SSPEL Newsletter: Research and Scholarly Activities

Plymouth Independent – Sunday 12 November 2006

It was a pleasure to meet a new face at Argyle’s recent South Western League game against Tavistock.

Melissa Coyle is a sports psychologist who has moved to Plymouth, from Darlington, to take up a post at the College of Mark and St John.

The 24 year old Scottish lass comes highly recommended to Argyle by Martin Gray, who was Stuart Gibson’s counterpart at Darlington, now assistant manager at the Darlington Arena.

I received a phone call from Martin in the summer informing me about Mel, who was moving down to Plymouth. He was full of praise for her work with the Darlington youth squad over a three-year period.’

‘It’s an area that we have looked at and we feel, especially now that we have pushed our age groups up, here is a specialist field that could be of value to us.

‘But, it is one step at a time as she is looking at us at the same time as we are looking at her’, explained Gibson.

Coyle met all the youth coaches last Thursday evening at the Ivybridge Centre of Excellence and was scheduled to be present at yesterday’s South Western League cup-tie at Bolitho Park.

‘Mel has already begun to work with some of the apprentices and over the coming weeks will be taking a closer look at the Centre of Excellence – although that work will be more refined.

‘She will be more of a tool in the toolbox for the coaches to use rather than working with the younger age groups individually’, he added.

pp Lance Doggart