Mindflick launched the Never Give Up bursary in memory of Professor Ian Maynard, to give people a shot at a master's they might not otherwise get.
The bursary funds a student to study the MSc in Sport Psychology at Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU).
We're pleased to announce that Joe Bradley, from Blackburn, is this year's recipient of the Ian Maynard Never Give Up bursary.
Meet Joe
Joe's interest started in the second year of his undergraduate degree. A sport psychologist lecturing on one of his modules introduced the Mindflick model, and Joe followed Mindflick's work from there before applying for the bursary.
The interview was the hard part. "I was quite nervous speaking on a board with people from Mindflick and from LJMU," he says. "But everyone was really nice and really welcoming."
The panel told him his coaching and sports background and his volunteering experience stood out, and that they got "a pretty genuine and honest feel" from him.
For Joe, the bursary helps in two ways. The first is financial: a master's is expensive. The second is support. "To receive guidance, supervision, and connect with other people in the field, I think is invaluable," he says. "It's quite a competitive field, and to be supported and have guidance from people who have gone through this process means the world."
He's already getting to know the Mindflick team, starting with a CPD day on how managers can flex and adapt their mindsets. Next, he's looking forward to more CPD sessions and working through Spotlight accreditation. Long term, he wants to work as a sport psychologist in Olympic sport.
What is the Ian Maynard Never Give Up bursary?
Our goal at Mindflick is to make performance psychology accessible, and one of the ways we are doing this is to create opportunities for aspiring performance psychologists to pursue a career in the field.
The high costs of training to become a performance psychologist can disadvantage people in challenging financial circumstances. Beyond undergraduate training, it can be difficult to access financial support as aspiring performance psychologists progress towards professional training and practice.
That’s why we created the Ian Maynard Never Give Up Bursary: giving one aspiring performance psychologist the chance to complete their MSc with all tuition fees fully covered.
The recipient will enrol in Liverpool John Moores University’s full-time MSc Sport Psychology programme, with tuition fees fully funded by Mindflick. They also gain access to Mindflick’s practitioner training and exclusive CPD events.
Joe's advice is simple. "Go for it, apply, see what happens. You have every chance of getting it. I didn't think I'd get it, and I did."
For more information and how to apply, visit the bursary application page.
Who is Ian Maynard?
Ian Maynard was a mentor to many of the people at Mindflick.
During his pioneering career in sport and exercise psychology, Ian published more than 130 papers. He worked with British sailing, cycling, boxing and diving teams, and contributed to two Olympic Games.
"We wanted to give someone else the opportunity in Ian's name," says Mindflick co-founder Dr. Mark Bawden, "to do a master's when maybe they might not have had that opportunity."
Ian Maynard epitomised the 'never give up' attitude and regularly concluded his presentations on this theme. It's an approach we're taking forward in Ian's name to support young practitioners and athletes.
Dr Mark Bawden
Mark was Team GB Head Psychologist at the London 2012 Games and worked alongside Sir Andrew Strauss and the England men's cricket team as they became the world's number 1 between 2009 and 2014.