Graduates launch unique sports website and app

Budding athletes hoping to ‘up their game’ using sports psychology are set to benefit from a new sport and exercise app designed by two University of Wolverhampton graduates.

The unique web tool, ithinksport, provides sports psychology education to amateur athletes and sports lovers and has recently gone live.

Ithinksport is designed to help people who are keen to learn about the psychological issues in sports that can affect game performance. It provides a network where users can share useful strategies and programmes to help others improve their performances.

Ali Mahoney and Nico Kolokythas, graduates of the MSc Applied Sport & Exercise Science programme at the University from 2005 and 2013, have planned and developed the new app and website since graduating.

One half of the creative duo, Ali Mahoney, said: “Nico and I have been developing this concept for a few years and have been fortunate in recently getting funding to launch the website and app.

“From our experiences as coaches and working with amateur and elite sports people, we have found that psychology is often misunderstood

“We developed our site to embrace technology and to give sports people a nudge to learn about and try various sports psychology techniques.

“The benefit of the app is that users can access information on the move and whilst they are training, travelling and competing.

“We are hoping to build a community around our site so that the sports people can interact with our content and also join us on our social media channels.”

The pair have carefully planned and developed ideas for ithinksport whilst being in full time employment in different parts of the county.

 Nico Kolokythas is currently based at the University’s Institute of Sport and Ali Mahoney is a Fundraising and Development Officer at a football development project based in South Wales.

 Motivation for developing the site came to the pair through the idea of providing a unique and interactive approach to sport psychology and education for sports lovers.

 Ithinksport allows users to post ‘Nudges’ which are posts providing technique ideas. Other users then try out the Nudges and rate them according to helpfulness.

 The site aims to form a community network through online formats so that sports enthusiasts can help one another improve their game and performance.

 When asked about the success of this development, course leader for Sports Exercise and Science, Dr Tracey Devonport, said: “During their time studying for an MSc in Applied Sport and Exercise Science, Ali Mahoney and Nico Kolokythas both showed great enthusiasm and innovation in their approach to their studies.

 “It has been a pleasure to watch both former students demonstrate such fantastic entrepreneurism in developing the ithinksport website and app. They have provided a great model of what can be achieved through education, hard work and determination.”

 Ithinksport has already attracted a large number of users and a successful following on social media in its early days and Nico and Ali are hoping for more successes in the future for their business.

 For further information, visit: http://www.ithinksport.com/

ENDS

For more information please contact Iyma Atiq in the Media Relations Office on 01902 32 2448.