Lenny Wiersma, PhD

Professor

Location: KHS 133
Telephone: (657) 278-3806
Fax: (657) 278-5317
Email: lwiersma@fullerton.edu

Advising Area:
Sport and Performance Psychology
Sport Studies

Course Taught:
KNES 430: Applied Sport Psychology
KNES 581: Consultation Issues in Applied Sport Psychology
KNES 410: Issues in Youth Sports
KNES 202: Introduction to Kinesiology
KNES 241: Teaching Nontraditional Sports
KNES 380: Philosophy of Human Movement
KNES 510: Research Methods in Kinesiology

Biosketch:
Dr. Lenny Wiersma is a Professor of Sport and Performance Psychology in the Department of Kinesiology at California State University, Fullerton, where he has taught since 2001. He is the Director of the Performance Psychology Lab at CSUF and has conducted research and/or worked with a variety of extreme sport athletes including big-wave surfers, extreme backcountry skiers and snowboarders, ultramarathon runners and cyclists, Crossfit Games athletes, and UFC fighters. He serves on the advisory board of the Nike Sport Research Lab in Beaverton, Oregon, as well as on the advisory board of XPT Extreme Performance Training^TM. Dr. Wiersma is currently on the staff of UCLA Men’s and Women’s Water Polo teams as a sport psychology consultant as well as USA Swimming’s National Team, specializing in Open Water. He serves on the editorial board of The Sport Psychologist, is a former Associate Editor for Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, and was the Co-Director of the Center for the Advancement of Responsible Youth Sport at CSUF from 2001-2014. He received his masters and doctorate degrees in Sport and Exercise Psychology from Springfield College in Springfield, Massachusetts and his bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology from Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington. In his spare time he engages in outdoor pursuits with his yellow lab (Maverick), and enjoys photography, surfing, playing guitar, and backpacking.

Interest Area:
Applied sport and performance psychology with competitive athletes; psychology of extreme sport participation; psycho-social aspects of youth sport

Current projects:
A Phenomenological Investigation of the Psychology of Extreme Snowboarding and the Relationship of Extreme Sport Participation to Environmental Conservationism.

Recent Citations in Popular Media (click on each for hyperlink):

Runner’s World, June 23, 2020: Psychological Benefits of Running a Backyard Marathon

Beyond the Sidelines Podcast, May 18, 2020: Sport Specialization

CSUF News Service, April 15, 2020: Kinesiology Faculty Help Athletes Refocus for Postponed Olympics

Men’s Health Magazine, Sept. 2, 2019: How to Use Gamification to Make Workouts Fun Again

Podium Sports Journal, Sept. 18, 2019: Motivational Mantras and Mental Toughness

Runner’s World, April 10, 2019: Mental Strategies for the Boston Marathon

Barbell Shrugged Podcast, June 28, 2017: The Science on Motivation

Motus V with Nick the Tooth Podcast, August 17, 2016: Sport Psychology with Dr. Lenny Wiersma

Second Shift Live, Aug. 15, 2016: Sport Psychology’s Contributions to Kinesiology

Swimming World Magazine, June 7, 2016: 5 Things I Learned at Open Water Select Camp

Christianity Today, March 13, 2016: Moving Mountains: Searching for Beauty Beyond the Bigness of the Wave