Reflections on My Experience at the 2024 AASP Conference in Las Vegas

In October I attended my second annual conference for the Association of Applied Sport Psychology (AASP), held this year in Las Vegas, Nevada. Since returning home, I have spent time reflecting on my experience, the things I learned, and the conversations I had, and reviewing my pages of notes. Today, I wanted to share a few highlights from the experience and points or takeaways that resonated with me.

On day one, I attended a presentation from the AASP Performing Arts Special Interest Group (SIG), a group I joined at last year’s conference. Each presenter had five minutes to give a brief overview of a specific performing arts domain and offer context/important info to keep in mind for consultants who find themselves working with a performing artist or with a specialty they are not familiar with. They touched on classical ballet, circus arts, music (both from an instrumentalist and singer perspective), theatre arts, and coaches within performing arts. A key takeaway from this presentation was the need for continued research in the field of performing arts; as well as the need for Performance Psychology awareness and education among those working, teaching, and in positions of influence within the performing arts industry.

Over the four days of the conference, I attended panels, research presentations, and workshops on topics ranging from advancing safe, healthy, and inclusive sport, to finding balance as a mental performance consultant and entrepreneur, to applying performance psychology in a corporate setting, to effectively creating activities and debriefs to meet a variety of mental skills. Each session was led by individuals with years of experience across performance domains. While some of the research presented was challenging to grasp, each session sparked my interest, made me want to learn more, and encouraged me to continue building my competency and confidence in this field.

Here are a few statements that impacted me, made me curious to learn more, or made me pause to ponder:

·“Luck is hard work meeting opportunity.”

·“Be where your feet are and do good work.”

·“Build relationships wherever you go.”

·“Don’t live in the land of good ideas, take action.”

·“Words don’t just impact you cognitively but physically.”

·“Engage your senses to focus on the present.”

One of the biggest highlights for me was meeting and catching up with colleagues, specifically a former classmate and my CMPC mentor for the first time in person. Besides continuing my education at conferences by learning from those with more knowledge and experience, I enjoy connecting with them, having conversations, and building relationships with people I may have never met otherwise.

The last statement I will leave you with is this: “Be curious and always be learning”. I challenge you to not just read that and move on with your day, but to take action. What is a topic you are curious about? What is something you have been wanting to learn, try, or explore? Be curious and take action.