Researching and reading. Between psychology classes, Dr. Robert McKelvain uses a little bit of his time to research a topic. During his spare time, McKelvain volunteered his time to work the Olympic team through Relaxation Training. He worked to help the Olympic gymnasts to accomplish their gold-winning goals. - photo by Chris Lasley. McKelvain: Going for gold 0 lympics Year, 1988. For most students it meant an extra reason to put off homework so they could watch their favorite event on television, or else it meant drooling over the foryour-information-only menus printed by ARA food service, who also catered to an international dining audience at Calgary. Perhaps an occasional student followed the Olympics and thought wistfully, "If I'd only kept up my lessons! I might be there instead of here But for Dr. Robert McKelvain, the Olympics meant more than that. Dr. McKelvain, associate professor of psychology at Harding, served simultaneously as chairman of the Sports Sciences Consulting Group for the United States Men's National Gymnastics Team. This entailed direct involvement with the Olympic games, since the team that he worked with yearround was the same group that competed at the Olympics every fourth year. "We choose a national team every year. Seven men are chosen for the team, and they train all year every year, meeting in Colorado Springs five times a year to work with me..1988 must happens to be the fourth year, so it's the Olympics this time. Those coaches and athletes aren't working any harder this year than they do any other year." Exactly what did Dr. McKelvain do? Stressing that he was not a "sports psychologist," he said, "I use my psychology skills to help them release their own potential, which they have been developing independent of me. My work is a collaboration of experts - two experts: the athlete and me." His program broke down into five basic parts: Relaxation Training, Imagery Training, Self Coaching, Goal Setting, and Team Building. And he pointed out that each part of the program applied to more than gymnastics competition. "It's training in life. As we teach these younger athletes about the psychology of sports, we are also teaching them about psychology for life. The psychological techniques are things that they're going to use in many aspects of life." In 1984, every Olympian gymnast on the men's team had worked directly with Dr. McKelvain, helping to develop the techniques that eventually solidified into a set program. He worked closely with the '88 team, and since his program involved 12 years of training, the 1992 team would most likely be composed of athletes who had each been through the entire program, having begun training as youngsters. Dr. McKelvain's work with the teams was done on a strictly volunteer basis; travel expenses were covered, but no monetary payment was involved. Why would anyone devote so much time and effort to an activity that complicated a schedule and crowded a calendar so? "It's the people. It's really stimulating to work with people who have made a commitment to very demanding goals." Admittedly, there was something special about working with the U.S. team, and about the Olympic years. "It's exciting. It's difficult to describe how you feel when you get in Pawley Pavilion with 12,000 other people and you see people who are your friends, people who you know, that you sat on the street curb with just the day before and talked with, - to see them march out to get a gold medal." It wasn't the excitement of travel and recognition though, that attracted this Harding professor to his work. Like many teachers, his main interest was in the people he worked with, in helping them to become their best. "I want to help people accomplish their goals," he said; and whether it was through Olympic training or simply talking with a student one-on-one, that's what Dr. Robert McKelvain strove to do. - Sheila Underwood Laura Kobin Pratt - Ft. Smith , AR. Accounting. Shantih , Lambda Rho Phi queen , Petit Jean staff (section editor), Student Impact group leader. James Brian Price - Tuscumbia, AL. Marketing. Tran ferred from Univer ity of orth Alabama . Ch i Sigma Alpha , AMA , American Studies, Coll ege Republicans, Dean's Li st , Annie, RA , Student Impact group leader. Denise Mae Price - Washington. IN. Music Education. Ragan Burke Price - Rogers, AR. Marketing. Anthony Wayne Price - Bossier Ci ty, LA . Accounting. Sean Keith Prine - Greenville, MS. Biology. Jennifer Jo Puckett - Benton, AR . Radio/ Television . Judy Lin Purswell - Conroe, TX . Elemenwry Education. Transferred from Sam Houston State Uni versi ty. 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