ASU Mental Training Lab

Riley Robbins

The ASU applied sport psychology graduate program, in collaboration with the ASU athletic department, is thrilled to announce the opening of our new mental training lab! This is an exciting opportunity for all ASU athletes to improve their mental skills in sport and maximize their potential. Many major American professional sports teams, elite Olympic-caliber athletes, and major universities around the world utilize mental skills training as part of their everyday practice routine.

The question many people have is: what are mental skills? Well, they are just that – skills! Some confuse mental skills with personality traits. For example, confidence, attitude, composure, resiliency and concentration are all skills that many believe you either have or you don’t. However, since they are skills, they are things that can be trained! At the mental training lab, our qualified graduate students can provide strategies and techniques for practicing mental skills so that athletes can play at their best.  Dr. Brian Zuleger (click link for bio) an assistant professor in the Human Performance and Physical Education department is a certified consultant with the Association for Applied Sport Psychology and a member of the United States Olympic Committee Sport Psychology Registry and oversees the mental training lab as well as mentoring the graduate students. We highly encourage athletes to come visit us before there is a performance issue, or a slump, so that we can work together to avoid them!

We operate from an educational “build-it” model, rather than the traditional “fix-it” model that tends to simply apply band-aids to issues without addressing the underlying problem. If you are already experiencing performance issues, by all means, do not hesitate to come and see us. We will do our best to meet your needs as we will any athlete. Be aware, there are rarely any easy “fixes” when it comes to mental skills, but that does not mean it is not worth it to address weaknesses or even improve strengths. We ask you to keep in mind that those who work in the mental training lab are not licensed psychologists, and mental skills training is not therapy. If you are struggling with depression, substance abuse, or need crisis intervention or help with an eating disorder, please contact Lis Tomlin (719-587-7746) at ASU Counseling Services immediately.

If you have any questions regarding the mental training lab please contact Dr. Brian Zuleger brianzuleger@adams.edu, 719-587-7404