California Golden Bears Athletics
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Dr. Graig Chow Brings Experience To Cameron Institute
8/12/2020 12:43 PM | General, Athletics News, Cameron Institute
Student-Athlete Development Program Continues To Take Shape
As the official launch of The Cameron Institute nears with the beginning of the fall semester at Cal, the staff for the unique program for student-athlete development continues to take shape.
One of the institute's leaders is Dr. Graig Chow, who serves as the Director of High Performance & Well-Being. Chow brings 15 years of experience in mental performance to Berkeley and is already working with teams as they try to navigate the stress and emotional toll that has accompanied the global pandemic.
"Graig comes with a wealth of knowledge in the field of sport performance and sports psychology," Cameron Institute Director Dr. Marissa Nichols said. "He is highly regarded and respected in the field and brings a systems design approach that will allow us to support our 30 teams - in alignment with building a world class student-athlete development model through the Cameron Institute."
In his role, Chow will work with Cal's teams with a focus on sports performance and sports psychology. He will spend time working with coaches and support staff to give them the mental skills training necessary to implement to their respective programs. There will be workshops, small group settings and some 1-on-1 appointments.
"This is one of the first models in the country to integrate a sports psychologist into a student-athlete development unit," Nichols said. "It's important because it's truly an integrative approach. If you're thinking about the holistic development of the student-athlete and optimizing athletic performance, it goes hand in hand with learning skills to landing a great career as well. They are all very related. Graig is truly the perfect fit for this position."
Chow returns to California after serving as the Director of Practicum and Supervision of Mental Health Consultation at Florida State University, where he also was an assistant professor of sports psychology and the program director of the school's psychology graduate program. After receiving his B.A. in Psychology from UCLA in 2002, Chow went on to earn his Ph.D from Michigan State.
"I expected to go the traditional counseling route, but in my first semester at UCLA I was looking through the course catalog and saw a sports psychology class," Chow said. "I had never heard of the field at the time. I signed up for the class and was immediately hooked."
Chow created the practicum at Florida State, overseeing a group of graduate students who provided sports psychology services to the school's varsity and club teams while also working with athletes in the Tallahassee community.
Chow comes to Cal during unprecedented times – when his work perhaps has never been so vital. He says his focus right now is the well-being of student-athletes, and has been holding workshops with teams on managing uncertainty and tolerating disruption.
"Now more than ever with everything going on, the well-being of our athletes is of utmost importance," Chow said. "There will be a lot of athletes struggling with this. There is a large stress management component. We are all experiencing anxiety, stress and exhaustion. We need to learn the tools to cope in this challenging situation."
The addition of Chow is yet another benchmark in the evolution of the Cameron Institute, which features a staff of all Ph.D's. The institute is expected to begin a gradual rollout of its services in September.
"Dr. Chow brings an impressive combination of research and experience, which will be of great value to Cal's student athletes, on and off the field," said C. Bryan Cameron, who made the institute possible with a $12.5 million gift last year. "He joins and impressive team of professionals being formed by Dr. Marissa Nichols as The Cameron Institute moves toward a successful launch. I am extremely pleased with the progress made thus far and appreciate the efforts of Cal's academic and athletic administrators."
One of the institute's leaders is Dr. Graig Chow, who serves as the Director of High Performance & Well-Being. Chow brings 15 years of experience in mental performance to Berkeley and is already working with teams as they try to navigate the stress and emotional toll that has accompanied the global pandemic.
"Graig comes with a wealth of knowledge in the field of sport performance and sports psychology," Cameron Institute Director Dr. Marissa Nichols said. "He is highly regarded and respected in the field and brings a systems design approach that will allow us to support our 30 teams - in alignment with building a world class student-athlete development model through the Cameron Institute."
In his role, Chow will work with Cal's teams with a focus on sports performance and sports psychology. He will spend time working with coaches and support staff to give them the mental skills training necessary to implement to their respective programs. There will be workshops, small group settings and some 1-on-1 appointments.
"This is one of the first models in the country to integrate a sports psychologist into a student-athlete development unit," Nichols said. "It's important because it's truly an integrative approach. If you're thinking about the holistic development of the student-athlete and optimizing athletic performance, it goes hand in hand with learning skills to landing a great career as well. They are all very related. Graig is truly the perfect fit for this position."
Chow returns to California after serving as the Director of Practicum and Supervision of Mental Health Consultation at Florida State University, where he also was an assistant professor of sports psychology and the program director of the school's psychology graduate program. After receiving his B.A. in Psychology from UCLA in 2002, Chow went on to earn his Ph.D from Michigan State.
"I expected to go the traditional counseling route, but in my first semester at UCLA I was looking through the course catalog and saw a sports psychology class," Chow said. "I had never heard of the field at the time. I signed up for the class and was immediately hooked."
Chow created the practicum at Florida State, overseeing a group of graduate students who provided sports psychology services to the school's varsity and club teams while also working with athletes in the Tallahassee community.
Chow comes to Cal during unprecedented times – when his work perhaps has never been so vital. He says his focus right now is the well-being of student-athletes, and has been holding workshops with teams on managing uncertainty and tolerating disruption.
"Now more than ever with everything going on, the well-being of our athletes is of utmost importance," Chow said. "There will be a lot of athletes struggling with this. There is a large stress management component. We are all experiencing anxiety, stress and exhaustion. We need to learn the tools to cope in this challenging situation."
The addition of Chow is yet another benchmark in the evolution of the Cameron Institute, which features a staff of all Ph.D's. The institute is expected to begin a gradual rollout of its services in September.
"Dr. Chow brings an impressive combination of research and experience, which will be of great value to Cal's student athletes, on and off the field," said C. Bryan Cameron, who made the institute possible with a $12.5 million gift last year. "He joins and impressive team of professionals being formed by Dr. Marissa Nichols as The Cameron Institute moves toward a successful launch. I am extremely pleased with the progress made thus far and appreciate the efforts of Cal's academic and athletic administrators."
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