Pacers add to wellness staff, hire Dr. Jaimie Rubin
Dr. Jaimie Rubin joined the Indiana Pacers in a newly-created position centered around mental health.
The Indiana Pacers have made an addition to help with mental health.
Dr. Jaimie Rubin has been hired into a newly-created position of director of sport psychology and team wellness, the Pacers announced on Thursday. She began in this new role at the first of this week.
She comes to Indy from Minneapolis after serving as the sports psychologist for the Minnesota Twins since 2019 and the Minnesota Lynx for the past two seasons.
She’s a former athlete herself from Demarest, N.J. She played college basketball and was a point guard — she wore No. 1 — at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, New York.
“I really want to see the whole person,” she said in the video interview below. “I really want that person to feel seen, to feel valued, to understand themselves on the field, court, pool, whatever it may be and off — and really understand that whole person.”
More on Rubin from the news release:
Most recently, Dr. Rubin spent five years as a Sport Psychologist with Premier Sport Psychology, a private practice located in Minneapolis, MN, where she primarily served as the Assistant Director of Sport Psychology services for the Minnesota Twins and Head Sport Psychologist for the Minnesota Lynx. Dr. Rubin was responsible for developing and directing a multi-disciplinary team of mental health and mental performance providers tasked with designing and delivering integrated and comprehensive sport psychology services to players and staff.
Prior to her time at Premier Sport Psychology, Dr. Rubin worked with student-athletes, teams, coaches, and staff at several Division I, II, and III institutions, including the University of Oklahoma, American International College, and Connecticut College. She also served as a counseling and mental training specialist for cadets at the United States Coast Guard Academy (USCGA) and with the Collegiate Baseball League of Europe.
Throughout her career, Dr. Rubin has spent time providing counseling and performance enhancement services – particularly to athletes throughout the injury and return to play process – in the Sport Injury and Recovery Rehabilitation Center at Springfield College, the Physical Therapy Unit at USCGA, and on the Rehab Team for the Minnesota Twins.
Rubin suffered multiple injuries in high school and needed knee surgeries. That’s notable because the team noted her emphasis on player rehabilitation and the return-to-play process.
“It’s for everyone, at any stage, when you’re ready,” Rubin said of sports psychology.
Already, Dr. Adam Shunk has served as the team performance psychologist since April 2020. (He also works with the Indiana Fever.) Shunk replaced Dr. Chris Carr when he departed to join the Green Bay Packers.
Josh Corbeil sits at the front of the team bench as head athletic trainer, but he also leads the team’s medical department. He joined the franchise 20 years ago this month.
Also of note, in terms of wellness: the team has a full-time nutritionist (Jolie Watson) and two chefs on staff.
Pacers media day is set to be held on Monday, Sept. 30.
Get to know Rubin further in the video interview below:
To be honest I have not thought too much on this position. Do you know how this works? Is it just a “open door” policy for players to use if they want?