ABSTRACT
I have been practicing as a sport and performance psychologist since completing my formal university education in the early 2000s, and over that time I have been fortunate to gain experience in a wide range of sports and other performance contexts, such as business, the performing arts, and medicine. My interest in sport psychology though predates my “formal” sport psychology education. During my adolescent years, I was a talented track and field athlete, with good potential for success in both pole vault and 400-meter events. If I am honest, I was good but just not committed enough. I simply did not have the ‘leave no stone unturned’ mentality that is required to be a success. So, as a university undergraduate student, the opportunity to try to understand why I was not motivated enough in more detail was very appealing. I had enjoyed studying sport and geography (UK A-levels) while at school, so in the absence of a better idea, I decided to pick both subjects and do a joint degree in Physical Education, Sport Science, and Geography at Loughborough University. I must admit though, in the first year of the degree programme, I almost opted for sport sociology rather than sport psychology (an advantage of a sport science degree that covers all aspects of the subject to allow students to make an informed choice). I was also fortunate in my time at Loughborough to be taught by leading sport and exercise psychology academics, including Austin Swain, Graham Jones, a novice (at the time) Chris Harwood, and Stuart Biddle. After finishing my degree, I took a couple of gap years working in Europe and then returned to complete a Master’s degree in Sport and Exercise Psychology. At the time, I also thought I needed a PhD to really be an effective sport psychologist practitioner, so I registered for a PhD part-time at the University of Edinburgh focused on pre-performance routines in sport. What emerged from my route into the profession was a passion for consultancy, applied research, and teaching – all of which have formed a core part of my career ever since to a greater or lesser extent. I took my first teaching position at Bournemouth University, and at the same time completed my British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences (BASES) supervised experience and achieved accreditation to be able to practice. Subsequently, I have also become a British Psychological Society (BPS) chartered psychologist and a Health and
Stewart T. Cotterill
Cricket
Care Professionals Council (HCPC) registered sport and exercise psychologist. The HCPC regulates professions on behalf of the UK government and began regulating psychology in 2010. In my applied work, I started small, working with sports scholarship athletes and teams at Bournemouth University. This opportunity to gain experience as a “psychologist” was crucial. It is now a point I always make to aspiring sport psychologists, whether students or the candidates I supervise through to full qualification. The important thing is to gain experience as a psychologist. There is always a tendency to want to spend time with elite performers and teams. Unfortunately, when you are not qualified, your ability to engage in any real psychology work with these groups is limited. Working at an amateur and more participatory level affords you the opportunity to hone your psychology and psychologist skills, so when you do get the opportunity to work at a more elite and professional level, you have complete confidence in your abilities. Also, through doing this, you have worked out what your approach is and the techniques you predominantly seek to apply.
