Premier Sport Psychology is excited to introduce one of our Summer interns, Jake Kluver! Read below to learn more about Jake!
Let’s start with a fun fact about yourself.
I ran over 5000 miles over the course of last year.
If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?
I’ve always dreamed of traveling to the Patagonia Mountains in Chile and Argentina.
What is the best show you’ve watched on Netflix?
What is your favorite song? Favorite artist?
My favorite artist is hands down Logic; I’ve seen him in concert four times now, and my favorite song by him would be Super Mario World.
You are being sent to a deserted island you can bring one person and one item, who and what would you bring, and why?
I would probably bring my best friend, that way we can at least laugh about the situation together. I would also bring the “Physicians Desk Reference. Hollowed out. Inside, waterproof matches, iodine tablets, beet seeds, protein bars, NASA blanket, and, in case I get bored, “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.” No, “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.” – Dwight Schrute.
If you could have one superhero power, what would it be?
When you were in Kindergarten, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I grew up watching Shaun White win the X Games Gold Medal on the Half Pipe, so naturally, I dreamed of being a professional snowboarder.
What is one thing that scares you?
Definitely snakes. I don’t know what it is but even little ones like Gardner snakes freak me out.
Favorite sport to play? How about to watch?
My favorite sport to play is definitely lacrosse, but don’t get me wrong I love running, so much so that I got it tattooed on me. My favorite sport to watch would have to be professional snowboarding or Track & Field.
What is your experience with sports?
I grew up playing soccer as most kids do and ended up playing until high school, tried basketball and wrestling for a few years, and I also played lacrosse for three years. Finally, I settled on Cross Country and Track and Field entering into my freshman year of high school, and am still competing in both today.
What has drawn you to the sport psychology world?
To make a long story short, my high school track coach always made us set goals and visualize before our races and it always helped me to feel calm and prepared, but I didn’t really know the true importance of those skills until I got to college, where our team relies more on self-coaching. With a lack of leadership, my early athletic career seemed filled with injuries and constant setbacks, until I went back to those skills I had practiced during high school. I dove in and did a lot of my own research into mindset training and how effective it can be in every area of life. I’ve always known that I wanted to work with athletes, I just didn’t know where, but after exploring the world of sport psychology and also getting to see the world of athletic training up close and personal, I realized that I wanted to focus more on the mental side of training with athletes, which is most often an afterthought, but is now gaining a lot of traction in the world of high-level sports. I am currently a personal trainer and I have helped many individuals reach a higher level of physical fitness, but I see myself as becoming a trainer for the athlete’s mind and helping them to reach a new level of mental fitness, which can often be the edge they need in the competition.
What is your educational background and future aspirations?
I went to Buffalo High School and just finished up my Junior year at the University of Minnesota Duluth. My plan for the future is to take a year off after I finish my undergraduate work, in order to move out to the West Coast where I’m hoping to attend a graduate school in order to achieve my Master’s Degree from an applied sport psychology program. From there I plan to work toward reaching my Doctorate in Sport Psychology. And way, way down the road, I would like to move back here to Minnesota and build a position for myself at UMD, helping student-athletes reach a higher level of success in all their endeavors.
