If I had to choose between my wife and my putter... well, I’d miss her.
Revs and Psychos
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Richard Gamble, Denise M. Hill, and Andrew Parker, JOURNAL OF APPLIED SPORT PSYCHOLOGY, 249-264,2013
Revs and Psychos: Role, Impact and Interaction of Sport Chaplains and Sport Psychologists within English Premiership Soccer
The abstract states: “Despite an increased focus on spirituality and athlete well-being in sport (Watson, 2011), there is limited research regarding those who provide support to the athlete in these areas. The aim of this study was to explore the practice of sport psychologists and sport chaplains within professional soccer, and identify potential for working partnerships. By interviewing three psychologists and four or chaplains who are employed currently within English Premiership soccer, it was revealed that significant overlap in their roles existed. The psychologists and chaplains identified barriers that restricted support offered to players, which may be addressed by working cooperatively in the future”.
The content – the roles of and relationship between chaplains and sports psychologists – is covering new ground. As the authors come from the chaplaincy side is hardly surprising that they feel that psychologists – without chaplains – do not adequately cover the spiritual needs of players.
The authors see value in co-operation between the two “based on a mutual understanding and respect of each other’s expertise, while also appreciating the crossover potential of the two roles”.
The researchers conclude that it is clear that both the psychologist and chaplain play an important role within the challenging context of professional football and that further research is warranted to explore the potential of a collaborative partnership between the sport psychologist and chaplain.
There are three points at which I would disagree with in the literature review:
That Campolo questioned whether chaplains should remain involved in the sporting world;
That Krattenmaker, 2010 can be quoted as an authority on styles of chaplaincy;
That the majority of research in sport and theology has focused on the impact of prayer on sporting success.
This does not seriously distract from the value of the paper.