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1. Sports Psychology
in the Sports Management
Business – Managing Expectations
John Ellsworth, MA
www.protexsports.com
© 2007 Protex Sports and John Ellsworth

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3. Introduction
In 1996, Cuba Gooding Jr. and Tom Cruise glamorized the ultra-competitive field of
sports agents and athletes on the cusp of athletic stardom. While the plot line of Jerry
McGuire focused mainly on the personal crisis of Tom Cruise's character, it also
provided some insight into the highly competitive industry of sports representation.
One part business manager, one part master negotiator, real world sports agents are
savvy investors who must be able to quickly identify raw and unknown talent, generate
buzz around an aspiring pro athlete, and negotiate the best deals with teams and
endorsement opportunities. For many sports agents finding athletic talent is simple;
however, leveraging that talent is the challenging part.
Today's sports agent must be more than a great business manager to attract top talent.
Athletes want and need someone to manage their careers and their lifestyles. Sports
agents who can take the leap from talent and business management to lifestyle and
career coaches can quickly find themselves in unfamiliar territory.
The Sports Agent and the Athlete – A Merger of Talent and Negotiation
Power
The role of the sports agency, and hence the sports agent, historically has focused
primarily on scouting raw talent and then, over a period of time, marketing athletes to
prospective big league teams. Sports agents have assisted in contract negotiations,
observing industry trends and legal regulations, financial planning and management as
well as in the transitional phase between athlete and the corporate world.
The sports agent of the future must focus equally on managing the lifestyles of their
athletes to maximize earning potential and creating better strategies to overcome
inevitable obstacles as well as encourage athletes to become mentors to upcoming
talent. The movement from business and talent management to lifestyle and career
management provides more opportunities for athletes and the sports agent.
Athletes require a liaison with extensive negotiating experience who is intimately
familiar with industry trends such as average contracts amounts and endorsement
management. For most athletes, their passion is their sport and their career aspirations
and goals are set incredibly high. All they want to do is get the contract and then move
forward into a professional career without the hassles and stress of being a free agent.
Athletes work with sports agents because they want to leverage their earning potential
by seeking the expertise of a skills negotiator who understands the dynamics of a sports
career and who can market talent to the best sports organizations.
Sports agents, on the other hand, competitively scout for new break-out talent. They
are driven by two main influencers: establishing a name within the industry and most
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4. importantly, earning commission from large multi-million dollar contracts. The hope is
that as they attract or discover better talent and negotiate larger deals they will build
name recognition, increase earning power, earn higher commissions and, of course,
generate significant profits for the sports agency.
The merger of athlete talent and agent negotiation skills is a powerful force that, if
successfully managed, can result in big outcomes. As many sports agents quickly
discover, however, being the middleman can be challenging, especially when athlete
goals and team objectives aren't properly aligned.
Gap Analysis—The Void Between Performance, Negotiation and the
Decision-Maker
As athletes transition from passionate athletes to aspiring professionals, many struggle
with high expectations concerning potential earnings, performance instability, and even
negative behaviors. These are all factors that would likely not exist during the most
critical time periods of an athlete's professional career if it were not for the stress and
uncertainty of the contract negotiation process.
The anxiety, anticipation, and desire to achieve specific, and often unrealistic,
contractual outcomes frequently weigh heavily on the performances of an athlete on the
fast track to sports superstardom. Many an athlete has fallen short of his or her earning
potential due to inferior performance triggered by worry, lack of focus, and declining
self-confidence.
For sports agents, the most important period of the negotiation process is often when
athletic performance is at less than optimal levels. This creates an obstacle for sports
agents because they want to position an athlete to win the best contract possible.
Instead of working to negotiate the best outcome, sports agents are often placed in a
role where they must straddle the fence between acknowledging the flaws in an athlete's
performance and effectively negotiating with team management to gain the best deal
possible.
Factors which influence the negotiation process are tightly based around team
management's perception of the athlete's potential. In other words, how will the athlete
help the team increase its fan base, win more championships, build corporate
sponsorships, and increase profits for the franchise. The athlete is either viewed as an
asset or liability, which sways the negotiation table.
The key element in contract negotiation is, ultimately, performance. Team managers
review the athlete's stamina to withstand stress, performance consistently, and achieve
critical sports objectives. If an athlete is only physically prepared for a sports career, it
falls on the shoulders of the sports agent to build the mental toughness of the athlete.
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5. Athletic Performance—The Deal Maker or Breaker
Sports agents are familiar with the athlete who looks good during the recruiting process
but crumbles under the pressure of team negotiations. Spotting the warning signs of
troubled athletes then becomes an important job function of the sports agent to make
the best use of agent time, resources, and efforts as well as to help athlete's build
stronger performances.
When field practice and life coaching aren't improving performance, sports agents need
to look elsewhere to uncover the problems hindering peak performance. Recognizing
the early signs of mental obstacles that impede performance can:
• Stop unhealthy thoughts/beliefs/attitudes that impede performance.
• Drastically improve performance by building the mental stamina to stay
focused, remain in control, and boost confidence.
• Demonstrate to team management that the athlete has the mental endurance
to survive in highly competitive and stressful environments.
• Establish champion mindsets early in the sports career. This can help to
overcome challenges in the career such as dealing with an injury or a team
transition and may even circumvent unhealthy behaviors (i.e. drug and
steroid use) to improve performance.
Symptoms of mental obstacles that impede athletic performance can be difficult to
diagnose because no athlete suffers from just one single challenge. In fact, most athletes
have a number of issues which hinder optimal performances. Trouble with mental
stamina often manifests itself in the following ways:
1) An athlete performs better in practice than in competition, or when under
the pressure to perform in front of recruiters, scouts, team management, etc.
2) An athlete seems to be holding back, playing tentatively or with reservations.
For example, a basketball player avoids making long shots or a motocross racer
hangs on the inside to protect his position.
3) An athlete appears to be distracted by other players, relies too much on your
input or others (such as parents or a spouse).
4) An athlete dwells on performance errors, imperfections or mistakes; or who
obsesses on form. For example, a football player wants a perfect punt or a
golfer wants the perfect putt.
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6. 5) An athlete demands a perfect or flawless performance and has specific, and
often unrealistic, outcome expectations. For example, a pitcher expects to have
a no-hit inning.
6) An athlete has difficulty overcoming challenges such as a bad call, an opponent
who gets in their face, an annoying heckler, an injury, etc.
When agents notice any of these symptoms or suspect that there is more to
performance issues, it is time to find the real culprit. The best place to start is to
evaluate potential problems stemming from poor mental endurance.
Mental Toughness—The Secret "Weapon" of Champion Athletes
There is one common factor that leads athletes like Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan,
Mario Andretti, Lance Armstrong, and others to greatness. The key to their success lies
in their mental toughness. Granted, these athletes train hard and play hard. But they
also know how to leverage the power of their thoughts, beliefs, and attitudes to give
them an edge over their competition.
Mental toughness training, also known as sports psychology, is the secret weapon of
champion athletes. Learning how to leverage thoughts, attitudes, and beliefs that
influence performance is the most important factor leading to consistent performances.
When athletes learn how to channel only healthy thoughts and release unhealthy ones,
performance is optimized. Athletes learn, for example, how to:
• Improve focus
Athletes learn to focus on and enjoy the process of the sport. Laser
sharp concentration produces stronger performances (especially during
times of stress) because the athlete learns how to turn on the process
and tune out distractions.
• Establish realistic expectations
Setting high, but obtainable goals helps athletes to relax, calms nerves,
and allows athletes to perform more freely. This prevents tentative or
protective performances and highlights the actual talent capabilities of the
athletes.
• Boost confidence
When athletes learn to trust in their abilities and believe they have the
skills to execute well, they worry less about how others perceive their
performances, don't obsess on perfection, and focus on the process
rather than the outcome. This leads to better performances even when
competition is fierce.
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7. • Quickly regain composure
No matter how talented the athlete, adversity and obstacles are part of
sports. A bad call, an angry opponent, or a mistake in execution can
swiftly alter performances. Learning how to quickly spring back when
faced with unexpected challenges is the difference between a good
athlete and a great one!
While it is clear that mental toughness training has many benefits to the athlete, there
are also many advantages which sports agents will appreciate as well. Improving the
mental stamina of athletes assists sports agents by:
• Ensuring consistent performances
Since the demand for consistent top performance is demanded by team
management, helping an athlete to demonstrate the ability to perform
well despite the stress of the negotiation table helps to differentiate your
athlete from others fighting for the same chance at a professional athletic
career.
• Building mentally healthy athletes
Athletes with higher mental stamina are better able equipped to adapt to
change, handle adversity, and enjoy the sport and the thrill of the win.
• Quickly identifying the best athletes
Sports agents invest significant time and resources into building an
athletic career. While there is no crystal ball to see into the future and
know for certain what lies ahead, knowing how to spot steady
performers and differentiate troubled super-stars can be the key to
picking the best candidates to pursue.
Tools of the Savvy Sports Agent
Sports agents who want to identify, select, and market the best athletes to reap the
rewards of the field need tools and resources. The following are recommended tools
to ensure that top performers reach their optimal performance:
• Assessments for athletes
Troubleshooting mental toughness issues by evaluating symptoms is a good
start to understanding the obstacles that hinder performance. However, an
assessment is better since it helps to identify performance strengths and
opportunities where improvement can be made.
• Partnering with a sports psychology expert or mental toughness coach
Mental toughness coaches can help athletes work through issues both in and
outside of the sports arena. They can look for personal issues (such as
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8. problems with relationships or finances) that are causing distractions and
impacting confidence. In addition, mental toughness coaches can discover
personality styles that create perfectionism tendencies and formulate a plan
to work through the challenges.
• Access to the latest mental toughness techniques
Keeping abreast of new strategies that motivate athletes, help them cope
with adversity, or work to improve performance without long hours in
practice is crucial in retaining the best athletes.
• Building a mental game toolbox
Assembling an arsenal of tools that can help athletes include: motivational
quotes from other athletes, positive self-talk statements that emphasize a
"can-do" attitude, tracking successes with a success journal, or establishing
"check points" to catch problems early before they become major issues.
Today's sports agent wears many hats and plays many roles in the lives of aspiring
professional athletes. Establishing competitive differentiation starts with the ability to
identify the best talent and make sure that these athletes optimize their performance to
leverage their earning power.
About John Ellsworth
John holds a Master's Degree in counseling psychology with a specialization in sports
psychology and is presently a doctoral candidate in the field. John brings a multifaceted
approach to the mental aspects of sports and health. Combined with his expertise in
clinical and applied sports psychology, John has extensive experience coaching high
school and college teams, teaching, and consulting with professional, elite, college, high
school, and middle school athletes. In addition, John’s personal success in professional
baseball and amateur sports is testament to his ability to apply the concepts he teaches:
goal setting, perseverance, life balance, belief in self, and mastery of the mental game.
John is a member of AASP, NASPSPA, APA Division 47, and CAMFT.
For more information, please visit: www.protexsports.com
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