Dr Ella Tagliavini
UCFB Wembley
Course Lecturer
Research Methods
Dr Ella Tagliavini is a sport and exercise psychologist in training (SEPiT), lecturer, and elite football player with over 20 years of experience in high-performance sport. Previously, she competed and captained the Chelsea and England international youth teams before competing as a student-athlete at a Division One university in the USA, Louisiana State University (LSU).
As a ‘Rising Star’ of the Jaguar Academy of Sport in 2012, Ella’s mentors have included Sir David Beckham, Dame Kelly Holmes, Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill, Sir Steve Redgrave, Sir Chris Hoy, and many more. She has also coached at Fulham FC and Leicester City with experience as the lead data analyst for Fulham FC Women during the 2022-23 season. Currently, Ella is a key part of the Fulham FC Women defence who now compete in the National League Division One South East after winning the London and South East Regional Division with an unbeaten record of 20 wins and 2 draws during the 2024-25 season. Ella specialises in research methods as well as interpersonal dynamics in sport and exercise psychology.
She recently completed her PhD at Loughborough University where she worked with the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) and International Tennis Federation (ITF) to investigate the interpersonal dynamics between parents and coaches across the youth tennis pathway. She continues to deliver to coaches on CPD programmes for various NGBs and has developed parent-coach education content with the LTA and ITF. Ella is also currently training to become an HCPC-registered sport and exercise psychologist with the Chartered Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences (CASES) and as a result, runs her own company called Elevate Performance Psychology which delivers individual, team and organisational psychological services to various athletes, stakeholders, clubs and organisations.
Areas of expertise
- Research Methods
- Sport and Exercise Psychology
- Parent-Athlete-Coach Relationships in Youth Sport
- Athletic Development and Performance Pathways
- Sports Coaching
Industry expertise
- Sport and Exercise Psychologist in Training (SEPiT)
- Founder and Consultant at Elevate Performance Psychology
- First Team Football Player for Fulham FC Women
- Presenter and Panel Member for NGBs, Sport Organisations and Clubs (e.g., UK Coaching and Sport in Mind)
- Research Methods
- Qualitative Research
- Relationships in Sport
- Parent-Athlete-Coach (PAC) Triads
- Parents in Sport
- Sports Coaching
- Youth Sport
- PhD – Loughborough University
- MSc Sport and Exercise Psychology – Roehampton University
- BSc Psychology (minor in Business Studies) – Louisiana State University (LSU)
- TASS Athlete Personal Development and Lifestyle (APDL) Level 3 Certificate
- NCFE Cache Level 2 Diploma in Mental Health Awareness
- UKAD Introduction to Clean Sport Certificate
- FA Level 1 Psychology Award
- LTA Licensed Tennis Coach
- FA Licensed Football and Futsal Coach
- Tagliavini, Ella F., Harwood, Chris G., Jowett, Sophia, & Thrower, Sam N. (2023). A Collective Case
Study of Parent–Athlete–Coach Triads in British Youth Tennis. The Sport Psychologist, 38(1), 14-27.
https://doi.org/10.1123/tsp.2023-0014 - Tagliavini, Ella F., Harwood, Chris G., Jowett, Sophia & Thrower, Sam N. (2025). Understanding the Interpersonal Dynamics Between Parents and Coaches in Youth Tennis. ITF Coaching & Sport Science Review. In Press. https://itfcoachingreview.com/index.php/journal/article/view/660
- Tagliavini, E.F., Jowett, S., Harwood, C.G., Thrower, S.N. & Nascimento-Júnior, J.R.A. (2025). Tennis Parents’ Perspectives of the Parent-Coach Dyad: A Multi-Stage, International Study Exploring the Role of Relationship Quality and Responsiveness. Under Review.
- Tagliavini, E.F. (2025). Fostering Positive Parent-Coach Relationships in Youth Tennis [Online Module]. International Tennis Federation Academy.