This time of year, NFL teams are gearing up for the season with camps that involve intense scrutiny on training regimens to ensure players are in peak physical condition before the first kickoff in September. The philosophy is that the more fit, conditioned, attuned to sleep habits and nutrition players are, the less of a chance they have of incurring injury. There’s also a focus on building team camaraderie and helping athletes develop a mental edge for when pressure on the gridiron builds.

That type of game plan intrigued Sergeant Ashley Kierpaul, a police psychologist in the Michigan State Police’s Office of Behavioral Science. She recently told WILX television news in Detroit that she believes using psychology not to fix something, but to make one better, would also deliver positive results for law enforcement professionals.

“The military’s been doing this for years. Professional sports teams and Olympians have been doing it for years,” she said. “So I questioned why law enforcement wasn’t using it, where the stakes are arguably higher because we’re making life-and-death decisions.”

To bring her idea to fruition, Kierpaul turned to the pros, the Detroit Lions. The team’s clinical psychology staff shared information on a variety of training programs. Of course, the physical training aspect is topmost.

“What shocked me was how much they focused on sleep,” Kierpaul said. “They were expecting athletes to perform at a high level despite a sleep deficit and crazy travel schedules, so they used sleep training to help their players. As you can imagine, that helps police officers quite a bit, especially if you work midnights and swing shifts.”

But Kierpaul found the mental health strengthening tools equally important. Just like NFL coaches may adopt certain communication styles with rookies versus veterans, Kierpaul structured the program for different groups of officers: group sessions for specialty team members, performance sessions for newly graduated probationary troopers needing extra support, and performance sessions for Recruit 9 employees  preparing for trooper recruit school.

“When it comes to the Recruit 9 employees, I spend 15 hours with them over the span of five weeks,” she stated in an article on the MSP website. “We identify strengths, talk about the importance of team building and social connections, and discuss sleep and routine, as well as how to cultivate resiliency and perform under pressure.”

“They go over a lot about basically just toughening your mind and being ready for anything. … It’s about having you always prepared for the worst-case scenario,” MSP Trooper Kyle Buchanan told WILX reporters.

Similar to reviewing game film to study opponents’ plays and defensive lineups, probationary trooper performance sessions include viewing body camera videos, reviewing reports and conferring with field training officers.

“They get a personalized plan to help address and correct concerns early in their career, which could be the boost they need to keep moving forward,” said MSP Specialist Lieutenant Cimmeron McRae.

From football to policing

When asked to compare the police academy conditioning requirements and that of football training camp, former Jacksonville Jaguar lineman and current detective for the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office Jeff Kopp admits they’re different. “We didn’t run as much in the NFL. I ran more miles in the Academy than I ever ran in my life,” he told reporters last fall.

San Francisco Police Officer Jahvid Best, a former Detroit Lions running back and Olympian, on the other hand, sees clear parallels between his two careers, especially when it comes to mindset.

“I feel like my time being a professional athlete, whether it be football or track and field, really translated to being a police officer because it takes a lot of dedication. It takes a lot of focus, especially under pressure,” he said in a social media post this year. “And the thing I love most about it is the camaraderie I get from my other co-workers. It kind of feels like the same football atmosphere where you have teammates, coaches, and it’s almost the same model. You have a game plan. You have to go out there and execute the game plan. …”

Creating a winning record

Although the MSP program is only a few years old, the results have scored some early wins.

“We’re setting them up to succeed, and we’re preparing them both mentally and physically,” said MSP Lieutenant Brian Kinaschuk. “We’ve had 49 recruits come through and 41 have since graduated and gone out to the road. Traditionally we’ll have 25% to 30% attrition in our schools, so being at about 17% is substantially better.”

Kierpaul adds that communities are the ultimate winners.

“For the public, you’re going to get a more confident trooper, one who has better insight into their emotions and emotional regulation,” she said. “You’re going to get better decision-making and someone who can remain calm under pressure, which is exactly what the public needs in a high-stress situation, and feeling confident about those decisions under pressure.”