Beyond better

A social work instructor helps students understand performance and potential

Baseball legend Yogi Berra once stated that the game “is 90 percent mental—the other half is physical.”

Nicholas Cooper-Lewter, a social work instructor at Carolina, would add that Berra's malapropism is true for athletes of every stripe—and non-athletes, too. Back when “sports psychology” was still a new phrase, Cooper-Lewter was working with professional boxers, Olympic-hopefuls, entire football teams even, using hypnosis and other techniques to help them achieve at a higher level.

Cooper-Lewter has a master's in social work, a Ph.D. in psychology, and a simple mantra: “I want to help people who have lost to win and people who win to become champions.”

At Carolina, “Dr. Nick” is applying his considerable experience to a popular course entitled “Overcoming the Odds in Sports.” Oddly enough, the class attracts students who've never touched a football or baseball along with plenty of student athletes. “Success leaves clues,” he tells them. “Look for people who are successful in whatever it is you want to do. Study their habits, learn how they do things, and then emulate their behavior.”

Cooper-Lewter tries to instill in his students a deep sense of self worth—not based on athletic prowess or external performance but on their potential as human beings. “I want them to see that elite sports last for a short while. You can be a winner on the inside your whole life.”

If it sounds like basic stuff, well, it is—but students thrive on it.

Jasper Brinkley, USC's junior middle linebacker from Thomson, Ga., declares studying with “Dr. Nick is a life-changing experience.”

“One of the big things is that it changes your perception of the world around you,” said Dan Luczak, a pitcher on the Gamecock baseball team, of Cooper-Lewter's class. “He helps you to change the way you look at the world and how you perceive yourself.”

Jonathan Fortenberry is a 400-meter sprinter who completed his degree in retailing and is studying African-American studies in his final year of college. He overcame a torn Achilles heel injury and met Cooper-Lewter during the recovery process.

“You get around him, and he seems so peaceful. It's like this man really loves his life,” Fortenberry said. “I'm like, ‘Dang, I want to love my life like that.’ ”

Jason Pappas, director of academic support at the University of Southern California, was assistant director for academic support services at the University of South Carolina. He's sold on Cooper-Lewter's approach to teaching.

“He really cared about students in general, not just athletes,” Pappas said. “He knew how to set examples for being successful in life, about going the extra mile.

“Why is he successful in reaching students? He can relate to them because he was in sports, and he has succeeded in life. It makes you feel confident to be in his classroom, and people respond to that.”