SAIC’s Jon Hammermeister Counsels U.S. Olympic Ski Team

"Competitive stress is the biggest challenge I have coaching the U.S. ski team at the Olympic games," said Hammermeister, who holds a Ph.D. in education. He is also a member of the U.S. Olympic Committee Sport Psychology Registry and has been certified by the Association for Applied Sport Psychology as a consultant.

Currently, Hammermeister is in Vancouver, British Columbia, counseling members of the U.S. cross-country ski team through the inordinate pressures of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.

He explained that most skiers make the bulk of their money on "win schedules" — contracts with corporate sponsors that pay according to how the skiers place in a particular race. Big money is associated with the win schedules, and they influence how future endorsements are structured.

"To say an athlete's entire career is on the line here is not an understatement," said Hammermeister, who doubles as a senior researcher in the SAIC business unit supporting the Army Center for Enhanced Performance (ACEP) headquarters located in West Point, N.Y.

"When an individual's career is so intimately tied to a single performance, stress perceptions often go off the charts. Most athletes at this level can handle their emotions in normal race situations, but this environment can induce stress responses that take them beyond their optimal performance climate. I spend a lot of time helping the athletes arrive at the start line in an ideal frame of mind."

Counseling Helps Athletes Achieve Success

Hammermeister focuses on helping the athletes "keep their head in the game," working to develop optimal levels of self-confidence, focus, emotional control, and motivation so that they can perform to their full potential on race day.

During the games, Hammermeister works individually with each athlete to fine-tune their race-day psychology and to help ensure that the team acts as a cohesive unit.

He also checks in on the coaching staff to help them manage their job-related stress and to verify that they engage in coaching practices that elicit the best performances from team members.

Rewards Abound

Hammermeister said he "jumped at the chance" to become involved with the U.S. ski team as a consultant in 1998. He was part of the Olympic staff at the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah, as well as the 2006 Olympics in Torino, Italy, after which he was asked to be the staff mental skills consultant for the cross-country ski events this year. Hammermeister has also been involved with four world championship competitions.

"The rewards are many," he said. "Seeing athletes achieve their potential is probably the greatest. Having the opportunity to see firsthand how Olympic-level athletics work is also an incredible experience — the mindset of the athletes, coaches, and staff is completely different from that in any other organization I've ever encountered. The level of dedication and professionalism is nothing short of amazing."

In addition to meeting many interesting people — athletes, coaches, doctors, sports scientists, former Olympians — Hammermeister said the chance to travel the world and be involved in three Olympics are opportunities that don't come along every day.

"I feel like the luckiest guy in the world to be involved with U.S. skiing," said Hammermeister, who recently published a textbook on developing outstanding sport coaches and teams.

Coaching and Job Dovetail Perfectly

Hammermeister joined SAIC in July 2008 to support ACEP, where he designs, implements, and analyzes research projects that examine the efficacy of using performance psychology techniques to enhance the performance, health, and physical and mental recovery of Army soldiers, medical personnel, and civilians.

ACEP uses a systematic process to enhance the mental skills essential to the pursuit of personal strength, professional excellence, and the "warrior ethos." ACEP trainers teach individuals to acquire, practice, and master the mental and emotional skills that underlie human performance.

"The skill sets I teach are tremendously useful in both sport and military settings to help individuals develop a mentally tough mindset, which allows them to perform to their highest potential."

Hammermeister's research helps shape curriculum and teaching techniques for soldiers preparing to face the challenges of deployments and everyday life.

He said that his role on the Olympic ski team has everything to do with his job at SAIC.

"The skill sets I teach are tremendously useful in both sport and military settings to help individuals develop a mentally tough mindset, which allows them to perform to their highest potential," Hammermeister explained, adding that the uniforms of the U.S. Olympic athletes may look different from those of Army soldiers, but the application of the skills is very similar.

"Whether they're on an Olympic ski slope or on a battlefield, the goal is the same: mission success," said Hammermeister. "It is a true privilege — and the job of a lifetime — to be able to contribute my skills to that outcome."