I have had the wonderful fortune of travelling and living in various parts of the world. From the wildlife of Southern Africa to the red sands and coral beaches of Australia, and the deep-rooted history of England, I love being immersed within different cultures and languages. I moved to the United States over a year ago and was captured by the grandness of its landscape and the immense passion of its people. Having lived in England for the majority of my life, I was struck by the experience of a hugely different culture despite both speaking the same language. In the first couple of days, I quickly noticed I was going nowhere without a car. Catching a train or bus isn’t nearly as common as it is in England. I frequently got myself totally lost in the -what seemed like- infinite options of sweets (aka candy for my American friends) in Walmart. I was pleasantly surprised by the openness and warmth of people walking down the street. People actually said more than just a ‘hello.’. Doing this in parts of England would certainly either confuse people or leave them wondering if and why they had business with you. While I have missed a good old English pub with its low hanging ceilings, cozy sofas and the old scent of vintage wood, I am totally impressed by the incredible service you receive at a restaurant in the US. I’m definitely a fan of the larger portion sizes! I could go on about all the wonderful differences. One thing is for sure, personally and professionally navigating cultural differences in the US has been at times utterly hilarious and humbling.

This leads me onto sharing my current pathway to pursue a career in sport psychology. My undergraduate training at Loughborough University in psychology provided me a broad understanding of what makes humans tick. I then transitioned to sport and exercise psychology for my masters at Portsmouth University where I started to dive deep into human performance. I recall one time sitting in a class during my master’s program. The professor spoke of the opportunities to become a sport psychologist in the United Kingdom through the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences (BASES) accreditation. The professor then spoke of a certification in the US that really grabbed my attention. I was told that graduate students were working toward becoming a Certified Mental Performance Consultant® (CMPC) within the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP). The CMPC for me seemed more attainable and applied in nature. Since my eyes had already turned to pursuing a PhD, naturally, I put the two together and worked hard to get myself to the US.

I took the plunge across the ‘pond’ (crossing the Atlantic) and within the first month of arriving to the US, I was offered the opportunity to work as a mental performance consultant (MPC) for a high school basketball and a junior baseball team. I was immediately struck by how involved coaches were in performance during competitions. In the UK, when I played a game in cricket, rugby or soccer, I did not hear the coach once. This was not the case in the US. I was told that this was normal for coaches to be so involved in athlete decision making. I was amazed at the frequent shouting and ordering from coaches. Unfortunately, very early on as an MPC, I encountered a verbally abusive coach. The abuse was so severe that the team of MPCs I was in, were forced to leave for our own safety. As an MPC, this was an eye-opening experience where I gained valuable skills on how to navigate a sensitive and challenging situation.

Later, I then supported the development of mental performance coaching services at a small, division III university. I expanded our services from one person to a team of 19 master’s students. We worked with seven different athletic teams delivering workshops, attending practices, games and providing one-on-one consulting opportunities. Master’s students were able to gain experience working and communicating with different teams and coaches. I also noticed the quality of coaching and culture was far more caring. Perhaps different from coaches in the UK, I was impressed by how much effort and care coaches offered to their athletes. Coaches hosted BBQs at their homes, met with parents and cared about them as a student and athlete.

I then got the exciting opportunity to work as an MPC for a division I volleyball and professional hockey team. I was startled by how different it was working within these high-stake teams. Previously, I moved freely and offered mental performance consulting during practices since I had close relationships with the coaches. However, here I quickly noticed that I had to be more strategic when I provided input. Most of my input was delivered through brief conversations with coaches after practice. Creating ‘buy-in’ to mental performance coaching was a new challenge for me. Educating coaches and athletes about what mental performance consulting is and how they could integrate it as an additional resource was a far tougher challenge than I thought. The challenge was fitting into a busy schedule and integrating a new service in a long-standing culture. Either way, I was impressed by the resources, time and energy that went into practices and the large number of spectators that attended games.

In as little as a year-and-a-half, I have already had incredible opportunities to practice sport psychology in new and exciting ways. More often than not, my British mannerisms and accent have certainly helped me stand out. While I still have much to learn about sport in the US, I am so incredibly excited for all the opportunities that lie ahead. People in the US are open and dedicated to self-development and coaching which truly excites me as the perfect place to work toward my dream to provide tools for people to enhance their mental performance.