Sport and Exercise Psychology
Springfield College · 2014
ACADEMIC PROFILE
Dr. Marlon
Melville.
Assistant Professor · Sport Psychology Scholar-Practitioner
Teaching, applied service and research in sport, exercise and performance psychology, athlete development and research education within Caribbean contexts.
PROFESSIONAL PROFILE
Evidence, education
and application.
Dr. Marlon Melville is a sport, exercise and performance psychology scholar-practitioner and Assistant Professor at The University of Trinidad and Tobago’s Centre for Kinesiology, Physical Education and Sport.
Based at UTT since July 2016, his work spans undergraduate and graduate teaching, research leadership, applied athlete support and scholarship on Caribbean sport. His current programme examines athlete development and junior-to-senior transition, pre-performance routines, elite champion mindset, psychological interventions and physical education or physical-activity implementation.
Doctoral training at Springfield College prepared him to examine sport psychology and physical education or physical-activity implementation gaps in Trinidad and Tobago. His teaching and supervision emphasise conceptual accuracy, critical appraisal, ethical responsibility and context-sensitive application of evidence.
Before entering higher education, he served as a Physical Education teacher and as a police officer. These professional foundations continue to inform his emphasis on preparation, responsibility, communication and applied decision-making.
View Dr. Melville’s current publications, preprints and presentations on ResearchGate ↗
QUALIFICATIONS & APPOINTMENTS
Academic preparation
and leadership.
Doctoral preparation in sport and exercise psychology is combined with postgraduate sport management, educational training and academic leadership.
Sports Management
Master of Sports Science · United States Sports Academy · 2009
Educational Services
Andrews University · 2005
Assistant Professor
Centre for Kinesiology, Physical Education and Sport, The University of Trinidad and Tobago
Graduate Coordinator
Postgraduate academic coordination and graduate-student support within CKPES
Discipline Leader
M.Sc. Kinesiology, 2024–2026
Programme Research Leadership
Chair and lead contributor to programme research planning and development
Qualification and primary-appointment information is documented on the official UTT staff profile ↗
TEACHING RESPONSIBILITIES
From psychological theory
to defensible research.
Teaching spans undergraduate foundations, postgraduate professional preparation and the complete research-development process.
SPST 3004Undergraduate
Sport and Exercise Psychology
Psychological theory, evidence and application across motivation, confidence, self-talk, imagery, anxiety and attention.
SPST 3007Undergraduate
Introduction to Research Methods
Research questions, design, measurement, ethics, sampling, evidence appraisal and introductory analysis.
UG STATISTICSUndergraduate
Introduction to Statistics in Kinesiology
Bachelor’s-level statistical reasoning, data analysis, interpretation and reporting within kinesiology.
SPEP 6009Postgraduate
Field Experience in Sport Psychology
Needs assessment, professional boundaries, intervention planning, supervised delivery and reflective evaluation.
SPRE 6005 / 6007Postgraduate
Advanced Research, Proposal and Design
Theory, methodology, research design, analysis planning, proposal development and research-ethics preparation.
PG STATISTICSPostgraduate
Advanced Statistics in Kinesiology
Master’s-level statistical reasoning, advanced data analysis, interpretation and research reporting within kinesiology.
SUPERVISIONPostgraduate
Graduate Research Development
Research-question development, study design, statistics, thesis preparation and scholarly communication.
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Performance, development
and research capacity.
The programme connects psychological performance with athlete pathways, education, measurement and contextually relevant intervention research.
Athlete development and transition
Junior pathways, talent development and progression from age-group to senior international sport.
Pre-performance routines
The function, design and low-resource delivery of evidence-informed performance routines in Caribbean and small-island sport.
Champion mindset and sport discourse
How elite performers describe greatness, preparation, adversity and sustained achievement in digital sports media.
Sport confidence, anxiety and appraisal
Self-efficacy, challenge–threat processes, anxiety interpretation, arousal reappraisal and performance under pressure.
Physical education and activity implementation
School-based physical activity, physical education, student wellbeing, values education and programme implementation.
Research capacity and psychometrics
Research competence, theory-to-practice development, measurement and predictors of student success.
SELECTED PROJECTS
Research grounded in
Trinidad and Tobago.
Selected projects address athlete development, performance psychology, national physical-activity programming, professional education and research capacity.
Junior-to-Senior Transition in Trinidad and Tobago Athletics
A longitudinal athlete-pathway dataset examining junior exposure, CARIFTA participation and progression to senior international representation.
Elite Champion Mindset in Digital Sports Media
A reflexive thematic analysis of how elite champions describe greatness, preparation, adversity and sustained achievement.
Pre-Performance Routines in Caribbean and SIDS Sport
Research distinguishing functional routines from ritualised behaviour and proposing a low-resource delivery model for Caribbean sport.
Late Specialization and Talent Development
A context-sensitive review of late specialization, talent pathways and junior-to-senior transition in Trinidad and Tobago sport.
School-Based Physical Activity and Values-Based Education
Monitoring implementation and student outcomes within a one-year primary-school pilot coordinated by UTT CKPES.
Stress Reappraisal and Performance
Research examining combined stress-is-enhancing and arousal-reappraisal approaches to anxiety, confidence and performance among PTI trainees.
PUBLICATIONS & PRESENTATIONS
Selected scholarly
and professional outputs.
Entries are identified by output type and linked to a ResearchGate page, DOI, institutional record or conference source where available.
RESEARCHGATE RESEARCH RECORDFollow current publications, preprints and presentations
VIEW PROFILE ↗PREPRINT↗PREPRINT↗PREPRINT↗PRESENTATION↗PREPRINT↗CONFERENCE PARTICIPATION↗JOURNAL ARTICLE↗ACADEMIC PRESENTATION↗RESEARCH OUTPUT↗POSITION STAND↗INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH↗
“Once You Get a Taste of Greatness, It's an Unquenchable Desire”: A Reflexive Thematic Analysis of Elite Champion Mindset in Digital Sports Media Discourse
Melville, M. Preprint, September 2026.
From CARIFTA to the Senior International Stage: Junior-Pathway Characteristics and Senior Transition among Trinidad and Tobago World U20 Athletes
Melville, M. Preprint, August 2026.
Ritual or Routine? A Functional Account of Pre-Performance Routines and a Model for Their Low-Resource Delivery in Caribbean and Small-Island Developing-State Sport
Melville, M. Preprint, August 2026.
Ritual or Routine? The Science Behind Pre-Performance Routines
Melville, M. Presentation, August 2026.
Late Specialization, Talent Development, and Junior-to-Senior Transition in Trinidad and Tobago Sport: A Narrative Review
Melville, M. Preprint, July 2026.
11th Caribbean Sport Science Conference
Member of the UTT CKPES delegation, Kingston, Jamaica.
The importance of physical education and sport in primary (Elementary) school
Dollaway, K. C., Hannays, K., Paul, J., & Melville, M. International Journal of Physical Education, Sports and Health, 11(3), 244–251.
The fundamentals of research
Science Exhibition Week Project inauguration, The University of Trinidad and Tobago.
The relationship between grit, intrinsic motivation and conscientiousness as predictors of academic achievement in undergraduate sports studies students
Melville, M., Dollaway, K. C., & Paul, J. M.
The Preparticipation Examination
Dollaway, K. C., Paul, J. M., & Melville, M.
Psychological well-being, fatigue and psychological distress among scholarship and non-scholarship students
Research involving UTT students in Physical Education and Sports Studies.
Additional records are available through the UTT academic research profile ↗, Google Scholar ↗ and ResearchGate ↗.
PROFESSIONAL SERVICE
Supporting people,
programmes and standards.
Academic service extends across graduate coordination, research governance, supervision, programme leadership and quality development.
Graduate coordination
Academic coordination, student guidance and postgraduate process support within CKPES.
Programme leadership
Discipline leadership for the M.Sc. Kinesiology and contribution to programme planning and development.
Research committee service
Leadership and participation in programme research planning, project development and research-capacity building.
Research ethics review
Review of research protocols and support for responsible, proportionate and methodologically defensible research practice.
Supervision and mentoring
Support for undergraduate and postgraduate research design, analysis, thesis development and scholarly presentation.
Institutional quality assurance
Contribution to programme review, self-study activity and academic quality-development processes.
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS
Professional affiliations listed on the institutional profile include AASP, SHAPE America, the National Strength and Conditioning Association and the American College of Sports Medicine.
INSTITUTIONThe University of Trinidad and Tobago
CENTRECentre for Kinesiology, Physical Education and Sport
LOCATIONTrinidad and Tobago
DISCIPLINESSport Psychology · Kinesiology · Research Education
PROFESSIONAL & SOCIAL PROFILES
Research, teaching
and conversation.
Explore research records, institutional information and sport psychology posts through Dr. Melville’s profiles.
EXPLORE THE WORK