Biography
Stewart is Director of Education and Student Experience at Health Sciences University, Head of the Centre for Human Performance Research (CHPR) Director of Education & Student Experience (DESE) and a Professor in the Psychology of Human Performance. He is a HCPC registered sport and exercise psychologist, and BASES accredited sport and Exercise Scientist, with over 25 years’ experience as a consultant psychologist across a wide range of professional/ amateur sports, as well as across a broad range of performance domains. In addition, Stewart is a past chair of the British Psychological Society (BPS) Division of Sport and Exercise Psychology, and editor emeritus for the journal Case Studies in Sport and Exercise Psychology, as well as sitting on the editorial boards of several other journals.
In addition to extensive teaching experience Stewart has also supervised numerous doctoral research candidates, published extensively in the domain of applied sport and performance psychology and authored/edited a number of text books within his domain of expertise.
Current Activity
As Director of Education and Student Experience Stewart is responsible for providing strategic academic leadership across all taught provision at HSU. As a member of the Vice-Chancellor’s Advisory Group, the DESE plays a pivotal role in shaping the University’s education and skills strategy, driving curriculum innovation, and ensuring an outstanding student experience across. Stewart is also an active psychology of human performance.
Qualifications 
Qualifications
- BSc Sport Science & Geography (Loughborough University)
- MSc Sport and Exercise Science (Sport Psychology) (Chichester University)
- PGDip Psychology (Open University)
- Doctor of Philosophy (University of Edinburgh)
- Chartered Psychologist
- Accredited Sport & Exercise Scientist
- HCPC registered Sport & Exercise Psychologist
- Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (HEA)
Membership
Membership
- Associate Fellow of British Psychological Society (BPS)
- Fellow of British Association of Sport & Exercise Sciences (BASES)
- International Society of Sport Psychology (ISSP)
- Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP)
Contact details
Contact details
- Email: Stewart.Cotterill@hsu.ac.uk
- Phone: 01202 436363
- Linkedin: Profile page
- Website: Researchgate Profile
Research
Research
Stewart’s main research interests include:
- Psychological factors determining performance under pressure
- Leadership in sports teams
- Decision-making and performance
- Psychological factors influencing military performance
- Social media, technology, and performance
VIEW STEWART COTTERILL RESEARCH IN THE HSU UNIVERSITY COLLEGE RESEARCH REPOSITORY.
Publications (previous 5 years)
Publications (previous 5 years)
See here for a full list of publications.
Books:
Cotterill, S. T. (2026). Team Psychology in Sports, 2nd Edition, Routledge, Abingdon. ISBN: 1032139889.
Book chapters:
Cotterill, S. T., & Tibbert, S. (2024). Destructive Leadership in the Context of Sports. In K. Breevaat, B. Schyns, & P. Neves (Eds) Destructive Leadership: Forms, context and boundary conditions’. Information Age Publishing Inc
Cotterill, S. T., & Britton, D. (2023). Psychological techniques to enhance golf performance. In D. Hill, J. Barker & K. Steptoe (Eds). The psychology of golf performance under pressure. London: Routledge.
Cotterill, S. T., & Hurley, O. A. (2023). Going online: How to enhance consultancy practice using digital technology. In V. Shanmuganathan-Felton & S. Smith (Eds). Developing a sport psychology consultancy practice. London: Routledge.
Peer-reviewed articles:
Published articles over the last 5 years include:
Cotterill, S. T. & Cheetham, R. (2026). Leadership experiences amongst elite female rugby players: A different approach to team leadership. Behavioral Sciences (Online)
Breen, S., & Cotterill, S. T. (2025). An exploration of the psychological traits deemed crucial for success in UK special forces operators. Behavioral Sciences, 15. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15091194
Cotterill, S. T. (2023). Editorial: The impact of shared leadership on group functioning and performance. Frontiers in Psychology, doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1125076
Cotterill, S. T. (2022) Sport Psychology Practitioner’s perceptions and use of social media. Asian Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 156-164. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajsep.2022.06.001
Butalia, R., Rupp, K-S, Tuand, K., Boen, F., Steffens, N. K., Loughead, T. M., Cotterill, S, & Fransen, K. (2022). Athlete Leadership Development in Sport: A Systematic Scoping Review [Web of Science Core Collection]. searchRxiv 2022. https://doi.org/10.1079/searchrxiv.2022.00013
Cotterill, S. T., Loughead, T., & Fransen, K. 2022. Athlete leadership development within teams: Current understanding and future directions. Frontiers in Psychology.
Cocker, I., Cotterill, S. T., & Griffin, J. 2022. Player perceptions of athlete leadership and leadership development in an English Premier League football academy. Asian Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology.
Smith, S. M., Brown, H., & Cotterill. S. T. 2021. Implementing and Evaluating the Practice Environment Model Using Action Research. International Sport Coaching Journal. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1123/iscj.2020-0117.
Schinke, R., Papaioannou, A., Maher, C., Parham, W. D., Larsen, C. H., Gordin, R., & Cotterill, S. T.
