Courtesy of WOWSA, Tarrytown, New York.
Jen Schumacher knows what she is talking about – and athletes of all types seek her advice and guidance.
From her young age group swimming days to the years where she traveled far and wide to swim across channels from Hawaii to the Strait of Gibraltar, Schumacher learned how to push herself and reach her full potential.
In college at the California State University, Fullerton, she earned her Master’s Degree in Sport Psychology under the renowned Dr. Ken Ravizza.
After she transitioned from student to instructor, she taught sport and exercise psychology in the university’s Kinesiology Department and provided sport psychology services to the Athletic Department where she was honored as the Faculty Member of the Year in 2015.
While she also advises extreme athletes, corporate executives and players in various team sports in her private practice as a Certified Mental Performance Consultant through the Association of Applied Sport Psychology, she was hired in 2017 as a Performance Psychology Instructor at the Center for Enhanced Performance at West Point (U.S. Military Academy).
“I work with cadets and teams on the psychological aspects of elite performance working with the swimmers, divers, basketball, volleyball, softball and baseball players, and gymnastics as well as with cadets on the mental aspects of the Survival Swimming course, incorporating virtual reality training alongside workshops,” she explains.
She serves as West Point’s course director for PL360, Psychology of Elite Performance and serves as the Performance Psychology Program’s Internship Coordinator. She also runs mental skills seminars and team building retreats for athletic and corporate groups.
With two Catalina Channel solo crossings and several Catalina relays, a 45 km Los Angeles Bay crossing, a Manhattan Island Marathon Swim, a Strait of Gibraltar crossing, and a Lake Tahoe crossing on her resume, the Tarrytown resident credits much of her success to her experiences working with and learning from coaches, athletes, and students on the mental aspects of performance.
For more information on Schumacher’s work, visit here.
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