the sit-down
with DR. FRAN
PIROZZOLO
BGGA Advisory Board Member
Licensed Consulting Psychologist
Dr. Fran Pirozzolo is a licensed consulting
psychologist who has worked with many of the
world’s top athletes. He also has a private practice
consulting business. Dr. Pirozzolo was the Mental
Skills Coach for the New York Yankees from 1996 –
2002, a period during which the Yankees won four
World Championships. From 1988 – 1995, Pirozzolo
served in a similar position in uniform with the
Houston Astros, and for the Detroit Tigers (2000). In
2002 Dr. Pirozzolo became the player development
coach for the NFL’s Houston Texans from 2002
-2006. His work with the Texans resulted in winning
the Winston Shell Award for excellence in player
development. Pirozzolo was a training consultant for
the Heavyweight Champion of the World, Evander
Holyfield, from 1990 – 1998. Dr. Pirozzolo has been
a member of the BGGA Advisory Board since BGGA’s
inception.
Please tell us about your professional background
in psychology and in specific “sport psychology”
and “mental skills training”. I have been fortunate
to have held positions in academic and clinical
medicine (at the Baylor College of Medicine, the
University of Minnesota Medical School and at UCLA),
and I have also been on the coaching staffs of the
New York Yankees, Texas Rangers, Houston Astros,
and the Houston Texans. I have also advised other
elite performers in boxing, golf and in the military.
What does ‘sport psychology” and “mental
training” entail when it comes to training a junior
golfer? At Bishop’s Gate Golf Academy, we always
try to remember that we are dealing with young
people whose futures are so very important, and that
we play a small role in shaping their perspectives,
performances and future careers.
What’s the most important thing we can give to
juniors to prepare them for college golf?
BGGA student-athletes are in the midst of an all-
consuming passage from innocence to expertise, and
it is important that we understand our role in advising
young people about the skills that they will need to
succeed in the adult world.
What’s your favorite part about being a sport
psychologist? I love the work that I do. I like the idea
of being on the cutting edge of scientific discovery,
but I also love the idea of helping people to take on
challenges that Include achieving lifelong goals, as
well as winning national and world championships
that they may have dreamed about since they were
schoolchildren.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?
I have been very blessed to have trained with the best
scientists in the world in the areas of neuroscience
and psychology. It is still somewhat hard to believe
that they provided me such a window on the world
of high performance. I do not forget that some of
the athletes whom I have helped have paradoxically
helped me, either in terms of carrying out the
formulations we have conspired to develop together,
or in terms of the great examples that they have
set for courage, resilience and talent development,
among so many other skills and achievements.
THE GATE | DECEMBER 2018
17