What It's Like to Be a College's First Sports Psychologist

The most visible sport psychology roles sit with Olympic programs and pro franchises. Division III looks different: small staffs, tight budgets, and often no dedicated mental performance position at all. In October 2026, The Franklin News (https://www.thefranklinnews.com/news/franklin-college-s-first-sports-psychologist-plays-the-mental-game/article_6dfd4f8c-6479-45b4-b4d5-522704434eb9.html) reported that Franklin College, an NCAA Division III school in Indiana, now has its first sports performance psychology intern.

A first-of-its-kind campus role raises practical questions: what the work involves day to day, and which credentials, supervised hours, and titles actually qualify someone to do it.

At many small colleges, the position begins as a trainee placement, not a salaried staff job.

Case Study: Franklin College's First Sports Performance Psychology Intern

A sports performance psychology intern is a graduate trainee who works inside an athletic program, helping athletes with the mental side of competition under professional supervision. At Franklin College in Indiana, that person is Nina Winsick, a doctoral student at Indiana University and the school's first intern in the role, as The Franklin News reported on October 29, 2026.

The Training Behind the Role

Winsick describes her doctorate as a blend of counseling and psychology. It combines clinical mental health training with sport performance psychology. That pairing matters on a campus, because the same student may need help with a late-game collapse of confidence one week and with stress that has nothing to do with sport the next.

Why a Small School Needs It

Franklin is an NCAA Division III institution, and over half of its students are athletes. With a population like that, mental skills support reaches a large share of campus, not a small elite group.

What She Works On

Winsick's caseload covers:

• Performance pressure
• Emotional regulation
• Communication
• Interpersonal relationships
• Non-athletic topics that athletes bring with them

This season she was placed with the women's soccer team, one of the teams she started with during a needs assessment.

A Field Moving Down the Ladder

The Franklin News describes sport and performance psychology as a growing field. Most Olympic and professional athletes already have access to these resources, and the service is now reaching Division III. For students planning a career, that suggests the work is no longer limited to the highest levels of sport.

Building a Sport Psychology Role From Zero

Sport and performance psychology is moving beyond Olympic and professional locker rooms and into Division III athletic departments. At Franklin College, where more than half of students are athletes, that shift began with a sports performance psychology intern: an Indiana University doctoral student whose training blends clinical mental health with sport performance psychology.

Why the Intern Model Is the Usual On-Ramp

For a small department, a practicum or internship placement is often the practical first step. It tends to cost far less than a full-time hire. The doctoral student gains a supervised training site. The college gets a low-risk pilot to gauge demand before committing a budget line.

Making the Case With NCAA Guidance

Under NCAA legislation, every member school, Division III included, must make mental health services available consistent with the Sport Science Institute's Mental Health Best Practices. Those practices do not mandate a staffing model or a "sport psychologist" title, and Division III schools are expected to draw on campus and community resources.¹ Two points shape any new role:

• Clinical evaluation and treatment belong to a licensed provider.³
• Schools are advised to screen athletes at least annually and keep a written referral plan.²

A performance-focused practitioner strengthens that system rather than replacing it.

Start With a Needs Assessment

Franklin's intern begins with each team by running a needs assessment to surface priorities such as goal setting, confidence, performing under pressure, and emotion regulation. The results drive the work, not a canned curriculum.

First 90 Days: Moves Worth Copying

• Map the referral network: Meet campus counseling and athletic trainers early so you know where clinical concerns go.
• Assess before you teach: Run a needs assessment with every team you serve.
• Observe first: Sit in on practices and meetings, and learn athletes' names before leading a session.
• Define scope in writing: Confirm with your supervisor which topics you handle and which you refer.

Earning Coach and Administrator Buy-in Without Making Noise

Quiet presence wins campus trust faster than any pitch deck. The Franklin College case shows how. Nina Winsick, the school's first sports performance psychology intern, sat in on practices and team meetings with women's soccer, and she called every player she met by name in an early session. Head coach Jennifer Jackson noticed. She described Winsick as an additional support system and a competitive advantage, on par with strength and conditioning or soccer training.

Frame It as an Edge, Not a Fix

Position the service as performance training for the mind. Coaches rarely seek out remedial help for a healthy roster, but they will adopt something that sharpens focus, confidence and communication under pressure.

What Administrators Need

• Simple reporting: A one-page summary of teams served, session types and themes, with no confidential content.
• A clear referral pathway: Spell out when an athlete moves to counseling or medical staff.
• Small early wins: Start with one willing team and a short needs assessment, then share what coaches found useful.

Answering Common Objections

• "We don't have time." Fit sessions into existing meetings and keep them short.
• "It's soft stuff." Tie each topic, such as goal setting or performing under pressure, to game situations.
• "Athletes will stop trusting me." Explain that individual conversations stay confidential, and coaches get themes, not details.

Service Delivery Models: Individual, Team, and Workshops

Most campus practitioners blend all three formats instead of choosing one. In competition season, time tends to shift toward short team sessions and quick individual check-ins. The offseason leaves room for needs assessments, workshops, and longer one-on-one work. One practitioner can cover many teams by giving each squad a rotating block, using workshops to reach several teams at once, and saving individual slots for athletes who need more support. These are common practice patterns, not fixed standards, and they vary by school and staffing.

Related Articles

College Sports Psychologist Job Titles and Posted Pay

Recent 2026 college athletics postings show how varied the titles, reporting lines and pay for campus sport psychology roles can be, with posted ranges running from $35,000 at the low end to $93,000 at the high end. This is a small sample of Division I listings. We found no comparable Division II, Division III or junior college postings with stated pay, and roles at smaller schools, like Franklin College's, often begin as part-time positions or doctoral internships. Treat these figures as snapshots of individual listings rather than market averages.

What Related Psychology Occupations Pay and Where the Field Is Headed

The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not track campus sport psychologists as a separate occupation, so the table below shows approximate 2025 national wages for related psychology and teaching roles. These are proxy figures, not pay for campus sport psychology positions. For outlook, BLS projects overall psychologist employment to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, double the 3% average for all occupations, with about 11,300 openings a year. The broader psychologists, all other group, the closest fit for sport psychology, is projected to grow 2%, and BLS publishes no separate projection for applied sport psychology jobs.

Career Lessons for Aspiring Campus Practitioners

Franklin College's first sports performance psychology intern shows how a campus role can start. Use this checklist to prepare for a similar position.

• Pick a degree route that fits the role you want

  Clinical mental health work calls for a licensure-track program. Performance-only consulting can follow a CMPC route. A blended counseling and sport psychology doctorate covers both.
• Target practicum placements inside athletic departments

  Ask your program about embedded internships with college teams, including Division III schools where many students are athletes.
• Log mentored hours early

  Track supervised contact and mentorship from your first placement so certification and licensure paperwork doesn't stall later.
• Learn to run a needs assessment

  Practice identifying team priorities such as confidence, goal setting and handling pressure before you plan any sessions.
• Build coach relationships quietly

  Observe practices and meetings, learn athletes' names and earn trust before you lead workshops.
• Know your referral protocols

  Clarify when a concern moves beyond performance work and who on campus handles counseling referrals.
• Check your state's title rules

  Many states restrict the title "psychologist," so confirm what you can legally call yourself. For next steps, see the sportspsychology.org guides to the job market and degree pathways.