Institute of Sports Psychology - Creating Breakthroughs with Sports Injury Trauma and Athletic Performance in Houston, TX

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Testimonials

Olympic Athletes:  Performance and Injury

Robert Andrews and Kevin Mazeika, Beijing 2008"Robert began working with some of our junior and elite athletes at HGA in the fall of 2007.  Having them work with Robert and his system for improving performance heading into an Olympic year was a huge plus for our athletes.  Robert helped them overcome their sports related injuries, and manage the distractions that an elite athlete faces.  He helped them learn how to be present and focused under tremendous pressure.  We had three athletes qualify for the U.S. Olympic Trials. Robert’s work dramatically affected my relationship with them as a coach. We were mutually focused on the task at hand and their performances under the pressure of the Olympic Trials were profound. One of these athletes made the Olympic Team and helped the U.S Men’s team win a Bronze Medal.  
  
As a coach of elite gymnast Robert helped me to be authentic, present in the moment, no matter the circumstance or level of pressure, and trust my instincts as a coach.

Roberts’s presence at the Olympic Trials in Philadelphia and at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing was invaluable."

Kevin Mazeika, United States Men’s Olympic Gymnastics Coach 2004 & 2008

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Professional Baseball:  Injury & Performance

"I came to Robert after years of frustration of not be able to confidently throw a baseball due to a shoulder injury. The frustration began to carry over into my overall performance and it also affected my relationship with my family members. Through only two sessions with Robert I began to see great improvements being made. My confidence began to emerge and my performance began to increase. At the end of my sessions with Robert baseball became fun again. I learned to control my stress levels and I was able to perform to my capabilities. Through our mental work I was able to enter Spring Training with a clear mind and had the best Spring Training I have had in my professional career. Thank You Robert."

Professional Baseball Player

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Baseball:  Traumatic Injury

Early in the season I was hit in the face by a 94 mile per hour fastball.   The impact of the pitch crushed my cheek and the bones underneath my eye.  It was a very traumatic injury.  An inch higher or more to the middle of my face and I might be blind or worse. I was taken from the ball park to the emergency room by ambulance.  Surgery was performed three days later.  It required five metal plates and forty two screws to put the bones of my face back together.

I was told I would miss a minimum of eight weeks, but everyone thought my season was over and that I would have to redshirt.  This made me very angry.  It was hard to for me to think that everyone had given up on me.

My school trainers suggested I work with Robert Andrews on the injury.  My mother did some research on Robert and found out that he has helped a lot of athletes overcome serious sports related injuries.  I thought it was a good idea.

I saw Robert for the first time two and a half weeks after the injury.  Before I went to see him, I was lying around mad and frustrated about not playing.  I thought it would be good to talk to someone about everything I was going through. 

Robert used specific techniques to help me clear my mind of the injury and see myself playing at a high level again.  He helped me through the trauma of the injury and helped me get back into the game without the fear of being injured again.  

A month to the day after the injury, and two weeks after I saw Robert for the first time I was cleared to play and back in the batters box with no worries.  I felt like it was the first time I was ever able to play baseball without thinking or putting pressure on myself.  Things just seemed to flow.

In my first game back I hit a home run in my first at bat.  My third at bat I hit another home run.  I missed a third home run by inches.  That night I was four for five with two home runs, a single, a double, and six rbi’s. 

The next game we faced the team we were playing when I was injured.  Leading into that game I visualized hitting a home run.  It was something I saw in my mind as a statement that I was back.  In my second at bat I hit a home run over the center field wall.

My first week back I received conference hitter of the week honors.  That week I was nine for eighteen with three home runs, four doubles, and thirteen rbi’s. 

My work with Robert helped me tremendously.  He helped me put the injury behind me and move on.  He helped me see that there was so much to learn about the game during my down time.  When I returned not only was I a better baseball player, I was a better teammate and leader.

College Baseball Player                  

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Football:  Performance

Chase Turner"My first college punt was blocked.  The experience took away my confidence and affected my natural talent in a negative way.

Robert helped me work through that experience.  I was able to release the tension, negative images and memories I carried.

Robert helped me open my eyes to what is possible for me as a punter.  He helped me realize my full potential.

My first punt after I began my work with Robert was the exact punt I visualized in his office, fifty five yards with no return in front of 90,000 people on the road."

College Punter

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Football:  Concussion

"Ten months have passed since you first saw my son.  I wanted to write you and tell you what an amazing difference your treatment and subsequent presence has made in his life.  It is my hope that you can use his story as a testimonial to help others in need…

Matt FaulknerMy son, Matt, was given one year to play high school football after sitting behind a Division 1 player until his senior year.  He shattered records in his first 4 ½ games at quarterback, amassing 1550 yards and 14 touchdowns.  In the fifth game he received a concussion.  He was declared eligible to play the next week so we all thought he was fine, but in that next game, he threw 5 interceptions and fumbled twice.  The next game he threw 4 interceptions.  It was clear he was not the same player, or even the same person at home. He was lethargic, unfocused and just not himself. Knowing nothing about concussions, we simply relied on the advice of the team doctor that he would “snap out of it.”  In his final two games he seemed to play a little better, but never returned to his original form on the field, or in his head. 

Matt received a football scholarship and competed last spring in practice and scrimmages and excelled.  He was the only quarterback on the team that did not throw one interception all spring.  However, in the final spring game, in front of a large crowd, he seemed quite tight in his delivery - even warming up. It was clear that he was not throwing the same as he had just the day before.  On the first play he threw an interception. On the 3rd play he should have thrown another.  Clearly he was not “on”.  After the game, he commented that he almost knew that was going to happen, and that as soon as he walked out there in front of the crowd he just felt “weird.”

I went back to Texas and started searching on-line for answers.  I came across some articles on post-concussive syndrome and they touched on what seemed to be happening – a negative physical and mental reaction in response to re-creating similar circumstances that caused the concussion.  I spoke with a couple of doctors, one in California and one in Massachusetts, who said they could help – yet I didn’t have the confidence that they really could.

Than I came across your website.

I called, and within two minutes you asked for my email and sent me a letter - a story from another father who described his son’s story.  It was almost exactly what my son had been through, and you had helped him.  I remember getting chills, thinking ”This is the right place.”  You suggested a 2- day session so we came down to Houston as soon as Matt got home for summer break.  The overnight change was quite amazing. After the first session he seemed to perk up emotionally in ways we had not seen in months and talked of feeling an inner confidence he hadn’t felt since the incident eighteen months prior.  After the second session, the whites of his eyes cleared up – literally they went from a grayish color to bright white.

He returned to college with a confidence he had not experienced since the first month of high school football his senior year.  The changes were clearly a result of your amazing technique.  It is now my belief that there is so much we, and the average doctor, don’t know about the far-reaching effects of a concussion.  I would encourage any parent who has a child who has had a concussion to seriously consider Robert Andrew’s program.

As well, thank you for your follow-up care and attention to my son, and especially to your technique that has given him his competitive edge back."

Tom

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Gymnastics:  Strained ACI and Hamstring

"My daughter Lucy is a competitive gymnast.  She strained her acl and hamstring at camp in June of 2008.  She was put in a leg brace and started physical therapy.  When she started her rehabilitation her therapist was concerned that her responses to therapy were not indicative of her diagnosed injuries.  We went to another doctor for a second opinion and she was diagnosed with Reflexive Sympathetic Dystrophy or Complex Regional Pain Syndrome.  This is a disease of the central nervous system and Lucy's system was reacting inappropriately to pain...in other words her nerves were firing all the time and even moving air (i.e. from a ceiling fan) caused excruciating pain.  She was on crutches in the beginning and then fell and hurt her wrist.  Her wrist was not broken but because of the Reflexive Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD) she lost total function within 12 hours.  So now she was in a wheel chair. 

Then we met Robert Andrews!  Lucy's doctor suggested she needed support in dealing with the pain and her injuries.  Robert helped Lucy replace her negative visualizations of her injuries and pain with positive ones.  He helped her deal with her fears of injury and re-injury.  She treasured her visits with Robert.  He was the only health care provider that did nothing to hurt her.  He was a safe zone.  Lucy's first session with him she was in a wheel chair...could not walk or use her right hand.  Lucy's last session with him she was doing hand stands and flipping over all the furniture. 

My family and I know that Lucy is doing so well in gymnastics, school and life in general  because of Robert Andrews."

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Football:  Concussion

Billy Noonan"In the second week of the season, during his forty-first consecutive start, my son suffered a concussion – out cold for about a minute. 
    
He sat out the next game, but his recovery did not proceed as everyone had hoped.  He was fatigued, headaches continued and things were different.  Cleared to play in week four, he returned to the regular routine.  Despite playing well, those close to him could see that he was certainly not his “normal” self.  He received the hit that would “let him see that he’s fine” the next week.  In fact, he received several of them.  But he remained tentative and was more quiet than usual and I became very concerned at that point.  I had seen this before over the years in other players I had coached myself – despite everyone’s best efforts, the recovery from a serious injury was often never fully complete.
    
It was at this time, in the middle of the season, that Robert Andrews happened to be the guest speaker at the school’s athletic booster meeting.  His topic – assisting the recovery of injured athletes – could not have been better timed and I spoke to him afterward and set up time for him to see my son.   

His work with my son had an immediate impact.  After the first session, one of our trainers made the remark that he “seems to be his old self.”  After the fourth and final treatment, he approached practice with confidence once again and his game performance was no longer tentative – he was back in charge.  He played at a very high level in the second half of the season, picking up where he left off before the concussion. In fact his performances after his sessions with Robert Andrews were nothing less than stellar.  He continued to improve his performance each week, throwing for nine touchdowns in his final three play-off games to win a second consecutive state championship.  Mr. Andrews took a genuine interest in my son’s progress and came to see him play on three occasions after his treatments. 
    
I can fully recommend Robert Andrews as a thoughtful professional, who has developed an effective program to assist high-performing athletes in recovering from injury or set-back.  There is no doubt that he was of great assistance to my son."

Joe Noonan, Houston, TX

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Golf: Performance

"My son is a top junior golfer. As his ability increased, his performance expectations grew even higher, eventually climbing to unreachable proportions. He became angry, frustrated, and contemplated giving up the sport.

Fortunately, we found Robert Andrews. After just a few sessions with Robert, my son's expectations are now consistent with his abilities. He is more relaxed now, hits the ball farther and more consistently, and most importantly, once again he's having FUN."

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Sports Performance

"I came to Robert Andrews after 2+ years of no athletic success. I was at my wits end. I felt like nearly giving up as many around me had already given up on me. However, Robert believed I still had gas left in the tank. He believed I wasn't done. As we began working together, he helped me see the connection between me as an athlete and me as a person.

He guided and helped me re-discover my core - the real me that had been hiding in the shadows. It was only when I got real with myself as a person and dealt with some core issues that I pushed through my athletic stagnation and began to shine. He was right - I wasn't done. There was still a lot left in me. Although I am a retired collegiate athlete now, I am using the things I learned with Robert in my everyday life. I feel bigger, bolder, and empowered to tackle life's curve balls. As one coach told me, "Sport doesn't define your life. It helps you live your life." Thank you, Robert for helping me along this journey. I am truly grateful."

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Confidence

“Robert helped me get my mind out of the way of my ability.  I realized that pressure is something I created in my mind.  The biggest thing I learned is that I didn’t have to change anything I had done before to be successful.

I got away from being myself.  I perceived I was under pressure so my mind and body reacted and I began to change things that had made me successful. Robert helped me find ways to channel the pressure from the game, the situation, and the energy of the crowd into my performance in a very positive way.  I learned how to create confidence and get rid of doubt.”   

College Pitcher

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Softball:  Performance

"I am an open minded person, but I had no idea how helpful working with Robert would be.  I didn’t realize how much working with the mental side of my game would improve my performance.   I have been through a lot of injuries and other negative experiences that affected my performance and confidence in a negative way.

Robert helped me realize and remember how much talent I have and what a good player I am.  Our work helped me boost my confidence, raise my level of play, and experience a huge increase in my batting average."

College Softball Player   

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Softball:  Injury  

Thanks so much to Robert Andrews for all the work he did with my daughter!  She had a hard time trusting her arm after recovering from a shoulder injury, and was struggling with her throwing. Robert helped her to get rid of the negative image she had in her mind and replace it with a positive one.  After just a few sessions with Robert, her confidence is back.  It is so nice to see her enjoying softball again like she used to!  I will highly recommend Robert Andrews to anyone I hear of who needs his services.

Mother of high school Softball player

 

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