David Fletcher PhD MSc BSc(Hons) CPsychol CCAASP FHEA FIOS(CC) FIOS MIOS
Lecturer
Contact details
Room: ZZ.0.12
Phone: +44 (0)1509 223271
Fax: +44 (0)1509 226301
Email: D.Fletcher@lboro.ac.uk
Background
David Fletcher is Programme Leader of the MSc in Sport and Exercise Psychology and Director of the Sport Psychology Support Service. He also leads and manages the University’s performance psychology research agreement with Lane4 Management Group Ltd. David currently serves as the Associate Editor (Elite Sport) of the Journal of Sport Psychology in Action, and on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, and Journal of Social, Behavioral and Health Sciences. Over the past ten years, David’s research investigating the psychology of elite performance has been published in peer-reviewed scientific journals and presented at international conferences. In 2009, David was the first recipient of the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences’ (BASES) Tom Reilly Memorial Award which was presented for published research of outstanding merit. In the following year, he received the BASES’ Early Career Researcher Award (Sport and Performance) presented for excellence in sport and/or exercise sciences research. David is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and of the Institute of Swimming.
David is a British Psychological Society Chartered Psychologist, Health Professions Council Sport and Exercise Practitioner Psychologist, British Sport and Exercise Sciences Accredited Scientist, Association for Applied Sport Psychology Certified Consultant, British Olympic Association Consultant Psychologist, and United States Olympic Committee Registered Psychologist. In recognition of his work in world-class sport, he was invited by the British Olympic Association and British Swimming to present in support of their respective Olympic management and coaching teams, and has given major talks at the American Swimming Coaches Association World Clinic and the British Swimming Coaches and Teachers Association Annual Conference. He consults with world and Olympic level athletes from a variety of sports, and works closely with sport organizations on creating environments and cultures that enable high performance, including UK Sport, British Swimming, British Triathlon, the IMG Bollettieri Tennis and Leadbetter Golf Academies in Florida, the Caudwell Xtreme Everest in Nepal, Loughborough Swimming, Lloyds TSB, and the National Health Service. He is regularly interviewed about a variety of sport and performance psychology-related topics on British national television (e.g., BBC News, Sky News, Sky Sports) and national radio (e.g., BBC Radio 4, BBC Radio 5 Live).
Research Interests
David’s research focuses on the psychology of sporting excellence and how it can be applied to other high performance domains. His work provides insights into how high achievers deliver sustainable performance in pressured environments, and clusters around the following performance themes:
- Performance Leadership and Management (e.g., elite sport leadership, managing Olympic teams, communication and emotional intelligence)
- Performance Environments and Cultures (e.g., environmental enablers of high performance, organizational stress, support staff stress experiences)
- Personal Performance and Psychological Resiliency (e.g., mental toughness, stress and emotions, self-confidence, achievement motivation, psychological skills)
- Performance Consultancy and Service Delivery (e.g., consulting in sport organizations, professional competency, training and development, stress management interventions
Selected Publications
Selected Academic Publications
- Fletcher, D., Hanton, S., Mellalieu, S. D. and Neil, R. (in press). A conceptual framework of organizational stressors in sport performers. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports.
- Fletcher, D. and Arnold, R. S. (2011). A qualitative study of performance leadership and management in elite sport. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 23, 223-242.
- Fletcher, D. (2010). Applying sport psychology in business: A narrative commentary and bibliography. Journal of Sport Psychology in Action, 1, 139-149.
- Fletcher, D. and Scott, M. (2010). Psychological stress in sports coaches: A review of concepts, research and practice. Journal of Sports Sciences, 28, 127-137.
- Fletcher, D. and Wagstaff, C. R. D. (2009). Organizational psychology in elite sport: Its emergence, application and future. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 10, 427-434.
- Fletcher, D., Hanton, S. and Mellalieu, S. D. (2006). An organizational stress review: Conceptual and theoretical issues in competitive sport. In S. Hanton and S. D. Mellalieu (Eds.), Literature Reviews in Sport Psychology (pages 321-373). Hauppauge, NY: Nova Science.
Selected Professional Publications
- Fletcher, D. (2010, November). Performance psychology: Where are we now and where do we go from here? The Wave, 6-10.
- Fletcher, D. (2007, December). Toughness training on the world’s highest mountain. The Sport and Exercise Scientist, 14, 10-11.
- Fletcher, D. (2007). Back to the future: Mental conditioning for tomorrow’s champions. In The World Clinic Series: Volume 28 (pages 267-286). Fort Lauderdale, FL: The American Swimming Coaches Association. [Also available on audio CD format]
- Fletcher, D. (2006). British Swimming, sports psychology, and Olympic medals: Is it all in the mind?!? World Swimming Coaches Association Newsletter, 6, 3-9.
- Fletcher, D. and Bisig, T. B. (2006, June). Mental conditioning at the world’s toughest playground. The Sport and Exercise Scientist, 8, 22-23.
You can view a fuller publications list on the University Publications Database.
Research and Enterprise Funding
- March 2011-present, UK Sport, Performance Lifestyle Evaluation Research Project.
- November 2010-present, Lane4 Management Group Ltd, Research Agreement in Performance Psychology.
- July 2009-present, National Health Service, Online Olympic Assessment Tool
- September 2006, American Swimming Coaches Association, Knowledge Transfer Project in Elite Swimming.
- October 2004, Private Donor, Olympic Swimming Research Project.
- September 2004 - September 2006, Gloucester County Amateur Swimming Association, Knowledge Transfer Project in Elite Swimming.
- April 2003, British Olympic Association, Knowledge Transfer Project in Olympic Sport.
- August 1999 - August 2001, British Swimming, Elite Swimming Research Project.