Laura Crabtree PhD
Programme Manager / Sport Psychology Consultant

Co-Founder Cultiv8 Tennis

Laura has been working in youth, elite, and professional sport as an Accredited Sport Psychology Consultant since 2005. She has extensive experience of working with both individual athletes and teams in high-performance settings. Laura has worked in a consulting role at Premier League and Championship Football Clubs. She has also provided psychological support to Golf Academies and has extensive experience of providing psychological support services in Performance Tennis Centres both in the UK and abroad. 

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Laura delivers high-quality applied psychology support to enhance performance by exploring relationships, developing resilience, and promoting an understanding of overall well-being.   With a background in performance sport at junior level and as a Level 4 Performance Tennis Coach, Laura found herself becoming increasingly interested in how psychological factors can influence performance and overall well-being. She began to recognise the need to explore and address the psychological demands of different sports alongside their physical, technical, and tactical challenges. This prompted Laura to focus increasing attention on teaching psychological skills and strategies necessary for peak performance and how these can underpin wider coaching programmes and influence overall athletic development. 

 

After gaining a BSc in Sport Science (2003) and an MSc in Sport and Exercise Psychology (2004) Laura continued to explore opportunities to make sport psychology an integral part of athlete development programmes. She has devised and implemented a number of Talent Development Programmes that have helped coaches and clubs (particularly in football and tennis) to embed psychological support structures and systems within the wider organisational culture. 

 

Whilst working successfully with both athletes and coaches, Laura observed parents, largely on the periphery, receiving limited support and guidance as to how they can fulfil their support roles effectively. With this in mind, together with her passion to deliver high-quality applied services grounded in research, Laura embarked on a PhD to examine the influence and impact of parenting on the development of athletic talent. Her extensive research has significantly helped her to create more relevant, integrated, and effective support services for athletes, coaches, and parents in junior, elite, and professional sport settings. Laura’s work is underpinned by and focuses on the development of collaborative relationships and transparency within systems.  

 

In her role at Cultiv8 Tennis, Laura works with the coaching team to develop and deliver high-quality programmes which integrate ‘psychology’ into every-day practice. Whilst she recognises the importance of delivering specific ‘education sessions’ to players, parents, and coaches off court, Laura  believes her greatest value lies in translating theory into practice, working on the court with coaches and players. Laura has worked with the Cultiv8 Coaching Team in setting up the Tennis Programmes, ensuring that cognitive, social, and emotional factors are embedded within daily practices and tournament preparation.