Sports Psychology

At the start of the season, University of Oregon discus thrower Kevin Carr taped 3-by-5 cards around his apartment, reminders that he was a world-class athlete. "Around the time I hung those up, I was throwing 181," Carr said during a break in his workout at Hayward Field. "Since then, I've improved my throw by 13 feet. "I've made advances physically, but not to that extent," he said. "That's why I can attribute it to the mental training."

'Necessary Roughness' 10 p.m. June 29, USA Network Episode: "Pilot" The premise Dr. Dani Santino (Callie Thorne) is a Long Island psychotherapist who specializes in behavioral management, hypnotherapy, smoking cessation and weight loss programs. When she discovers that her husband is cheating on her, she kicks him out and starts looking for ways to augment her income to support her two children and pay for her divorce proceedings. After she meets Matthew Donnally (Marc Blucas)

Earlier this football season, a Moorpark High assistant coach, apparently convinced that the Musketeers needed more inspiration than just another pep talk by Coach Bob Noel, handed out pills to players. These were no ordinary pills, the players thought. These had mystical powers. Take them, and we will block and tackle like crazed hyenas.

When Bo Arlander first met triathlon coach Paul Huddle in 1998, she was in peak physical condition. So why wasn't she reaching her potential during triathlon events? The problem, Huddle told her, wasn't physical but mental. Like many athletes, Arlander changed her performance once she changed her mind.

Jonathan P. Niednagel is carving out a niche for himself in sports psychology by combining the work of Swiss psychologist and psychiatrist Carl Jung with the latest neuroscience. His theories about the connection between personality types, or "brain types" as he calls them, and control of certain muscle groups has drawn the attention of professional franchises in nearly every sport.

When Bo Arlander first met triathlon coach Paul Huddle in 1998, she was in peak physical condition. So why wasn't she reaching her potential during triathlon events? The problem, Huddle told her, wasn't physical but mental. Like many athletes, Arlander changed her performance once she changed her mind.

Norm Haden met Jonathan P. Niednagel in 1985, when they were paired as first-year Little League coaches. Haden was a rookie, but he understood enough about the dynamics of Little League to know his new team would take its lumps. When he and Niednagel prepared to select players, however, he got a really bad feeling.

It almost never fails. Any time a big league pitcher can't find home plate with his fastball, Steve Blass gets a telephone call. Any second now, he can expect Atlanta pitcher Mark Wohlers' agent to break in with an emergency call. "They say, 'We'd like you to talk to this guy,' " Blass says, "and I say, 'I'm the last guy you want to talk to him!' " Blass is baseball's most enduring mental mystery.

'Necessary Roughness' 10 p.m. June 29, USA Network Episode: "Pilot" The premise Dr. Dani Santino (Callie Thorne) is a Long Island psychotherapist who specializes in behavioral management, hypnotherapy, smoking cessation and weight loss programs. When she discovers that her husband is cheating on her, she kicks him out and starts looking for ways to augment her income to support her two children and pay for her divorce proceedings. After she meets Matthew Donnally (Marc Blucas)

A prominent New York sports psychologist was called to Atlanta to see what he could do for a slumping baseball player who was on a road trip with his team. After a long talk, the psychologist decided that the player was a good subject for hypnosis. "Here we were in Fulton County Stadium, looking for a quiet spot," the psychologist said. They found the laundry room. There, on the floor, the psychologist had the "fairly prominent" player lie down.

It almost never fails. Any time a big league pitcher can't find home plate with his fastball, Steve Blass gets a telephone call. Any second now, he can expect Atlanta pitcher Mark Wohlers' agent to break in with an emergency call. "They say, 'We'd like you to talk to this guy,' " Blass says, "and I say, 'I'm the last guy you want to talk to him!' " Blass is baseball's most enduring mental mystery.

Norm Haden met Jonathan P. Niednagel in 1985, when they were paired as first-year Little League coaches. Haden was a rookie, but he understood enough about the dynamics of Little League to know his new team would take its lumps. When he and Niednagel prepared to select players, however, he got a really bad feeling.

Jonathan P. Niednagel is carving out a niche for himself in sports psychology by combining the work of Swiss psychologist and psychiatrist Carl Jung with the latest neuroscience. His theories about the connection between personality types, or "brain types" as he calls them, and control of certain muscle groups has drawn the attention of professional franchises in nearly every sport.

Earlier this football season, a Moorpark High assistant coach, apparently convinced that the Musketeers needed more inspiration than just another pep talk by Coach Bob Noel, handed out pills to players. These were no ordinary pills, the players thought. These had mystical powers. Take them, and we will block and tackle like crazed hyenas.

At the start of the season, University of Oregon discus thrower Kevin Carr taped 3-by-5 cards around his apartment, reminders that he was a world-class athlete. "Around the time I hung those up, I was throwing 181," Carr said during a break in his workout at Hayward Field. "Since then, I've improved my throw by 13 feet. "I've made advances physically, but not to that extent," he said. "That's why I can attribute it to the mental training."

Alexander Lopez, 10 years old and six feet tall, is playing organized basketball for the first time. It shows. A reserve on a team of the best grammar school players in the Valley, he runs up and down the court like a lost puppy--Alexander The Great Dane. His feet look like they're trapped inside snow shoes. When the ball happens into his hands, it's stolen more quickly than a wallet from a tourist on New York's 42nd Street.

Air rifle athlete Du Li was considered a shoo-in to win China's first gold medal in the Beijing Olympics on Saturday. Buckling under the pressure of 1.3 billion expectant Chinese, she choked. The mostly Chinese crowd gasped after Du failed to get near the bull's-eye in the first shot of the final round. After her fifth-place finish, Du fled through a crowd of reporters, tears streaming from her eyes. "I wasn't fully prepared for the pressure of competing at home," she said.