John Tauer Ph.D.

John Tauer, Ph.D., is a Professor of Psychology at the University of St. Thomas where he teaches courses in Motivation & Emotion, General Psychology, Cross-Cultural Psychology, Research Methods in Psychology, and Social Psychology. He earned a PhD in social psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. John's research on the effects of competition, cooperation, and achievement goals on performance and motivation has been published in academic journals such as the Journal of Educational Psychology, the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, and the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. John is a frequent media commentator in the Twin Cities.

John is also the Head Men's Basketball Coach at the University of St. Thomas, where he played and was also an Assistant Coach/Offensive Coordinator for 11 seasons. St. Thomas has won a record 10 consecutive Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championships. St. Thomas has a 178-22 conference record during that time. UST also won the national championship in 2011 and advanced to the D3 Final Four in 2013. In 2008-09, St. Thomas won 30 consecutive games and was ranked #1 in the country in Division III. Over the past 7 sevens, UST has the best record out of 400+ teams in NCAA Division III basketball.

In Tauer's four years as head coach, his teams have won 4 MIAC titles, advanced to the NCAA tourney 4 times, qualified for the 2013 Final Four, and compiled a 98-19 record. Prior to 2015, no coach in the history of Division 3 had won 100 games in his first four seasons and Tauer came within two wins of that mark. His 84% winning percentage is one of the highest in the nation at any level of college basketball. He has been named MIAC Coach of the Year (2013 and 2015), NABC West Region Coach of the year (2013 and 2015), and Basketball Times National Coach of the Year (2015).

John was an Academic All-American as a student-athlete at St. Thomas and was inducted to the University of St. Thomas Athletic Hall of Fame in 2001. John has directed his own basketball camps for thousands of youth basketball players over the past twenty years. These positions provide John a unique perspective on motivation in different domains. John just completed a book titled: "Why Less is More for WOSPs (Well-Intentioned, Overinvolved Sports Parents): How to be the Best Sports Parent you can Be", which focuses on youth sports, parents, and motivation. His blog will connect empirical research with anecdotes from camp, the college classroom, and the athletic court. His book is available for purchase at

http://www.amazon.com/WOSPs-Well-Intentioned-Overinvolved-Sports-Parent…