Dr Samuel Wood CPsychol, AFBPsS, FHEA

Within my role at Manchester Metropolitan University, I support the delivery of undergraduate and postgraduate units (Levels 3-7) across the degree programmes offered within the Department of Sport and Exercise Science. I use a range of methods to promote students’ critical and rational thinking, embracing new technological developments that support learning and teaching to deliver best practice.

I am a Chartered Psychologist (CPsychol) with the British Psychology Society (BPS), associate fellow of the BPS (AFBPsS) and a full member of the BPS Division of Sport & Exercise Psychology. I am a Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) Registered Practitioner Psychologist and a Registered European psychologist (EuroPsy) with the European Federation of Psychologists Association (EFPA). Within my consultancy, I work with those across the sporting landscape (e.g., athletes, coaches, parents, and officials) improving performance by increasing psychological flexibility, aiming to balance winning with wellbeing. Working across development and performance levels, I have supported multiple national champions, national team members, and international-level competitors (i.e., World and European Championships). I have worked within seven different sports. I bring this applied experience to my teaching, and the work-based problems I encounter inspire my research interests.

My PhD was a collaborative project with British Cycling (BC). This research aimed to gain an understanding of BC’s coach education pathway, evaluating its effectiveness in preparing coaches for their coaching role. In doing so, my work explored sport coaches’ ecosystem of learning and development and the wash-out effects of BC’s formal education and qualification programmes. Successful completion of the PhD led to an employed role in BC’s education team. Here, I contributed to the design, development, and creation of educational products for facilitators of cycling activity (e.g., activators, leaders, instructors, and coaches), officials, and the wider volunteer community. However, a large focus of my work was the development of BC’s revolutionary approach to coach development. This included consultation and communication with wider key stakeholders from the initial concept, to curriculum build, and consideration of delivery options. I also led on the creation for learning content within this new framework.

• Pathways to mastery (learning and development)
• Growth and thriving
• Stress and coping in sport and exercise 
• Coach-athlete relationships
• Mental health and wellbeing within sport
• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in  sport psychology service delivery