Inside the Mind of a Student-Athlete

Halle Frisco
Staff Writer

On Sept. 25, East Stroudsburg University welcomed Dr. Jarrod Spencer, president and founder of Mind of the Athlete, LLC.

Spencer is a well-known sports psychologist who works with athletes of all levels to encourage and create a better emotional and mental state.

Mind of the Athlete provides one-on-one life coaching, different take-home programs and team consulting.

The company’s slogan is “Clearer mind, better performance.”

Spencer informed 500+ Warrior athletes about how the mind works. He broke down the conscious and unconscious mind and the role they play in the athlete’s performance.

The preconscious, memories that can be easily recalled but are not at the forefront of our minds, is the primary culprit of distracting the athlete.

The five signs of a flooded or unclear preconscious are insomnia, anxiety, drop in energy levels, misguided tensions and loneliness.

Spencer backed this idea up with some statistics.

“35.3 percent of U.S. college students had difficulty functioning in the past year due to depression. However 57 percent of students reported that they had difficulty functioning due to anxiety,” said Spencer.

ESU’s athletes were glued to their seats as Spencer continued to encourage and uplift them. He let them know that they are not alone, and there is power in seeking help.

“I thought the presentation was beneficial because most people view athletes as being ‘sports performers’ and if something is wrong, it’s just their play or that one game, but it goes much deeper than the sport itself and that was really demonstrated tonight,” said Morgan Firestine, senior captain of the women’s field hockey team.

Many rushed the stage after the presentation had concluded to speak with Spencer himself and to receive the free wristbands that the company provided so ESU’s student athletes will never forget “clearer mind, better performance.”

Email Halle at:
hfrisco@live.esu.edu