89 Applications: PSYC100 Alumni in Sport Psychology
By Alyssa Giovannangeli, Riley J.T. Bonar, and Meghan E. Norris
In this unit, we explored topics related to wellness and connected this with SDG3: Good Health and Well-being. We are pleased to introduce you to a PSYC100 alumnus who is pursuing a career in a field that brings this content to the front lines through her work as a mental performance coach, and a PhD student in sport psychology.
Introducing, Alyssa Giovannangeli!
Alyssa Giovannangeli is a mental performance coach and PhD Student in sport psychology at Florida State University, who graduated from Queen’s in 2023 with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology (major) and Film & Media (minor)! Alyssa turned to sport and performance psychology when she started experiencing anxiety around public speaking and performing on stage—two things that she always loved to do. In learning interventions to help overcome her anxiety, Alyssa became interested in the field and started volunteering in the sport psychology lab at Queen’s. Alyssa knew early on that she wanted to pursue grad school ever since learning about designing experiments in second year Research Methods, and so she decided on a master’s in psychology, neuroscience & behaviour at McMaster University to gain cognitive psychology research experience. There, Alyssa researched memory and attention under pressure and attended a sport and performance psychology conference where she learned about Certified Mental Performance Consultants (CMPC). CMPCs are trained to help athletes and performers overcome mental barriers and achieve peak performance—the exact thing that Alyssa wanted to do! While finishing her master’s degree, Alyssa applied to programs where she could obtain both a CMPC and doctorate. This ultimately led her to Florida State University where she is currently a PhD student in sport psychology and a mental performance coach (CMPC in training)! A typical day in the life of Alyssa involves can be quite busy! On days that she teaches, Alyssa will start the day reviewing notes for her lecture before heading to campus to teach the undergraduate sport psychology course. Some days, Alyssa will have courses to attend too (e.g., Motor Skill Learning, Applied Sport Psychology, Cognitive Processes in Sport Psychology, and various statistics classes). As well, Alyssa typically meets with athletes and performers in individual and group settings. The athletes she works with vary greatly in age and sport (i.e., collegiate football, youth hockey, varsity wrestling, etc.), and much of her work involves developing mental skills like confidence, anxiety regulation, motivation, goal setting, and burnout prevention with her clients.
Psychological science is factored into everything Alyssa does—from using principles of teaching and learning with her students and athletes to implementing the scientific method when developing research projects. Alyssa leans on her background in psychology nearly every day!
By taking PSYC 100, you join a vast community that contains members who have graduated and had a variety of experiences! We caught up with Alyssa and asked what her favourite memory from PSYC 100 was. Alyssa told us that her most notable memory from PSYC100 was learning about selective attention and watching the invisible gorilla video for the first time. That initial shock stuck with her forever! As well, Alyssa mentioned having many fond memories of the weekly labs in PSYC 100, as she loved getting to learn through different activities and have meaningful discussions with her small table group. Alyssa even met her best friend at Queen’s from it! Alyssa also offered some advice about careers to students currently taking PSYC 100 and said there are so many more career paths possible than you know! To find them, use resources like your professors, career counselling, and LinkedIn! If a research topic interests you in class, talk to the instructor about it—maybe there is a lab at Queen’s you can get involved in to learn more. If you are curious about industry options, book a time slot at career counselling to gain insight. Most importantly, use online networking like LinkedIn to connect with people working in the field. Many people are open to chatting and answering questions about how they got to where they are—including Alyssa!
If you are interested in learning more about what Alyssa does for a living, you can check out AASP (Association for Applied Sport Psychology)!
If you are interested in learning more about sport psychology, we invite you to read this chapter written about sport psychology in the Canadian context.
We often have many athletes and coaches of a variety of sports in this course. If you are looking to engage in non-credit professional development as a coach, we recommend checking out the Coaching Association of Canada. They offer a variety of training pathways, and have both in-person and online training available across many sports. You can track this non-credit training via a system called The Locker. This training does not qualify for course credit, but many sports organizations require you to have training from the Coaching Association of Canada in order to serve as a coach. Please check with your specific sports organizations to learn more.
References:
Association for Applied Sport Psychology. (n.d.). Certification. https://appliedsportpsych.org/certification/
Coaching Association of Canada. (n.d.). https://www.coach.ca/
Dithurbide, L., DesClouds, P., McNeill, K., Durand-Bush, N., DeRoo, C., & Christie, S. (2019). Sport psychology. In M. E. Norris (Ed.), The Canadian handbook for careers in psychological science. eCampusOntario. https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/psychologycareers/chapter/sport-psychology/
United Nations. (n.d.). Goal 3: Good health and well-being. https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/health/
How to cite this using APA Style:
Giovannangeli, A., Bonar, R.J.T., & Norris, M.E. (2026). Applications: PSYC100 Alumni in Sport Psychology. In PSYC 100: Principles of psychology. eCampusOntario. https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/testbookje/chapter/applications-psyc100-alumni-in-sport-psychology/
