How an Athletic Trainer Transitioned to a Sport Psychologist

How did Nashville’s newest Sport Psychologist Dr. Tim White arrive at his position?

So, just who is Dr. Tim White ?

As owner of White House Athletics, Dr. Tim White carries extensive experience in both athletic training and sports psychology.

The Minnesota native has always enjoyed athletics. Growing up, you could often find Tim playing basketball, baseball or competing with his school swim team.

While he enjoyed competitive swimming, Tim, like many high school athletes had to decide what came next. In this case, his decision was athletic training and strength and conditioning at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.

Furthering his education beyond a bachelors, Tim earned a masters in sports psychology from the University of Utah. Though he loved the sports psychology field, he pursued a career in athletic training.

Life after school…

Moving cross-country after graduate school, Tim landed at Quinnipiac University. At QU, he oversaw different varsity sports teams such as softball, field hockey as well as men’s soccer and lacrosse.

While he loved working with collegiate athletes, Tim had a passion for a certain sport. Yes, it’s no surprise that given he grew up in Minnesota, his passion sport was hockey.

He left Quinnipiac and collegiate athletics, when he accepted a Head Athletic Trainer position for a minor league hockey team, the Florida Everblades. It was there in Florida where he got engaged to his now wife.

Working in hockey was great but, when his bride-to-be (who also worked in sports) accepted a position in Detroit for her dream job in professional sports, Tim followed.

Around the same time the couple moved north, the University of Michigan was seeking an athletic trainer.

Given Tim’s enjoyment of working with collegiate athletes, he applied. He was offered the position to work with Michigan’s Women Volleyball and Rowing teams. He also worked with their Men’s Gymnastics team.

For a little over five years, Tim enjoyed working alongside his teams and fellow trainers at Michigan. While very happy in his athletic training career, he still had a passion for sports psychology.

The transition begins…

The mind-body connection was always in the back of his mind as a potential career. However, the idea moved to the forefront when he started applying sport psychology skills with his athletes as an athletic trainer. He began to see positive impacts in his athletes when he addressed the mental and physical sides of the recovery process.

Seeing athletes be successful in their recovery both physically and mentally is what led Tim to earn his Certified Mental Performance Coach Certification. After he completed that certification, he decided full-time sports psychology was his next step.

Leaving behind a career at one of the nation’s most respected universities was not an easy decision. Through many conversations with his wife and lots of research, all signs pointed to the need for a doctorate.

Tim is now a licensed sport psychologist serving the greater Nashville area and also meets with clients through telehealth appointments.

Though it’s been a long journey from athletic training to sport psychology, Tim’s passion only grows stronger to help athletes compete at their highest level.

Tim loves to spend time with his wife, daughter Kaelyn and son Carter.