It was a pleasure to contribute to a piece in today's @scotnational.bsky.social. As a sport and exercise psychologist, I suggested that what matters most for stirring a sense of national identity is how we carry ourselves; even more so than the results.

I let myself get excited with the prospect of Fantasy World Cup. Then it reads "Powered by Armaco" 🙄

Great to join BBC Radio Scotland to discuss the psychology of refereeing as Hearts close in on a possible title this weekend. Guess I chose the right time for a haircut 💡

Amidst all the excitement of the top flight this season, plenty going down to the wire in the Scottish leagues this weekend. Two titles and various relegation spots still to be decided...

Enjoyed the BBC's More than the Score podcast featuring @richsimpson95.bsky.social. good to have a psychological perspective on fandom in football! 💸 Might allegiances change with ownership? 📍What about clubs that relocate (Clyde, MK Dons)? 🧣 Do fans of smaller teams feel a greater responsibility?

It may have taken a little longer than buying a new handset, but it is a nice feeling that I could fix my own @fairphone.com after the USB-C port stopped working.

So often "professional" or "elite" is seen on the opposite end of a continuum that originates with "fun" or "enjoyment"; these need not serve as polar contrasts. Encouraging to hear about such a strategy as this. www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/f...

Good listen on the Exploit-Explore continuum w/ @katjarewitz.bsky.social Insightful for parents, coaches, and athletes. The basketball example reminiscent of Gen. Melchett in Blackadder: "Doing precisely what we've done 18 times before is exactly the last thing they'll expect us to do this time!"

Enjoyable episode of the Drawing the Ideal Self podcast on "hope" within Personal Construct Psychology. 🧱 Hopelessness can be a strategy 🌠 Distinction between to "hope" and to "wish". 🤞Interplay with goals, sociality, and anticipation. www.drawingtheidealself.co.uk/podcast

Terribly sad news about @ktamminen.bsky.social A great loss to sport and exercise psychology research and practice, grateful for valuable insights into youth sport and coping in particular. Thoughts with family, friends, and colleagues. kpe.utoronto.ca/faculty-news...

I can figure out a lot of things, but how have Capybaras become in "in" animal so rapidly?

Good to see the conversation about #PsychologicalSupport for young athletes (specifically in football) continuing. Here is Stephen Smith, chair of @bps-dsep.bsky.social: www.theguardian.com/football/202...

This could be quite the year for Scottish football (aside from League 2, let's overlook that one for now)

"We can't always offer the resources, as lots of other clubs can't, to best support players individually, each and every time." @CambridgeUtdFC academy care manager's insights on the importance of psychological support for players who are let go from academies.

The last time I was on this stage, I was lucky enough to be performing (admittedly acoustic, and admittedly the audience were seated in front of the organ)! #ENUgrads #MustBeNapier

"It's been a focus on raising awareness & trying to get the governing bodies to implement something that's actually going to improve the process." Dom Ball featured in two of Scotland's leading newspapers on our released academy footballer support campaign. 👉 www.bps.org.uk/news/improve...

Pushy parents are ‘biggest problem in sports performance’, say psychologists

The departure of Thomasson as Sweden's Head Coach offers a fascinating analysis for why a team struggles to achieve (let alone surpass) the sum of its parts. Was it after Andersson's 7 year (successful) spell, introducing an ineffective system, outsider integration? www.bbc.co.uk/sport/footba...

What an obscene trajectory. Complete disregard for the environment, for the communities which bore these clubs, and even for the players and staff travelling further and longer still than they are already expected to. www.theguardian.com/football/202...

Pleased to see the @bpsofficial.bsky.social campaign around psychological support for academy footballers in Scotland getting out there. Grateful I could contribute, and for the story to be picked up by the Daily Record alongside @stir.ac.uk. www.stir.ac.uk/news/2025/se...

Interesting listen on BBC Radio 4 this morning on AI therapy. From the Rogerian Eliza program of the 1960s to taking a critical interpretation of today's chatbots. There may be safety in the anonymity, but what if we only hear what we want to hear? #AllInTheMind

Released academy footballers need more mental health support. Many struggle to transition to life beyond the club. That's why we've teamed up with Dominic Ball, to call for mandated psychological support for when academy players are released. 👉 www.bps.org.uk/news/release...

ICYMI: @richsimpson95.bsky.social, Clara Swedlund, and I pop up in the latest edition of @psychmag.bsky.social. where we talk about the December Sport & Exercise Psychology conference. (Even better, elsewhere @dr-peter-olusoga.bsky.social features in a piece about creativity and communication)

Today I discovered last minute that @octopus.energy ran their free energy hour in the afternoon. Unfortunately it coincided with my son's pre-planned birthday party. On the plus side, the memories of simultaneous washing, drying, charging, and grass-cutting will undoubtedly last a lifetime.

Grateful to be flanked by this encouraging group who steered me into/through my PhD viva yesterday. Very appreciative to my supervisors and assessors, alongside the Sport & Exercise Psychology community, for facilitating this journey! Now back to reviewing abstracts for the DSEP 2025 conference!

Privileged to be interviewed alongside my wonderful @bps-dsep.bsky.social colleagues in @psychmag.bsky.social as we discuss the future of Sport Psychology and the DSEP Conference taking place this December!

Abstract submission remains open for #DSEP2025. Join us in Leeds on the 2nd & 3rd December, and share your research or applied experience! www.bps.org.uk/event/divisi...

As the #TallShips in Aberdeen comes to an end, I'm reminded of the time a friend and I visited Bergen when it was hosting. In a surreal moment, while attending a Brann football game, we were even introduced to the city's mayor! Some years later she didn't share this reminiscence...

The tragedy of a 28-year old losing their life is a stark reminder and time for perspective. Footballers are people, and this will be devastating for entire families. It will have a huge impact upon the staff who they developed relationships with, throughout their career. Thoughts with them too.

Good article on an #ACT intervention for well-being in sport: 🕸️ 6-session protocol, detailing exercises used 📊 Examples of sport specific ACT measures 🗣️ Good adherence and participant recommendations ⭐ The study showed good outcomes for improving well-being & reducing stress doi.org/10.1080/1041...

Renewed my membership with the Association for Contextual Behavioural Science (ACBS). A great and recommended directory of ACT/RFT resources and networks. You can check out the UK chapter here: www.acbsukandireland.com

🚨 DSEP 2025 Abstract Submissions and Registration is now LIVE 🚨 @bps-dsep.bsky.social www.linkedin.com/posts/dr-ric...

Day 2 of #WCSS2025 and plenty more excellent presentations and new connections. Highlights include supporting female match officials, recording non-verbal behaviour, and team-level interventions. Looking forward to the KNVB workshop later this afternoon.

Really cool series of posts from @dralexoliver.bsky.social (who needs generative AI when you can combine your standard grade art with a whiteboard! 😉)

Another productive @bps-dsep.bsky.social committee meeting today, plenty of new opportunities and innovations on the horizon. Anyone invested in S&E Psychology, keep an eye out on news and developments - and always get involved if you can!

Looking ahead to the #WCSS2025 programme next month. Plenty of great speakers across the psychology sessions. Will also be a good learning experience dipping into other blocks on coaching, Talent ID, and more! wcss2025.com/programme/

No other regime could repeatedly demonstrate such barbarity to human life, where every strike meets a “yes, but” justification. These atrocities are marking not only the end of a people, but of international humanitarian community and law. Boycott/sanction/protest; just end the weaponisation of aid.

Some great pieces contributed by some great people.

📢 CALL FOR STUDENT VOLUNTEERS 📢 We are looking for 4x student volunteers to support DSEP 2025 👀👌 🗓 Please e-mail a cover letter and CV to [email protected] by Friday the 30th of May. @bps-dsep.bsky.social

How can psychology support match officials? 🏅Frameworks building self-confidence & preparation can help decision-making (Samuel, '15) 💡Like all performers, match officials can find optimal performance in flow (or clutch) states (Swann et al. '17) 🔬 Deployment of mental skills (Mathers & Brodie '11)

Great to see such ambition for youth development at @stirlingalbionfc.bsky.social, especially with the inclusion of sport science and sport psychology ⚽ Valuable insight from the excellent @dralexoliver.bsky.social about his role in this update 👇 stirlingalbionfc.co.uk/club-stateme...

Looking forward to attending the World Congress on Science and Soccer when it comes to Scotland this June! I'll be presenting on my research in: 💻Using hybrid learning principles... 💡To support the psychosocial development... ⚽In young soccer players. Find out more about WCSS here: wcss2025.com

"...just because a ‘successful’ coach uses a specific behaviour/practice type frequently, or coaches in a particular ‘style’ or manner, does not mean that it will be applicable or effective for another coach in a different context" (Cushion, Ford, & Williams, 2012) Same for sport psych in soccer!

Concussions in sport have psychological effects; changes in mood, sleep, behaviours (e.g. avoidance or withdrawal) - (Bloom et al. 2022). ACT may offer a valuable approach (Faulkner et al., 2025): 👐Acceptance of symptoms ↔️Defusion from unwanted emotions 😌Value-led actions during the return to play

Home advantage is fascinating in the modern game. Psychologically, a self-perpetuating phenomenon observed since the 1880s? Components could include crowd size, density, travel, altitude, even "the recent occurrence of a civil war and the Corruption Perception Index"! www.bbc.co.uk/sport/footba...

Whether you are interested in "psychology" as such, The Psychologist magazine regularly shares plenty of interesting articles, often reflecting current affairs or topics of significance, so it is well worth a follow!

Looking forward to a good conversation! Final calls 👇 Open Meeting: Well-Being in Sport, Performance, and Exercise Research Group (Monday 17th 7pm). Please e-mail r.simpson@leedstrinity for the link and share with any networks you think would be interested and would like to join!

Another day, another job advert in football for a p̴s̴y̴c̴h̴o̴l̴o̴g̴i̴s̴t̴ sorry, "Human Performance Coach". A role to present on: "specific topics linked to the psychological... framework", "safeguarding", "health", and "whole-being"... This is a sport psychologist, and demands the appropriate training!

ICYMI ➡️ We're Hiring | 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗺𝘆 𝗖𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 📲 heartsfc.co.uk/blogs/news/w... ▪️ Apply by February 14th

Listen to Emma Hunter describe @thejamtarts.bsky.social set-up for the girls academy: 🏃‍♀️ Shaping a programme for girls (not making a carbon copy) 📚 Encouraging education ⚖️ Balancing challenge with support www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...