Alright, let’s talk about getting into sport psychology internships. It feels like a whole different world when you first start trying to break in.
Getting Started – Where Do You Even Look?
So, the first thing I did was basically map out everything sports-related near me. I’m talking universities, local pro or semi-pro teams, even some bigger high schools known for their athletics. I figured someone, somewhere, must need help or at least let me shadow.
I spent a good chunk of time just making lists. Seriously, lists were my best friend. Who was the athletic director? Was there a team psychologist already? Did the university have a sport psych program or related Kinesiology department? I dug through websites, made phone calls – yeah, actually picked up the phone, which felt ancient even then.
The Application Grind
Next came sending stuff out. Resumes, cover letters… the usual drill, but I tried to make them less generic. I talked about my specific interest in their teams or their program. It wasn’t just “I want an internship,” it was more like, “I’ve followed your basketball team’s season and I’m really interested in the mental resilience aspects…” – you get the idea.
Honestly, a lot of emails just went into the void. No replies. It’s easy to get discouraged. You just gotta keep at it. Persistence is key here.
- I followed up politely after a week or two if I heard nothing.
- I tried reaching out to different people within the same organization sometimes.
- Networking helped too. I went to a couple of local sports events, talked to coaches, trainers… anyone who might know someone.
Landing One: The Interview and Offer
Eventually, I got a couple of responses inviting me for interviews. These weren’t typical job interviews. They asked less about my resume and more about how I’d handle certain situations. Stuff like: What would you do if an athlete was clearly in a slump? How would you build trust with a team that’s skeptical?
I remember one interview was with a university athletic department. It was intense but also practical. They wanted to see if I actually understood the pressures athletes face, not just textbook theories. Got an offer from them eventually, unpaid of course, which is pretty common starting out.
What I Actually Did Day-to-Day
My first internship was a lot of observing. Lots and lots of observing. Attending practices, sitting in on team meetings, watching games from the sidelines. Taking notes. Trying to be invisible but also approachable.
After a while, they let me do more:
- Helping prepare materials for workshops (like on goal-setting or focus techniques).
- Sitting in on one-on-one sessions (with the athlete’s permission, of course).
- Sometimes doing basic data entry or organizing files – yeah, the not-so-glamorous stuff is part of it.
- Eventually, I got to co-lead a small group discussion on pre-game routines. That felt like a big step.
It wasn’t always exciting. There was downtime. There was grunt work. But being immersed in that environment was invaluable.
Lessons Learned the Hard Way
The biggest thing I learned? Building trust takes time. You can’t just walk in and expect athletes or coaches to open up. You have to be consistent, reliable, and genuinely interested in their world. You also learn to read the room, know when to speak up and when to just listen.
Confidentiality is everything. You hear and see things that absolutely cannot leave the room. Proving you understand and respect that is crucial.
Wrapping Up That Phase
That first internship was tough but amazing. It confirmed this was what I wanted to do. It wasn’t just theory anymore; it was real people, real pressures, real impact. It definitely helped me get my foot in the door for paid opportunities later on. You just gotta start somewhere, put in the work, and learn from every single experience, even just watching practice.
