Artur Poczwardowski, Ph.D., is a sports psychology consultant and also taught the methodology of sports training at the University of Utah.  Currently he is an assistant professor at the Department of Sport and Exercise Sciences, Barry University in Miami Shores, Florida.

He competed on a national level (in Poland) in judo. Artur Poczwardowski still competes in judo.

Artur Poczwardowski, Ph.D. (right), on his way to winning a gold medal in open category at Utah Summer Games in 1994

He graduated from Gdansk University (M.Sc. in psychology) and from AWF—University School of Physical Education (M.Sc. in coaching). He is a visiting assistant professor at the University of Utah, Department of Exercise and Sport Science.

His articles on self-confidence, mental toughness, and mental training were published in Stadion News (Fall 1996-Fall 1997, Spring 1998).

You can reach Artur Poczwardowski by e-mail to arrange consultations on preparing mental training programs, implementing these programs, monitoring, and adjusting them. His e-mail address is apoczwardowskiATbarryDOTedu (the address is written this way so spammers' robots do not harvest it. To send an e-mail write this address substituting symbol “@” for the “AT”, and period “.” for “DOT”).

Recent Accomplishments

Artur Poczwardowski took part in the 15th Anniversary Conference of the Association for the Advancement of Applied Sports Psychology (October 18-22, 2000, Nashville, Tennessee, USA).

Together with Greg Dale (Winthrop University, USA) he organized a symposium titled “Qualitative Research Methods in Sports Psychology.” Poczwardowski's presentation “Quantitative and Qualitative Research Methods in Concert: The Two Processes in Theory Generating and Testing” made during this symposium, showed how quantitative and qualitative research methods fit into the process of scientific research and offered recommendations for future directions for sports psychology research.

Researchers using quantitative methods base their data collection and data analysis on numbers that describe different mental functions. For example, a quantitative researcher would use experimental designs and psychometric testing to find out whether with divers internal imagery is more effective than external imagery. As a result, generalization of the results to some larger population can be pursued.

Researchers using qualitative analysis, on the other hand, focus their efforts on the experiences, perceptions, and meanings that people develop in sport. For example, a qualitative researcher would conduct in-depth interviews to find out how divers use imagery and what meaning imagery training has in overall athletic experience and performance. As a result, a thorough understanding of the use of imagery by a particular diver (or group of divers) emerges.

Later during the conference Poczwardowski with Clay P. Sherman (California State University, Fullerton, USA), John M. Silva (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA), and Sean McCann (United States Olympic Committee, USA), led a colloquium exploring the issues of professional philosophy as an essential ingredient of effective sports psychology service delivery.

And finally, during the so-called poster session, together with James E. Barott (Eastern Michigan University, USA) and Keith P. Henschen (University of Utah, USA), Poczwardowski made a presentation titled “The Influence of Team Dynamics on the Interpersonal Relationships of Female Gymnasts and Their Coaches: A Qualitative Perspective.” It included a portion of the results from Artur's qualitative study on athlete-coach relationships and focused on group dynamics issues and their powerful effect on the way the interpersonal relationships within the team are structured.

More information on the content of the symposium, colloquium, and of the final presentation is posted on Stadion's Web site at http://www.stadion.com/AAASPConference102000.html.

Poczwardowski organized two symposia on success and failure in sports for the 3rd World Congress on Mental Training that took place in Salt Lake City, Utah from May 19th to 23rd, 1999. (This is a once-in-four-years meeting of a “Who's Who” of sports psychologists and psychologists concerned with peak performance in other fields. Sports coaches and top sports psychologists from 40 countries were there to exchange information on their practical experience with improving athletic performance through mental training.)

The first symposium, “Faces of Excellence in Sports: Peak Performance, Integrative Instruction, Coaching, Interpersonal Relationships, and Healing,” dealt with methods of creating positive experiences, setting goals that athletes can achieve quickly, and the specifics of using praise and constructive criticism. In his lecture on “Athlete-Coach Relationship” within this symposium, he explained how a coach's attitude toward an athlete can determine the athlete's confidence, and also how to foster a good athlete-coach relationship.

The second symposium organized by David E. Conroy, Keith Henschen, Ph.D., from the University of Utah, U.S.A., and by Artur Poczwardowski, was titled “Emotional Responses to Failure and Success.” 

During this symposium participants discussed a research project that examined how athletes respond emotionally to failure and success. They discussed how these findings relate to the fear of failure and fear of success. This symposium presented the findings and attempted to draw practical implications for coaches and consultants from what was learned from elite athletes and performing artists about fear as a motivating factor.

Also, during the 3rd World Congress on Mental Training,  Poczwardowski delivered a lecture on “Consulting with Olympic Athletes: A Polish Perspective on the Sport Psychology Service Delivery Model” together with Jadwiga Klodecka-Rozalska, Ph.D., from Institute of Sport, Warsaw, Poland and together with David E. Conroy, and Keith P. Henschen, Ph.D., from the University of Utah, U.S.A. he has prepared a lecture titled “Language of Success and Failure in Elite Athletes and Performing Artists” on how an athlete's thoughts and opinions of others influence that athlete's confidence and thus the quality of his or her performance, and on how to use this knowledge in designing mental training.

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