Pierre Beauchamp, Ph.D.

Pierre holds a doctorate in sport psychology (University of Montreal) and Masters/Bachelor degrees’ from McGill University. A former McGill University hockey player, Pierre has over 35 years of coaching and consulting experience from varsity football, hockey, track and golf to Olympic and National level teams.

Pierre is also the managing Director of a consulting firm (Peak Sport Performance Mindroom) dealing in human performance with professional, national and amateur athletes in a variety of sports. He will be attending the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver with the Short Track Speed Skating Team.

What education did you complete and what qualifications do you have?

B.ED. Physical Education, McGill University

M.A. Administration & Policy Studies, McGill University

Ph.D. Sport Psychology (Intrinsic Motivation), University of Montreal

CSPA (Canadian Sport Psychology Association) Professional Member

AAPB (Association of Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback) Certification

What is your philosophy to working with athletes/teams?

I believe in utilizing a person-situation interactional model whereby the athlete sets the goals and I provide the structure within a dynamic process model for performance enhancement.

The process model begins in Phase 1 to clarify the purpose, identify objectives and determine commitment from the athlete or team. Phase 2 moves toward Sport Analysis and feedback from coaches and IST members. In Phase 3, Individual and/or Team Assessment are conducted from a multidimensional approach (e.g., OMSAT, RESTQ-S, Biofeedback Stress Report, Performance Analysis, etc). Phase 4 outlines the methodology chosen to conduct the program (e.g., Individual Profile Analysis, Mental Skills Workbook, Educational Seminars, Training Log Book, YTP, etc.). Phase 5 outlines the core psychological skills and strategies to be targeted. Phase 6 suggests a plan for implementation while Phase 7 evaluates the process in training, simulation and competition.

What are your thoughts/views of the upcoming Olympics?

The 2010 Olympic Games being played in Vancouver Canada provides an exciting opportunity for our Canadian athletes for the following reasons:

Firstly, Canadian athletes will have a distinct homefield advantage of competing on their home turf in front of their fans and in an environment that is very familiar to them.

Second, their perception of the situation will be critical to their performances. If they choose to perceive the crowd is pro Canadian and behind them, they will be highly confident and will feed-off this positive energy and perform well. However, should some athletes choose to perceive they are in an evaluative situation; performance will suffer due to an increased feeling of self-imposed anxiety.

Finally, Canadian athletes that can maintain their focus on the process throughout the month-long schedule of media, friends and family distractions and the carnival environment of an Olympic Games should consistently perform well under pressure and on demand!