Florida Atlantic University Athletics
Dr. Mitchell Smith Attends Sport and Spirituality Conference
9/21/2007 12:00:00 AM | General
Sept. 21, 2007
Florida Atlantic University's director of sports psychology services, Dr. Mitchell Smith, recently took part in the inaugural International Conference on Sport and Spirituality, which was hosted at York St. John University in England.
Smith delivered his paper on "Jewish perspectives on sport as competition and sport as transformation." Smith, the only rabbi who is a member of a NCAA Division I athletic program, attended the four-day conference with more than 150 sports professors, sports chaplains and sports psychologists from around the world.
"We were delighted to have Dr. Smith on the program," said Dr. Mark Nesti of the York St. John department of sport and spirituality. "As most of those attending represented various strands of Christianity, we were pleased to have a person of Dr. Smith's unique background to offer an additional perspective."
At FAU, Smith works with teams, coaches and individual athletes in areas of performance enhancement, team building, and life skills on and off of the field of play.
Smith is a graduate of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, holds a doctorate from Temple University and is a certified sport psychology consultant. He is also the founder of the Center for Sport and Jewish Life (www.csjl.org), which promotes Jewish identity and Jewish values through sports. Smith previously worked in a similar capacity at the University of West Florida, and has conducted clinics for teams around the country and overseas. A one-time resident of Haifa, Israel, Smith also has worked closely in the past with the Israeli Basketball Association.
