Blake Costalupes is passionate about exploring mindfulness interventions within sport and exercise psychology, focusing on student-athletes’ goals to help them excel.
Costalupes’ research, “A Smartphone Mindfulness-based Intervention Pilot Study with Competitive High School Baseball Players,” was selected for publication of the special student edition of the Journal of Kinesiology and Wellness.
Costalupes studied how adolescent student-athletes perceived engaging in mindfulness training. He conducted interviews with the athletes after using a mindful meditation app for two weeks during a competitive season. Results showed that mindfulness practices may benefit coaches, sport psychology practitioners and others involved in sport.
Costalupes’ CPASS advisor, faculty member Sam Zizzi, Dr. Pat Fehl Endowed Professor and associate dean for research, shares the same research field. Costalupes’ pilot study was completed at Fresno State University with Dr. Jenelle Gilbert and engaged high school baseball players in a mindfulness intervention via an application that can be downloaded on a smartphone. Mindful interventions have shown positive and significant results in research related to well-being and performance.
He says he chose the sport, exercise and performance psychology doctoral program at WVU because of the extraordinary faculty and student-centered community. “This program supports and guides its students through ventures that are important to the individual, while helping to equip and connect them with knowledge and experience that are necessary to become competent in whatever career in the field that they choose to pursue,” Costalupes said.
The Journal of Kinesiology and Wellness is a peer-reviewed online journal that covers issues in physical activity, health, wellness and sport. JKW is a publication of the Western Society for Kinesiology and Wellness and is published bi-annually. Visit www.jkw.wskw.org for updates and the publishing of Costalupes’ research.
Costalupes earned a bachelor’s degree in exercise science and a master’s degree in sport psychology at Fresno State University.