Vickie Woosley’s physical appearance is rather unassuming.
Part of that presence is what made her an excellent special agent with the FBI for over two decades.
But what Woosley may lack in stature, she more than makes up for in the “six-and-a-half inches between the ears.”
Now a sport psychologist for the Nashville Predators over the past six seasons, Woosley is doing some of her most important work yet. And as the Preds celebrate Women of Smashville Night, Woosley certainly deserves recognition - even though her gender has never been top of mind no matter the field.
“When somebody points it out, I go, ‘Oh, yeah,’ but that never stopped me from trying to achieve something,” Woosley said. “I think we're also seeing a growing number of women in sports, and I try to champion that and mentor young women that come to me - or men, doesn't matter - that want to get into pro sports… But I don't really wake up every day and go, ‘Oh, I'm a woman in men's sports,’ but my background was different. I've always been in what was considered traditional men's careers, so this was not as much a transition for me as I think it would be for some women.”
After her time with the FBI was finished, Woosley, who had previously completed an internship at the Vanderbilt University Department of Veterans Affairs Consortium, returned to the Music City to join Vanderbilt Athletics as a sport psychologist in 2006.
Almost 15 years later, as the world changed with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Preds got in touch.
And just as her assignments with the bureau were often done undercover, Woosley says most of her work nowadays is usually “invisible” as she spends one-on-one time with Preds players. But in order to gain the trust needed to conduct those sessions, she first had to build relationships.
Her experience in that realm also goes way back into her previous career, albeit for different purposes.
“I'm pretty unassuming in terms of not being your typical law enforcement looking person, and so I could really approach somebody and get very close to them before they were like, ‘Whoa, what’s that?’ And I think that I never tried to be one of the boys,” Woosley said. “I really was doing the job, because I felt like I was qualified and able to do the job.
“And the Preds, they took a chance on me. None of us knew how it was going to go, because I was the first person [to do this job for the team], but I was willing to take a risk. And I tell the players, ‘What you are willing to risk in life is an indicator of what you value.' I really value doing good work. I felt like if I'm going to do this, I made it very clear that my first priority was building relationships, primarily with players, and that extended into building relationships with coaches. I work organically that way. It works for me. I think I've been around long enough to know that that works for people. You're not going to do something for anybody if you don't have a relationship with them of some sort. Why would I? And why would these guys?”
Over the years, those across the Predators roster have come to trust Woosley and all she has to offer to make them not only better players, but better humans.
Woosley’s life experiences are different from most, but she also has a way of relating to a 20-something professional athlete that others don’t. It’s impressive, because an undercover sting operation would seemingly have nothing to do with a professional hockey game.
Or does it?
“High performance is high performance, and I believe that preparation is where your confidence comes from,” Woosley said. “I was in a field where preparation was crucial. You had to prepare, and I didn't think of it as prepared for the worst, but you tried to prepare for everything. You really can't prepare for everything, but I learned that rather than being reactive, responding was a much better place to come from in decision making. I think that my former profession really helped me, because I know what pressure is like. I know what high pressure is like, and I believe I know what it takes to perform under pressure… These guys are performing in front of thousands of people. I usually didn't do that, but there's still this performance piece, and I think that extends to whatever you do, whatever in life. We’re all performing, and theirs is a performance based relationship, because it's a business. You don't perform? They have the freedom of choice. They don't have the freedom of consequences.”
Woosley certainly has pride in the job she’s doing and the difference she’s making in the lives of others, even if hardly anyone knows it’s happening. She’s also working with players in the prime of their athletic careers, but she wants them to realize their profession as an athlete is not the only title that defines them.
“I'm proud of each and every one of these guys, because I do get to see a part of them accomplish something that they probably don't talk to other people about,” Woosley said. “It's very quiet, but it may be monumental in what they do next. And sometimes the next thing you do is the most important.”
For Woosley, providing players with a toolbox of techniques from which to pick from then becomes gratifying when she witnesses a player utilizing something to make them better no matter the situation.
And for someone who simply wants her legacy to entail making a positive difference in somebody else’s life, those relationships are paramount.
So, while her first thought after popping her head off the pillow in the morning usually isn’t along the lines of the fact she’s a woman working in the male dominated world of an NHL club’s hockey operations department, Woosley is aware of the uniqueness of her situation.
But she wouldn’t have it any other way, and neither would the Preds.
“We're capable of so much more that we think we are - we just have to dig deep,” Woosley said. “Are you willing to do what other people are not? That’s what makes you different. It's what sets you apart. But you also have to find some joy in it. Some just do it for the right reasons. I do it because I love to see these guys do well. I love to sit in the stands and clap as they go by. I just think that's very satisfying for me.”
