SPORTS psychologist Olivia Rose-Esperance has been breaking barriers and unlocking potential by getting into the minds of coaches, athletes, and parents.

Rose-Esperance, 34, is the sports director and founder of OnR Sports Consultancy.

She has a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology and Spanish, and a Master of Science in applied psychology, and she has just completed her PhD in Sociology with concentration on Leisure and Sport from the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom.

On February 21 Rose-Esperance completed the last of her four Coaches, Athletes and Parents (CAP) sports psychology workshops, which were funded by Sports Development Foundation (SDF) in partnership with the Institute of Sports (INSPORTS).

The workshops, which started in 2019, were held in Kingston and St Andrew twice, Manchester, and St James. Rose-Esperance thought they were successful based on the positive feedback.

“Overall, the workshops were well-received by the target audience, CAP, and feedback from the evaluations suggested that the participants found the sessions to be interactive, informative and provided them with practical tools that they could use in sports,” she told the Jamaica Observer.

“It was my brainchild and through the sponsorship of SDF, I was able to do the workshops free to the public. There was a recommendation for the future workshops to be properly marketed,” she noted.

Rose-Esperance explained that psychology is a multidisciplinary field and the workshops were interactive with presentations from sports psychologists, athletes, coaches, researchers, administrators, educators, government officials, and sport science practitioners.

After the workshops the coaches were able to understand the importance of establishing a good working relationship with sports psychologists and understanding the different phases involved in psychological sports training and their roles in helping and supporting the execution of the programme.

There was also the topic of child protection and coaches were put through interactive sessions to identify the different types of abuses in sports and how to prevent burn out.

The workshops also focused on athletes developing a champion mindset — called “Mental Muscles” — to strengthen motivation, confidence, and intensity while performing consistently well under the most challenging conditions.

That is, “If they are student athletes, set appropriate goals for school and sports, and identify ways they can reduce procrastination in academics.

“[It’s] how to develop a mental training programme that will prepare you to perform your best when it really counts,” she added.

Last, but not least, the parents had their roles to play at the workshops in raising successful and happy athletes – they are the pillars.

“Understand the impact of certain myths parents believe about youth sports and identify the do’s and don’ts as parents of athletes. Understand the importance of screening and child protection in sports, and tips for communicating with adolescent athletes immediately after a win or loss,” Rose-Esperance said.

The first Applied Sport Psychology conference, held in the Caribbean in June 2018 in Jamaica, was the brainchild of Rose-Esperance.

It showcased the pivotal role that sports psychologists play in helping to prepare sports personnel for competitions and beyond while working in this unique regional context.

Rose-Esperance, along with Bernie Bush (Cayman Islands), Amanda Johnson (Trinidad and Tobago), Robert Huggins (St Lucia), and Rudy Alleyne (Barbados) were the presenters at the historic conference.