Sport psychology involves mental skills training designed to optimize the well-being and sporting performance of athletes.

A Fellow of the APS College of Sport and Exercise Psychology, and an AHPRA endorsed Sport & Exercise Psychologist, Stuart has extensive experience working with athletes at all levels of sport, including the Australian Institute of Sport, the South Australian Sports Institute and the ACT Academy of Sport. His research on Mindfulness, Flow, and pain processing in athletes has been published worldwide (Cathcart et al 2014, Flood et al 2017). 

Sport Psychology

In training everyone focuses on 90% physical and 10% mental, but in the races its 90% mental because there's very little that separates us physically at the elite level.

— Elka Graham

Before the Olympics I did a lot of relaxation and visualization to get a feel of what it was gonna be like when I got there. I knew that I had done everything physically and mentally.

— Michael Phelps

I am willing to fail, it's ok to fail, but I am going to get back up, I may take a step back, but in the end, I am going to take a giant leap forward.

— Tiger Woods

I think to myself "I'm confident, I'm in the driver's seat, I've won the last couple of meetings, and I've won the big tournaments. Whoever comes, I'll try to beat him.

— Roger Federer


Sport psychology may include

  • Developing strategies for arousal management in training and competition
  • Dealing with performance anxiety and other emotions
  • Developing a high performance mindset
  • Competition preparation
  • Goal setting and achievement
  • Commitment
  • Visualization
  • Developing positive self talk and thought control
  • Increasing mental toughness and resilience
  • Improving focus and attention during competition and training
  • Obtaining and retaining 'flow' and 'being in the zone'
  • Coping with training and competition demands
  • Overcoming fear of failure or success
  • Injury and rehabilitation management
  • Establishing and maximizing training and competition routines
  • Overcoming fear in risky situations or following crashes, injury, mistakes, etc
  • Improving communication with team-mates and coaches
  • Enhancing team cohesion
  • Increasing and retaining motivation
  • Maintaining sport / life balance
  • Preventing burnout and over-training
  • Dealing effectively with deselection, transition, and retirement from sport
  • And more...