Guest Speaker Profile

Sport Psychologist Dr. Cheryl Stuntz Talks Motivation to NSA Students

By Gwen Schultz ‘11

Dr. Cheryl Stuntz
Courtesy of St. Lawrence University

Lake Placid, N.Y.— The National Sports Academy student body gathered last Friday to listen to sport psychologist Dr. Cheryl Stuntz give a talk about strategies for enhancing motivation.

Dr. Stuntz, a psychology professor at St. Lawrence University, majored in chemistry and psychology at Bowdoin College and holds a doctorate in sport psychology from the University of Virginia.

Her interest in psychology came along by chance; at one point in her time at Bowdoin, a course in psychology was the only thing that would fit into her schedule. A life-long competitive swimmer and water polo player, Stuntz pursued a career in what interested her the most.

When asked about the biggest challenge for motivating student-athletes, our speaker said, “The biggest problem is that people set up their own barriers.” She stresses that we are our own biggest supporters, and what we think to ourselves has a huge impact on our performance.

Currently, Dr. Stuntz works mainly with serious college athletes but says that the strategies she talks about would work for anyone. Her simple yet sometimes challenging techniques for improving athletic performance will no doubt benefit student-athletes at NSA who commit themselves to trying them.

Stuntz’s work is centered on the role social relationships play in sports and how they affect performance, and she is currently studying lifestyle predictors of physical activity and motivation.