If you play a sport or have ever played one, you’ve probably heard your coach say, “The game is 90% mental,” or something along those lines. When you hear this you might just brush it off, thinking it’s one of those meaningless cliches, but in reality, it couldn’t be more relevant. More and more people are starting to recognize the importance of the mental side of sports, the field of sports psychology. And, yes, just as professional athletes train their bodies, they also train their minds. In the NFL, NBA, and MLB, each team is required to have at least one trained sports psychologist on staff. 

But, this isn’t just in professional sports. Now, it’s here at ETHS. 

In September of 2023, a man named Steve Shelton made a call with Christopher Livatino, the athletic director at ETHS. At the time, the previously certified yoga instructor was finishing up getting his degree in sports psychology and was looking for a school to hone his skills as a sports psychology practitioner. Living less than 10 minutes away from ETHS, this was the obvious choice. 

Shelton was first introduced to sports psychology by the Green Bay Packers strength coach. Shelton was looking to be the yoga instructor for the athletes on the team, as this seemed the ideal job for him. It turned out that the Packers aren’t big fans of yoga, and this idea was immediately declined, but the strength coach ended up introducing him to the sports psychologist for Green Bay, which set Shelton on a new path.

“I didn’t know [sports psychology] existed, so I started to research it and it just aligned with all the character development, social-emotional learning and how to be a good person type-things,” voiced Shelton.

The job fit in perfectly with Shelton’s background and his values of trying to make an impact on people. Knowing this was what he wanted to do, Shelton decided to get his master’s degree at Adler University. 

After Shelton got involved as an intern at ETHS, he immediately began to build out the new program and get the ball rolling. 

“Steve really got the whole thing off the ground. He worked with our girls basketball team last season, and then he provided one-on-one mental skills training for probably five or six athletes last spring,” described Livatino. “… And then, in addition, he helped run some of our ‘WildKits Will’ sessions on mental toughness and leadership.” 

In October of 2024, this initial internship led to a job, which has since allowed him to expand the program considerably. Starting this semester, ETHS partnered with Adler University to bring in several new interns just like Shelton who will be available for sessions throughout the whole week and even work with individual teams.

“By having this partnership as an internship, it solves a lot of problems and it’s a great experience for the students that are working with us from Adler University. It’s great for our students. So, it’s just kind of a win all around,” explained Livatino.

The program has been very accessible for many athletes thus far. Coaches provide a sign-up sheet for student-athletes where they can sign up for a 30-minute session on any day of the week during school. These sessions are a place for them to talk with the psychologist and find ways or techniques to improve their game mentally. 

“It’s really meant to help athletes with any of the mental things kind of hindering their performance. So that could be confidence, self-awareness, communication, a lot of different things, but it’s really focused on what’s getting in your way of performing your best right now,” explained Shelton.

And Shelton’s work has truly made a difference in athletes’ performance at Evanston. 

Golfer Keiran Low, a junior at ETHS, was struggling in the middle of his third season with the Wildkits varsity golf team. He felt like he couldn’t even enjoy something that he had such a deep love for. 

“I’m a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to something I care about, so it could be one tiny thing, and I just get pissed. And, it would just be a downward spiral from there,” remarked Low on his playing.

Low was still playing well for high school golf standards, but not nearly at the level he wanted to be. Being a prominent player on the varsity squad throughout his whole high school career, he felt like he was letting down himself and the team.

Around early September, he started meeting with Shelton weekly and started to see some improvements mentally.

“At first my scores didn’t get any better, but I was in a much better headspace after the round,” said Low.

Although he wasn’t playing better right away, he was starting to enjoy the game again and this was crucial to any success he planned on having. Shelton helped Low look at things from a different perspective and not linger on a past mistake.

“He helped me rediscover playing golf freely,” explained Low.

The varsity golfer was starting to see some major improvements and it couldn’t have been a better time – the state tournament was just around the corner. This was where it mattered most, what the team had been working up to for months. 

And Low did not disappoint. He made ETHS history with the program’s best-ever individual score and led his team to finish runner-up at state. This phenomenal finish by him was due in large part to his mental game.

“I was just doing my thing and not worried about the outcome. I was focused on my process, and that helped a lot because when I hit those bad shots I was able to recover quickly, instead of being fixated on what I did wrong,” he shared.

Thanks to Shelton and his team from Adler, athletes like Low are not only improving their performance but also rediscovering their love for the game. With sports psychology now a key part of ETHS athletics, students are learning that mental strength is just as important as physical skill, helping them reach their full potential both on and off the field.

“I get so much fulfillment from helping people be their best self,” said Shelton. “It is allowing me to accomplish my mission of making a positive impact on the world.”