Sports Psychologist Makes Lasting Impression In Kamloops

In today’s football world, brain health is just as important as body health. That’s exactly where Roger Friesen comes in.

The veteran sports psychologist has spent a good portion of training camp making sure the players’ minds are right before strapping on the pads and going to work. His experience has helped pay dividends as the 17-day Kamloops grind comes to a close.

“Over the years I think, to some degree, I have worked in every sport imaginable,” said Friesen.

“Since I started working in this area 30 years ago most of it has been with Canada’s Olympic athletes. That involves many different areas of sport.”

Since the London 2012 Summer Olympics, most of Friesen’s work has been with Cycling Canada. After being introduced to the Lions organization by team Doctor Bob McCormack, Friesen has quickly learned that football is an entirely different beast compared to other athletes he has served over the years.

“Radically different,” chuckled Friesen.

“For example, literally any other team has a team and that’s it. Basketball, for example, has a small number and the only difference is who starts and who comes off the bench? In football, yes you have a team, but within that, there are smaller teams. What I’m learning is different position groups function quite independently. Even just sitting in on the video sessions the last week, within the big team there are always little groups of guys that represent unique positions within the structure. That itself makes it different than any other sport.”

Roger Friesen (R) walks with special teams coordinator Jeff Reinebold at Hillside Stadium in Kamloops.

Dr. Frank Lodato has been Wally Buono’s longtime right-hand man in the sports psychology world. Now 92 years young, Lodato doesn’t travel much anymore but many of the Lions’ veteran players still lean on him for advice over the phone and on email. When we spoke with Lodato in Ottawa back in 2016, he was quick to point out that his profession was something that wasn’t always welcome in sports culture.

“My first few jobs I had to pretty much sneak through the back door and not tell anybody what I did, had to say I was the friend of the assistant coach or something like that,” said Lodato in August of 2016.

“Another team called me ‘Doctor Bombay’ because many thought this type of practice was like Voodoo or something.”

Friesen first got into this business 30 years ago so he can definitely concur with those kinds of statements.

“It has now become integral to everything,” explained Friesen.

“Even when I started, you really had to frame the work carefully because there was so much reluctance and resistance. In those days, players associated our profession with ‘there must be something wrong with me’ or ‘I have to be fixed.’ In performance psychology, we now understand that training our brain and our emotional responses are just an integral part of the high-performance environment.

As I shared with the team when I first arrived, performance in my view has five components: the technical and tactical, the physiological, mental, emotional and team. What I need is to ensure that all five of those systems are functioning at their maximum capacity.”

Ty Long is just one of many players who felt their time spent with Friesen last week made a lasting impression.

Kickers are an interesting breed. And not necessarily involved in the game until it absolutely matters most. They deal with factors beyond their control: wind, rain, snow, loud fans, and having a timeout called in order to potentially be thrown off their game prior to a field goal attempt. Long and his brethren can certainly benefit from having their minds right.

“Mental toughness is huge for a kicker, simply because you need to be confident in what you’re doing, said the second-year Lion.

“You also need to have a plan of what you’re doing to know how you can do it the same way every single time going into each game.  Roger has been a huge help going forward. I like working with people like him who have ideas and different proposals on things. He’s teaching me different ways to think and to have different ideas going forward as in trying to be better. Roger has also taught me good methods on how to move on from a mistake because, in this game, you need to do that quickly.”

Friesen is based out of Langley and plans to spend as much time as he can at the practice facility this season. Given the ups and downs that come year in and year out, his presence will continue to be beneficial.

“It’s important to have ongoing contact. What I’ve discovered is that frequent contact is vital to have real change,” said Friesen.

“I plan to make myself available as much as I can.”

Overall, he has made quite an impact in a profession he readily admits he never dreamed of pursuing some three decades ago. He stumbled upon an opportunity he simply thought would make him a better coach.

“It was sort of by accident,” admitted Friesen.

“I was involved in sport throughout my life and eventually got into coaching. I was always most interested in the psychological and emotional dynamic of athletes. What makes them good one day and struggle the next kind of thing. I signed up for an Intro to Sports Psychology course at the University of Winnipeg. It was taught by one of the founders of sports psych in Canada, Cal Botterill. He eventually recommended I pursue it has a career. I had been working towards a degree in Architecture, but I changed my plans.”

Games are no doubt won between the hash marks. But men like Friesen have certainly begun to play a role in how mentally prepared the players are to perform once those lights come on.

“Football is an emotionally charged sport. Managing emotions and learning how to do that is just an integral part of the performance,” explained Friesen.

Matt Baker: mbaker@bclions.com