Sport Psychologist Returns to Carnegie Mellon

The Carnegie Mellon University Athletics Department welcomed back sports psychologist Greg Shelley on Sunday, March 22, to discuss leadership with the Tartans’ second-year student-athletes. Part of the athletics department’s Excellence Forum, the leadership symposium was attended by approximately 100 sophomore athletes.

"I really enjoyed Greg Shelley's session because I came out of it feeling inspired to become a better leader," said women's basketball player Lisa Murphy. "We talked a lot about establishing a competitive and supportive team climate, which I think is absolutely crucial for athletic success. His use of anecdotes, demonstrations, and group discussions allowed us to take a step back to think more about how we can become stronger leaders. He encouraged us to feel confident in our ability to have a positive impact on our teams through both vocal leadership and leading by example."

A professor at Ithaca College, Dr. Shelley is a performance consultant who has worked closely with Carnegie Mellon student-athletes and department staff over the past nine years. Shelley led the first-year student-athletes through a leadership symposium in September.

"This is a wonderful follow up to the work that the student athletes do with Greg in their freshman year," head volleyball coach Kim Kelly said. "It takes them to the next level of leadership within their teams. I feel this program really gets to the heart of what commitment is. We have set high expectations for all of our programs within the department and I feel that Greg really pushes our athletes to understand what kind of leadership is needed for our programs to be successful."

Carnegie Mellon's Excellence Forum aspires to provide its student-athlete community with programming that complements the transformative learning experiences that happen inside and outside of the classroom.

"We believe our Excellence Forum and leadership symposium programming helps student-athletes maximize every facet of their potential," said Director of Athletics Josh Centor. "Our student-athletes are leaders within the community, and we are always excited to provide formal training that will assist them in achieving their athletic, academic, professional and personal goals."