Alexandria Olton
Psychology and Sociology, 2015
Following my graduation from Kent I went on to pursue an MSc in Sport and Exercise Psychology at Brunel University in London and then spent a year at Birmingham University where I began a PhD but subsequently left to return home to Trinidad and Tobago. Here, I started my own private practice (Mindology, Trinidad) and began working in the local sporting landscape.
After this I joined the Sports Company of Trinidad and Tobago in the Elite Athlete Wellbeing Unit. In this role I worked and travelled with Trinidad and Tobago's senior national athletes to provide sport psychological support as they prepared for local, regional and international competitions, including the Olympics, Commonwealth Games, PANAM Games, and World Cup Qualifiers.
While at home in Trinidad I was also a columnist for one of the national newspapers (TT Newsday) writing on all things sport psychology and was also the Assistant Coach for the Women's National Rugby Team.
I moved to Singapore in early 2023 to take up my current role as a Performance Pathway Scientist at the National Youth Sports Institute (NYSI), where I provide sport psychological support and preparation for competitions and major games. I am also the co-chair for the External Partnerships Committee for the Association for Applied Sport Psychology and am preparing to take the exam to become a Certified Mental Performance Consultant (CMPC-AASP) in the US.
My day can vary from individual consults and group workshops to conducting athlete and coach observations during training sessions and competitions.
At NYSI we have a transdisciplinary approach to the support we deliver, so as Performance Pathways Scientists we all have a Level 1 qualification in strength and conditioning, basic understanding of nutrition, first aid, and also lend support with performance analysis and testing. This means that, while my expertise is in sport psychology, I will also support the other sport scientists who work within my sports.
Additionally, we pride ourselves on our ability to bring research into practice so there are always ongoing projects that we are working on in collaboration with other local and international organisations. There's never a dull moment!
A professional highlight that I continually come back to is accompanying the TT Men's Futsal Team to their CONCACAF World Cup Qualifier in Guatemala. It was the first time I had escorted a team on national duty to a major competition and I’d been working with them for months in the lead up.
Travelling with teams and athletes sounds more glamourous than it is in reality, but it’s often a rarity for Sport Psychologists – who are usually last on the list of necessary support staff – so whenever the opportunity arises it’s always a privilege.
This moment was particularly poignant because the competition took place in April 2021 – right in the middle of the COVID pandemic – so the team had endured such adversity during their preparation and during the competition itself there were no spectators allowed. It was deathly quiet during the performances and it took the team a lot of mental strength to overcome these new, unexpected hurdles. It was extremely special to share these moments and watch them use their mental skills in real-time.
The foundation built during my time at Kent created the springboard for me to get to where I am today. I found my passion for psychology pursuing my degree and also took on active leadership roles for the UKC Women's Rugby Team. My roles as PR Officer and then Chairwoman of the rugby team allowed me to work collaboratively with a major sporting organisation (The England RFU) to make UKC women's rugby the spotlight club for the South-East.
During my time at Kent I was exposed to so much cultural and intellectual diversity through the amazing sporting and non-sporting events, talks, gatherings, and campaigns that were constantly hosted on campus or in Canterbury city centre. I made lasting friendships that were pivotal in shaping my off-campus social time, and ultimately just made the most of the four years by getting involved in all that I could and having fun!
Sport psychology is a field that requires passion and creativity and those who work in the field do so for their love of sport.
I think it is important to also acknowledge that it is still a growing and evolving industry so while some areas can be quite lucrative there is still imbalance in other spheres. Sport and sport psychology, in particular, is certainly not an industry to make a lot of money quickly, but it offers a space where you do extremely meaningful work, take part in some incredible experiences, and share in the joys and wins with those whom you support.
I have so many great memories from my time at Kent - some more fuzzy than others!
One particularly joy-filled memory was the year we won the women's rugby varsity. If memory serves me it was 2014... It had been quite some time since we won against CCCU at varsity and the match was particularly close and incredibly physical, but getting the win made it all worth it.
I don't think so - I genuinely had a truly wonderful experience at Kent.
Like most students I went through a homesick phase and teething issues as I learnt to cook for myself for the first time, but even these trickier moments helped to make my university experience what it was.
Yes, I am very much still in touch with many of my friends from my time at Kent, including those on the rugby team and my housemates. I’ve also spoken with a few of the academics that I worked with since graduating.
My future ambitions currently revolve around the future directions of the field of sport psychology rather than just for myself as a practitioner.
I would like to see a more clearly defined pathway (qualifications/certifications etc) for young sport psychologists hoping to enter the sphere. I hope that through my time as the external partnerships committee chair for AASP I can get the necessary discussions started. It may be some years before we see any tangible evidence of this but it's important to start somewhere.