Boise State Athletics
Boise State XC/Track and Field Assistant Coach Participates in National Conference
10/14/2021 11:15:00 AM | Cross Country, Track & Field
BOISE, Idaho – Boise State Cross Country and Track and Field Assistant Coach Cody Sohn participated in the 36th annual Association of Applied Sport Psychology conference (AASP), Oct. 6-9.
AASP is the premier association that ensures every performer has the resources to strengthen its inner edge through the advancement and application of excellence in mental performance and mental health. To do that, AASP cultivates an inclusive field of Certified Mental Performance Consultants (CMPC), licensed mental health professionals, educators and researchers.
CMPCs have the expertise, skills, and confidence to help performers develop and use mental, life, self-regulatory skills to enhance their talent enjoyment and/or personal development in their performance domain.
Sohn led a panel discussion with Bronco Head Cross Country and Track and Field Coach Corey Ihmels and senior student-athlete Olivia Johnson. In her discussion, Sohn highlighted how the performance theory she utilizes is supported by a type of learning method, and by combining the two, over time, Johnson has grown in her knowledge and use of the mental skills.
Johnson has become an end user of these mental skills and has grown to acquire knowledge of the processes Boise State cross country and track and field are working toward. She has learned how to be an effective leader and speak to the skills in action among her peers, coupled with her understanding of the program's goals.
Sohn joined the Broncos' cross country and track and field programs as a full-time assistant coach/CMPC in the fall of 2018. As both an assistant coach and CMPC, Sohn has the advantage of observing the teams' training within a cultural context that recognizes change, signals needed correction or intervention and identifies challenges and opportunities along a timeline.
This past season, Sohn's goal was to shift from her role as a facilitator and support the transition of her student-athletes from passive to active agents in their own mental skills development.
Her perspective focused on thinking through the relevant theories and discussing with other coaches and student-athletes the theories' application to athlete motivation, attachment and interpersonal processes.
For example, Sohn provided student-athletes with resources, posed questions and encouraged student-athletes to engage with each other in analyzing and collaborating through cognitive awareness and experience. She also prompted activities that enriched, extended and reinforced learning. When interventions were needed or self-regulation was required, Sohn facilitated both.
Furthermore, Ihmels and Sohn talked with their student-athletes about increased expectations for performers to be challenged, and even uncomfortable at times, as they implemented mental skills and tools supportive of positive sport and performance outcomes.
Sohn came to Boise State after working as the Northwest Project Manager for Team Red White Blue (RWB) – a nonprofit dedicated to connecting veterans to their communities through physical and social activity.
Before working with Team RWB, she spent six years as an instructor and coach in performance enhancement and resilience techniques at Comprehensive Soldier and Family Fitness at Fort Benning in Georgia. There, Sohn worked with military personnel and their families on psychological skills to improve performance and build personal and professional resilience.
A graduate of Arizona State, Sohn was a member of the Sun Devils' cross country and track and field teams. She competed at the NCAA Cross Country Championships every year of her career – including finishing as the team's number two runner her senior year. On the track, she finished fourth in the 3,000m steeplechase at the Pac-10 Championships in 2002.
Sohn also holds a master's degree in sport and performance psychology from Denver.
AASP is the premier association that ensures every performer has the resources to strengthen its inner edge through the advancement and application of excellence in mental performance and mental health. To do that, AASP cultivates an inclusive field of Certified Mental Performance Consultants (CMPC), licensed mental health professionals, educators and researchers.
CMPCs have the expertise, skills, and confidence to help performers develop and use mental, life, self-regulatory skills to enhance their talent enjoyment and/or personal development in their performance domain.
Sohn led a panel discussion with Bronco Head Cross Country and Track and Field Coach Corey Ihmels and senior student-athlete Olivia Johnson. In her discussion, Sohn highlighted how the performance theory she utilizes is supported by a type of learning method, and by combining the two, over time, Johnson has grown in her knowledge and use of the mental skills.
Johnson has become an end user of these mental skills and has grown to acquire knowledge of the processes Boise State cross country and track and field are working toward. She has learned how to be an effective leader and speak to the skills in action among her peers, coupled with her understanding of the program's goals.
Sohn joined the Broncos' cross country and track and field programs as a full-time assistant coach/CMPC in the fall of 2018. As both an assistant coach and CMPC, Sohn has the advantage of observing the teams' training within a cultural context that recognizes change, signals needed correction or intervention and identifies challenges and opportunities along a timeline.
This past season, Sohn's goal was to shift from her role as a facilitator and support the transition of her student-athletes from passive to active agents in their own mental skills development.
Her perspective focused on thinking through the relevant theories and discussing with other coaches and student-athletes the theories' application to athlete motivation, attachment and interpersonal processes.
For example, Sohn provided student-athletes with resources, posed questions and encouraged student-athletes to engage with each other in analyzing and collaborating through cognitive awareness and experience. She also prompted activities that enriched, extended and reinforced learning. When interventions were needed or self-regulation was required, Sohn facilitated both.
Furthermore, Ihmels and Sohn talked with their student-athletes about increased expectations for performers to be challenged, and even uncomfortable at times, as they implemented mental skills and tools supportive of positive sport and performance outcomes.
Sohn came to Boise State after working as the Northwest Project Manager for Team Red White Blue (RWB) – a nonprofit dedicated to connecting veterans to their communities through physical and social activity.
Before working with Team RWB, she spent six years as an instructor and coach in performance enhancement and resilience techniques at Comprehensive Soldier and Family Fitness at Fort Benning in Georgia. There, Sohn worked with military personnel and their families on psychological skills to improve performance and build personal and professional resilience.
A graduate of Arizona State, Sohn was a member of the Sun Devils' cross country and track and field teams. She competed at the NCAA Cross Country Championships every year of her career – including finishing as the team's number two runner her senior year. On the track, she finished fourth in the 3,000m steeplechase at the Pac-10 Championships in 2002.
Sohn also holds a master's degree in sport and performance psychology from Denver.
Players Mentioned
/ Cross Country
Monday, March 10
Tuesday, December 04
Tuesday, November 13
Thursday, November 08
