Research and Tests Identify Psychological Traits of Superstar Athletes

CHESTERFIELD, N.J., March 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Superstar athletes have mental traits allowing them to perform at higher levels than competitors with similar physical skills, according to research by Sports Psychology Center.

"Elite athletes have more self-confidence, commitment and determination to succeed and excel, superior work ethics, better focus and more emotional stability," said Chuck Rose, founder and president of SPC.

Sports Psychology Center also announced today that it was selected by the Major League Baseball Scouting Bureau to provide psychological assessments for 1,000+ high school and college players prior to the annual June draft of amateurs by MLB's 30 teams.

"Cornerstone of SPC's programs is the Athlete Success Evaluation(TM) (A.S.E.), a psychological assessment measuring the extent to which individuals possess the desirable mental characteristics of elite athletes," explained Dr. Ilona Jerabek, a psychologist who headed the A.S.E. test development team.

"Scouting and recruiting personnel, managers and coaches have the experience and capabilities to assess athletes' physical skills. Sports Psychology Center provides these professionals, sports psychologists, management decision-makers and the athletes themselves with scientifically validated information about the presence and extent of 30+ positive and negative mental traits," Rose said.

"The combination of superstar traits differs by gender, from sport to sport and by position in various sports. For example, the types and levels of traits in a superstar outfielder are different than those in a superstar relief pitcher," added Dr. Jerabek, whose organization, PsychTests, has administered more than 600 million online tests in nine languages.

Assessments offered online by SPC include abridged versions of the Athlete Success Evaluation suite: B.A.S.E., a shorter edition of the Baseball Athlete Success Evaluation(TM) created for MLB; assessments for college and professional football and basketball teams, and College Athlete Student Evaluation(TM) (C.A.S.E.), to determine the extent to which athletic scholarship candidates have commitments to succeed in both athletics and academia.

The SPC online assessments consist of 70-90 questions, plus a proprietary interactive mental speed assessment, which measures an athlete's ability to quickly and accurately react to different stimuli. Most of the individual assessments can be purchased for less than $10.00 (U.S.) with credit cards at SportsPsychologyCenter.com.