Eddie Perry, MA, CMPC

My name is Eddie Perry, and I have a Master’s in Sport Psychology and Performance Improvement and am under supervision for my CMPC. In simple terms, I love sports. Starting with t-ball at four years old to being a now playing soccer internationally on the USA Men’s National Deaf Soccer team. DePaul University also gave me the opportunity to be the first Division I Deaf Soccer player in the country with a cochlear implant (allowing me to work with deaf and non-deaf sports populations in terms of Sports Psychology services). More than all else, sports have been central in my life both personally and professionally, and have given me a sense of belonging and a place where my hearing loss did not define me.

My focus on sports brought me to Chicago where I completed my undergraduate degree at DePaul University with a major in Psychology, while competing for four years on the DePaul Men’s Soccer Team. Living the student-athlete college experience and competing at a high level with a significant disability, taught me about intentional commitment and practice, facing challenges directly and the necessity of life balance.

Graduate School took me back to my home state of Minnesota where I earned a Master’s Degree at Minnesota State University (MSU), Mankato in Sport, Exercise, & Performance Psychology. MSU gave me the immediate opportunity to work with individual athletes, coaches, and teams in Mankato and around the Twin Cities metropolitan area, ages 10 years to the collegiate level in numerous sports such as soccer, track & field, baseball, basketball, volleyball, and golf. Topics that were covered in these sessions were confidence, goal setting, shifting to a winning mindset, positive self-talk, imagery, and motivation. MSU also gave me the opportunity to organize the keynote speaker and facilitate the breakout sessions on similar topics with the coaches and captains for the largest high schools and one of the largest conferences in the metropolitan area.

As a member of the USA Deaf Men’s Soccer National Team for the past six years competing internationally, including at the upcoming Deaf World Cup in Malaysia in September of 2023 (USA Soccer), I have competed when the stakes are the highest and the inner critic talks the loudest. I thus know firsthand that taming the inner critic is a universal challenge. But, with the use of cognitive behavioral, human centered and positive intelligence approaches, I strive to help athletes and high performers shift narratives around fear, self-judgment and limits to a mindset of self-worth, self-determination and confidence to be boundless and pursue all goals they aspire to.

As an athlete with hearing loss, I have a passion towards working with athletes with disabilities to help them achieve their sporting goals and more. Currently, I serve on the Board of Northern Voices Oral School (Northern Voices), and I am a part of the USSF National Disability Soccer Committee (DSC) Both of these ongoing opportunities have heightened my interest and desire to make a difference for the athletes in disability sports. I believe that athletes with disabilities can compete at the highest level and overcome any obstacles that stand in their way.

I am excited about the opportunity to work with performers of all levels at Grow Wellness Group. I will be there to support each performer’s growth as a competitor and, most importantly, as a whole person.

“Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does.” -Nelson Mandela

News Articles:

https://depaulbluedemons.com/news/2020/3/22/mens-soccer-eddie-perrys-golden-moment https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/deaf-st-thomas-academy/

https://www.startribune.com/hearing-impaired-st-thomas-academy-athlete-succeeds-on-and-off- court/407530726/

Kicking It

https://depaulbluedemons.com/news/2020/10/15/athletics-clarion-call-to-action-blue-demons-10 0-percent-registered-to-vote.aspx

https://www.mnbasketballhub.com/news_article/show/772647-3a-columbia-heights-surprised-ev en-its-coach-with-run-to-state

https://thesannehfoundation.org/events/gala-for-goals/gala-review/gala4goals_2017/ https://www.cadets.com/alumni/alumni/alumni-gallery

https://depaulbluedemons.com/news/2019/9/12/mens-soccer-perry-named-to-us-deaf-soccer-m ens-national-team.aspx