Current Activity - Peter Jensen
Recently, most of Peter's sports time is spent with the women's hockey team. He has worked extensively with the team since 2004 as the official team sport psychologist. At the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver Peter not only worked with the Gold Medal Women's Team but also assisted the medical team in dealing with issues arising in other venues.
Peter's work was featured in a major article in the February 2010 edition of Reader's Digest entitled, 5 Ways to Be Your Best. The author, Stuart Foxman, interviewed athletes past and present who worked with Peter. The 5 ways the author focused on were: understand pressure, focus on 'now', maintain self-awareness, banish the negative distractions, and visualize to win.
Prior to the games in Vancouver Peter travelled with the team to all of their major competitions including the world championships in China in 2008. Prior to that event the Canadian Press circulated a story featuring Peter's role on the team. The story was widely picked up by newspapers, online media, and radio, including The Globe and Mail, Winnipeg Free Press, Hamilton Spectator, (Nova Scotia) Chronicle Herald, Inside China Today, Daily South Asian Free Press. The story was headlined "Wheels of Women's Hockey Team Greased Behind The Scenes," and highlighted the importance of the team's non-playing specialists in creating an environment where high performance is fully supported - particularly when conditions are not ideal -
"Travelling to and playing in the first women's world hockey championship in China meant navigating long travel days, drastically different time zones and a unique culture while trying to win a world title. '[Peter has] played a big role in helping us be able to make light of situations and some of the differences and not get so overwhelmed by some of the things,' assistant captain Becky Kellar said. 'He's very good at keeping things light.' Since 1984, Jensen has worked with athletes in several different sports over six Olympic Games. His work with the women's hockey team is particularly important this year, given the unfamiliar environment the team finds itself in here."
Peter also works with individual athletes in a variety of sports, and is involved with the Canadian Olympic Committee, and their Own The Podium program.
Peter continues to be in demand as a commentator for his views on sport psychology. In spring 2008, for example, he was a guest on CBC's Metro Morning and was interviewed by Jane Hawtin to discuss why the Toronto Maple Leaf's had a sudden surge of winning after a dismal season. But it's not all hockey. In February he was quoted extensively in a Globe and Mail article in the sports section titled "Leadership: Lessons from the Football Field: Gridiron grits: the 'perfect' coach." Peter provided insight into why "managers off the field could take a page from [New England Patriots' coach] Bill Belichick's playbook."
Updates on Peter's work in sport are routinely found in his podcasts, which come as part of our online newsletter. You can subscribe to our newsletter here, and check out older issues here, including Peter's podcasts.
Current Activity - Others
Peggy Baumgartner, PCI's Director of Training, led two S.W.O.T. sessions for the Women's Hockey team players and staff. Peggy also worked with an elite men's curling team prior to the Olympic trials providing one on one coaching re the TAIS results. She has also provided one on one coaching for a PGA pro, NCAA elite swimmer, NHL hockey goalie, and many others folks this year who want to improve their performance.
Garry Watanabe is currently working with Canoe and Kayak Canada helping them to put together a program to assist up and coming elite coaches to recognize their distinct strengths and challenges and to help them to perform at their best while coaching their athletes at International competitions including: World Championships, Olympic Trials and the Olympic Games.
Garry is also working with the Canadian national archery team, prepping them to compete in the upcoming Olympics. One of Garry's challenges was in determining how to deliver meaningful training to the athletes, who are spread around the country and train individually. Garry and national coach Joan MacDonald solved the problem by using the latest technology to hold a series of lectures via conference call enhanced by online software the athletes and coaches could use to follow along, ask questions and complete exercises. The focus of the training was to create a framework and common language for mental preparation, which the coaches and athletes will implement as they train. Since none of the athletes have been to an Olympics before they all will be facing one specific challenge: how to handle the big moment without being overcome by distractions. "My goal was to give them a tool for a challenge they've never faced in their careers, says Garry, "and to be a resource for them if they need me." Garry also was part of the PCI team who delivered the SWOT program to the players of the Gold Medal Women's Hockey Team as they prepared for Vancouver.
Jill Proud, another of PCI's presenters, also traveled with the PCI team to Calgary to work with the women's Olympic hockey team. Jill acted as a TAIS coach for several of the women during that program.
Karyn Garossino, a past Olympian and Canadian figure skating champion, coached national level skaters for 13 years. She is currently giving her energy and expertise to the grassroots sports programs her two children are involved in. Karyn recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Calgary Olympic Games with her Olympian colleagues, which has inspired her to turn her casual running and yoga regimen into marathon training. As a mental fitness trainer, Karyn believes that "preparing for a marathon is a great way for me to challenge myself and stay connected more deeply to the kinds of challenges my clients face."
The most critical aspect of my Olympic success was my work with Peter
- Tracy Wilson, Olympic medalist