UMass hoop team meets with renowned sports psychologist to boost chemistry
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AMHERST - University of Massachusetts men's basketball coach Derek Kellogg had high expectations when he hired him. But just over 12 hours after his team's final session with renowned sports psychologist Joe Carr, Kellogg was still raving about him.
"It was phenomenal," Kellogg said. "I've never seen anything like it in my life. It was a moving three days. Many of the kids really thanked Dr. Carr for coming and thought is was one of the most inspirational, moving things that they'd ever done. I think this is going to go a long way toward the building of this program and becoming more of a family and a team and having trust within the team and family."
Carr has worked with college teams before. In fact the UMass men's basketball team hired him in 2000, but in recent years most of his clients have been NBA teams. But the lockout has left Carr's often full schedule with some openings and the Minutemen took advantage.
UMass junior swingman Javorn Farrell said the players were skeptical at first, but after hearing about Carr's experience and work with the NBA, he had their attention.
"We didn't know what to expect coming in, but once we heard the resume, we opened up a little bit more," Farrell said.
Carr, who looks short in a room filled with basketball players, has a graying beard, a warm demeanor and an easy full laugh. He played Division I basketball himself and the dark Memphis Grizzlies pullover he wore going into the final session Monday evening helped remind the players, that this wasn't some academic. This was a basketball guy and he came to Amherst with the goal of helping the Minutemen improve their team chemistry.
"Derek gets it. I applaud him for taking this approach," said Carr, who'll return to check in on the team's progress in a few weeks. "Each team is different. Derek said he wanted to build a brotherhood/family atmosphere. A lot of these kids come from single parent families where the notion of sacrifice has never been seen. We're asking these kids to embrace the concept of sacrifice. So we're coaching them and teaching them how to do it. It's stuff that might not show up in the box score, but it will impact the box score and will help these kids for the rest of their lives."
The process called for the players and coaching staff to open up to each other. There were activities designed to develop their relationships, teach them how to better accept criticism, how to recover from their mistakes and better accept coaching.
"It's about getting closer to each other and learning more about each other, not just as a basketball player, but as a person," Farrell said. "We've done a lot of group exercises and partner exercises. You always feel better playing with people you're closer to."
Kellogg thought the experience made him better as a coach.
"I learned things about the kids," Kellogg said. "For the kids to reach down emotionally and let people in was a moving experience. It's going to help me and my staff take the next step forward. He was able to help me with some managerial styles, give me some tips on how to deal with some players who come from different backgrounds in different situations. He was a great sounding board that I'll be able to use throughout the year. It was important for me to let the kids know that we're doing everything as a program to take the next step."
Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com. Follow UMass coverage on Twitter at twitter.com/GazetteUMass. Get UMass coverage delivered in your Facebook news feed at http://www.facebook.com/GazetteUMassCoverage.
