The Freshman Foundation Podcast Episode 12: Vanessa Shannon, Director of Mental Performance, University of Louisville

In Episode 12, Mike talks to Vanessa Shannon, Director of Mental Performance for the University of Louisville Athletic Department and Norton Sports Health since October 2015.

Prior to moving to Louisville, Dr. Shannon spent two years at IMG Academy in Bradenton, FL. While at IMG, Dr. Shannon served as the Mental Conditioning Coach for the Girls’ Soccer and Basketball programs, coordinated Psychological Test Preparation for IMG’s NFL Combine Training Program, and served as a Vision Training Coach for the Academy’s Major League Baseball Off-Season Training Program. While at IMG, Dr. Shannon also served as the Mental Conditioning Coach for the University of Louisville Women’s Lacrosse and Women’s Soccer Programs.

Dr. Shannon has been invited to speak at camps, clinics, classrooms, and conferences both nationally and internationally. In the Spring and Summers of 2010, 2011, and 2012, Dr. Shannon traveled to Lund and Halmstad Universities in Sweden, Leipzig University in Germany, and Aarhus University in Denmark, where she taught lectures and short courses on the psychology of injury, team dynamics, and careers transitions in sport as part of the European Masters in Sport and Exercise Psychology Erasmus Mundus Programme International Scholar Initiative.

Dr. Shannon holds a PhD in Kinesiology, Recreation, and Sports Studies with a specialization in Sport Psychology and concentration in Counseling from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She holds a MS in Kinesiology with an emphasis in Exercise Psychology from Kansas State University and BAs in Health and Human Performance and Psychology from Rice University. While at Rice University, Dr. Shannon was a member of the Women’s Volleyball team.

In this episode, Vanessa discusses her experiences as a mental performance coach at one of the most successful Division I athletic programs in the United States. Perhaps most interesting is the shift Vanessa has seen in student-athletes' willingness to ask for help with respect to mental health and training.

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Thank you again for listening!