Dr Tracy Donachie (Lecturer in Sport & Exercise Psychology)
Tracy is a Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Psychology in the School of Psychology. Tracy is a Chartered membership with the British Psychological Society (BPS) and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (HEA). Tracy has over 20 years’ experience of working in applied sport environments as a semi-professional footballer, a coach, and a deliverer of performance psychology to athletes, teams, and coaches. Tracy is Head of Psychosocial Development at York City Regional Talent Club and Technical Director of Berwick Rangers Football Club. She has previously provided performance psychology support to Scotland National Women’s Football teams, Scottish Gymnastics, Hearts Football Academy, South Lanarkshire Leisure, Edinburgh University Football Club, Hamilton Academical Football Club, Mental Health Foundation, NHS Yorkshire, TransSoccer and many more. Tracy has also delivered strategies to manage exam stress to over 1200 students in schools, colleges, and universities across Yorkshire for Higher York, the National Collaborative Program, and York University.
Tracy completed her PhD at University of Leeds/York St John University in 2018. Her doctoral research examined perfectionism, overthinking, and emotions in youth football players. She specifically examined the role of perfectionistic cognitions in pre-competition emotions (e.g., anxiety, anger, and dejection). Furthermore, in her recent publication, she examined the effectiveness of a psychoeducational book on reducing perfectionism which found that self-help interventions may be effective in reducing socially prescribed perfectionism, perfectionistic cognitions, anxiety, anger, and dejection. This study was the first in sport to examine the effectiveness of an intervention specifically for perfectionism. Tracy’s continues her research in personality and is currently examining the role of perfectionism in mental health of professional footballers. Furthermore, she is also examining the role of the Dark Triad in experience of youth athletes.
Email: Tracy.Donachie@newcastle.ac.uk
Dr Max Stone (Lecturer in Sport & Exercise Psychology)
Max joined the School of Psychology in 2020 as a Lecturer. Prior to this, he completed a fully-funded PhD in collaboration with Swim Wales and the University of South Wales. During this time, he also taught on sport psychology, psychology, and sport coaching undergraduate programmes. His research has focused on developing a better understanding of the psychology of tapering. This has included identifying swimmers and coaches understanding and psychological experience of tapering, measuring changes in psychological variables during the taper, and implementing psychophysiological interventions to manage psychological states during the taper. Alongside this, his wider research interests include understanding how psychological factors influence fatigue and recovery.
Email: Max.Stone@newcastle.ac.uk
Dan Martin (Lecturer in Sport & Exercise Psychology)
Dan is a Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Psychology, having joined the School of Psychology at Newcastle in June 2023. Dan completed his Professional Doctorate in Sport and Exercise Psychology at the University of Portsmouth, investigating the self-care practices and professional quality of life of practitioners. His wider research interests span professional identity, well-being, and self-care in sports organizations.
Dan works as a sport and exercise psychologist in elite para-sports working with a national squad. His experience as a practitioner spans youth, academy, senior and elite sport. Dan is a member of the British Psychological Society (BPS), the Association of Applied Sport Psychology (AASP), the European Federation of Sport Psychology (FEPSAC), and the International Sport Psychology Society (ISSP).
Email: Dan.Martin@newcastle.ac.uk
Fraser Kennedy (Newcastle University Performance Sport Manager)
Fraser is responsible for general oversight, administration, and running of performance sports at Newcastle University as well as offering supervision and guidance as part of the placement team.
Email: Fraser.Kennedy@newcastle.ac.uk
If you have any queries, questions or feedback, feel free to contact us via our emails.
Sport Psychology Placement Students
Kate Maxwell-Armstrong (Sports Psychology Research Assistant 2023/24)
Kate is a BSc Psychology student, who completed her Professional Placement year in Sport Psychology. Her interest in sport psychology came from her love of sport, particularly squash, which she has played competitively for 8 years, and now continues to play for the University Women’s 1st Team. This experience, combined with her love of psychology, led to an interest in topics such as motivation, team cohesion, transitions in sport and perfectionism. She is also interested in nutrition and the link between sport and mental health. Kate developed NU sport resources which aim to improve coaches understanding of psychological principles and setting up a biofeedback clinic.
Main projects on placement: Peer Led Perfectionism Workshops (PLIP), Perfectionism Research Projects, NU Sport Resource Development, Psychological Insights into Coaching Practice Conference.
Email: K.E.Maxwell-Armstrong2@newcastle.ac.uk
Alice Points (Sport Psychology Research Assistant 2022/23)
Alice is a BSc Joint Honours Psychology & Sports Science student. Her interest in sport psychology has grown throughout 9 years of competitive swimming, and over 10 years of involvement in team sport, which she still continues at a University level. This experience has fronted her interest in her current research study into the perceptions and purposes of team sport warmups. Other research interests lie in the relationship between exercise, mental health and nutrition, alongside perfectionism in sport. She has also helped conceptualise a Biofeedback Clinic, to teach athletes to regulate emotions under pressure, and will deliver the Clinic to athletes from Spring 2023. Finally, she is currently liaising with Rise, a local charity which works with companies to promote physical activity in the general public, in the hopes of increasing exercise from a system level.
Main projects on placement: Qualitative research into team sport warmups, Peer Led Perfectionism Workshops, NU Sport Resource Development, Biofeedback Clinic.
Email: A.Points2@newcastle.ac.uk
Amelia Hooper (Sport Psychology Research Assistant 2022/23)
Amelia is a BSc Joint Honours Psychology & Sports Science student. After being a dancer for 11 years, she had a great interest in sport, and in particular sports psychology, which started in Year 12. Her research interests lie in perfectionism, and is currently developing a research study into perfectionism and confidence in youth athletes. Furthermore, she is also interested in the psychological effects of injuries and rehabilitation. She has been a member of the steering group for the ‘Psychological Insights into Coaching Practice’ conference since her first year, and this year is helping to organise the event itself.
Main projects on placement: Peer Led Perfectionism Workshops, Perfectionism Research Projects, NU Sport Resource Development, Psychological Insights into Coaching Practice Conference.
Email: A.Hooper1@newcastle.ac.uk