about
Meet the Team
Regional Lead (Great Britain)
Henry works as a Lecturer and Course Lead at UA92 and brings a wealth of experience in both sport and the third sector. He has a master’s with distinction in sports coaching, an undergraduate degree in sports development, and multiple industry qualifications. You can read more about Henry's work here. From 2024, Henry will act as our Regional Training Lead for Great Britain.
Director
John is a British Psychological Society Chartered Sport and Exercise Psychologist and the founder of Play Aid. He holds a BSc in Psychology and Childhood Development, a PhD in Social Cognition and Leadership from the University of Birmingham, and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. He has a range of peer reviewed papers in top ranked journals in the fields of Psychology, Neuroscience, and Medicine and wide ranging experience developing and validating training programmes.
Regional Lead (Ireland)
Kyle joined Play Aid in the summer of 2023 and also works as a Lecturer at Ulster University in Northern Ireland. Moving from Canada in 2019, Kyle is affiliated with Ulster's Institute of Mental Health Sciences and is a qualified Sport and Exercise Psychologist. Kyle’s expertise focuses on how social processes influence mental health outcomes. You can read more about Kyle's academic experience here. From 2024, Kyle will act as our Regional Lead for Ireland.
Director
Nancy brings a wealth of experience in supporting the running of Play Aid and is a former Human Resources manager in the NHS and insurance companies.
Regional Lead (Australia)
Dr Stewart Vella is a worldwide thought leader in the field of mental health in sport. He is the most published scientific researcher in world on the topic. His mental health programs have been adapted and scaled across the globe. His flagship ‘Ahead of the Game’ program is the official mental fitness program of the Rugby League World Cup 2021. He is the Leader of the Global Alliance for Mental Health and Sport at the University of Wollongong, Australia. You can learn more about Stewart and his research via his personal website or here.
The Play Aid Team
Between us we have 250 peer-reviewed published papers.
60+ years experience of working with young people.
World leading expertise in mental health, coaching, performance science, and esports.