41.1 F
Clarksville
Friday, March 29, 2024
HomeArts/LeisureSports psychology professor to analyze contestants on "Dancing with the Stars"

Sports psychology professor to analyze contestants on “Dancing with the Stars”

Gregg Steinberg

Key “sports psychology” into the search field on YouTube.com, and Gregg Steinberg’s image is among the top video results.

Steinberg, an associate professor of health and human performance at Austin Peay State University, is a noted sports psychologist and frequent media personality on national television networks such as CNN and the Golf Channel to speak about the mindset of an athletic champion.

He will do the same Oct. 28 when he appears on ABC’s hit competition show, “Dancing With the Stars,” to analyze the mental toughness of the remaining contestants. Steinberg said the show’s producers contacted him two weeks ago after discovering him through a YouTube Web site search of sports psychology experts.

“I will be analyzing objectively by listening to what the contestants say, paying attention to body language and watching the performance,” he said. “I’ll be discussing why the dancers got kicked off the program and make recommendations for the dancers still in the contest.”

Steinberg, a faculty member at APSU for the past 11 years, most recently provided analytical commentary for Fox News during the 2008 Summer Olympics, especially on the performance of U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps, who went a perfect 8-for-8 in Beijing to break Mark Spitz’s single-Olympic Games record for gold medals.

In addition to being a guest on several broadcast outlets, Steinberg, 45, is the author of two books, “Mental Rules for Golf” and “Flying Lessons.” His third book, “Full Throttle,” is scheduled for release in 2009. He also has written a newspaper column, “The Head Coach,” for The Tennessean newspaper in Nashville and continues to publish extensively in academic journals.

A sports psychology consultant for more than 10 years, Steinberg has worked with many professional and college athletes, including teams at Vanderbilt University, APSU, Belmont University, Tennessee State University and the University of Florida.

A native of Los Angeles, Steinberg earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of California at Santa Barbara, master’s in education psychology from Florida State University and doctorate in human performance from the University of Florida.

For more information, contact Steinberg by telephone at (931) 221-6113 or by e-mail at steinbergg@apsu.edu.

RELATED ARTICLES

Latest Articles