletic program are expected to be carried out, more and more time is being devoted to managing specific requests and complaints from parents, alumnae, and school board members. Issues around playing time, level of competitiveness, college recruiting, coach behavior, specialization, travel and elite teams, and over-scheduled student/athletes are occupying increasing amounts of time and energy. What steps can athletic directors take to address some of these challenges? How can AD’s use their athletic mission to articulate a message that the entire community can understand and support so as to enhance the quality and performance of the athletic program while minimize potential conflicts. What specific data can AD’s incorporate in their message to be persuasive with concerned parents?

Duration: 1 hour talk or 3 hour workshop.    Return to Speaker Form

Trustees’ Talk

What Trustees Need to Know About Athletic Excellence and Psychological Health

We are living in an extremely competitive and outcome oriented culture, which is having a profound effect on athletes, parents, coaches, schools, and athletic programs across the country. At the independent school level, coaches and administrators are faced with increased scrutiny from parents with high performance expectations for their children. Simultaneously, the influx of travel teams, the hopes of athletic college scholarships, and the growing prowess of many athletic programs are placing additional pressure on schools to keep pace. In the face of these challenges, how do independent schools continue to strive toward athletic excellence while attending to the needs of students to develop character and overall psychological health and balance? In this presentation, particular emphasis is given to understanding the stages of physical and psychological development of the independent school athlete and the impact of a pressured athletic environment on the quality of coaching, student-athlete performance, and relationships with parents. Suggestions are offered to facilitate a sound approach for independent schools to address these questions and challenges.

Duration: 1 hour.   Return to Speaker Form

Student Talk

Athletics offer young people the opportunity to strive for excellence. Fear of failure, high parental expectations, concern about entrance into college may all contribute to varying levels of performance anxiety. In this brief talk, sport psychology tips and techniques are shared to offer student/athletes a means to reach their performance goals. Character development and the importance of strong values are discussed as essential tools to quality performance and healthy personal growth. This talk appeals to all types of performance (athletic, theatrical/artistic, and academic) and sets the foundation for performance at the college level and beyond.

Duration: 1 hour.    Return to Speaker Form

Leadership Development Program

This workshop will help captains and coaches develop a core set of values that will guide them to embrace the school and athletic mission as well as establish a precedent for strong leadership on and off the field.

Duration: Afternoon or evening workshop 2 hours.    Return to Speaker Form