Kathleen T. Mellano | Springfield College

Kathleen T. Mellano

Kathleen T. Mellano

Assistant Professor of Exercise Science
Kathleen Mellano headshot
  • Doctor of Philosophy, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 2019
  • Master of Science, Miami University, Oxford, OH, 2015
  • Bachelor of Science, Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, TX, 2012

Kathleen Mellano is in her first year as an assistant professor at Springfield College. She teaches graduate-level sport and exercise psychology courses and supervises applied sport psychology internship. Mellano was recognized for her teaching at Michigan State University where she was awarded the Excellence-In-Teaching Citation. She also has extensive work as a sport psychology consultant to collegiate teams, competitive youth athletes, and coaches in the community. Her research interests cohere around interpersonal relationships and achievement motivation with a particular interest in the role of teammates. Recent work has focused on how peers may foster or undermine sport-related motivation and well-being.

Research Interests
  • Social motivational processes in sport and physical activity
  • Peer/teammate relationships in youth sport
  • Peer motivational climate and athlete well-being
  • Socioenvironmental ties to athlete burnout
Courses Taught
  • AEXS 678 - Sport and Exercise Psychology
  • AEXS 685 - Seminar in Psychometrics
  • AEXS 689 - Internship in Sport and Exercise Psychology
Certifications and Memberships
  • Member - Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP)
  • Member - North American Society for Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity (NASPSPA)
  • Member - International Society for Sport Psychology (ISSP)
  • Member - American Psychological Association Division 47 (APA)
  • Member - Canadian Society for Psychomotor Learning and Sport Psychology (SCAPPS)
Presentations

Mellano, K. T., & Smith, A.L. (2018). Peer relationship profiles and the association of the perceived motivational climate with well-being in adolescent athletes. Presentation at the annual conference of the Canadian Society for Psychomotor Learning and Sport Psychology, Toronto, Canada.

Mellano, K. T., & Smith, A.L. (2017). Peer-created motivational climate and motivation of adolescent soccer players. Presentation at the annual conference of the Canadian Society for Psychomotor Learning and Sport Psychology, St. John’s, Canada.

Weinberg, R. S., Butt, J., Mellano, K. T., & Harmison, R. J. (2017). The stability of mental toughness across situations: Taking a social-cognitive approach. Presentation at the meeting of the International Society of Sport Psychology (ISSP). Sevilla, Spain.

Pacewicz, C. E., Mellano, K. T., & Smith, A. L. (2017). A meta-analytic review of the relationship between social constructs and athlete burnout. Presented at the 50th North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity Conference, San Diego, CA.

Mellano, K. T. & Horn, T.S. (2016). A longitudinal investigation of burnout levels in collegiate athletes: Exploring links with perceived coaching styles and behaviors. Presentation at the 49th North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity Conference, Montreal, Canada.

Weinberg, R. S., Freysinger, V. J., Mellano, K. T., & Brookhouse, E. (2015). Mental toughness: Issues, applications, and future directions. Presentation at the 14th European Congress of Sport Psychology Conference, Bern, Switzerland, and 30th Annual Conference of the Association for Applied Sport Psychology, Indianapolis, IN.

Mellano, K. T. (2018). The social narrative of sport: Why our peers are leading characters. Keynote presentation at Southwest University’s Doctoral Students International Forum on Education, Chongqing, China.

Mellano, K. T. & Nalepa, J. (2018). Challenges facing today’s high school athletic directors. Presentation at the Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association Workshop. Mount Pleasant, MI

Mellano, K. T. (2018). Sport psychology consulting and what it does for a coach and team. Presentation at the Institute for the Study of Youth Sports Coaching Week. East Lansing, MI.

Mellano, K. T. & Gould, D. (2018). Dealing with high maintenance teammates. Presentation at the 23rd Women in Sports Leadership Conference, Lansing, MI.

Mellano, K. T. & DiSanti, J. S. (2016). Timeout toolbox: Mental skills for coaches. Presentation at The Institute for the Study of Youth Sports Summer Coaches’ School. East Lansing, MI.

Publications

Pacewicz, C. E., Mellano, K. T., & Smith, A. L. (2019). A meta-analytic review of the relationship between social constructs and athlete burnout. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 43, 155-164.

Weinberg, R. S., Butt, J., Mellano, K. T., & Harmison, R. J. (2017). The stability of mental toughness across situations: Taking a social-cognitive approach. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 48(3), 280-302.

Weinberg, R. S., Freysinger, V. J., & Mellano, K. T. (2016). How can coaches build mental toughness? Views from sport psychologists. Journal of Sport Psychology in Action, 1-10.

Weinberg, R. S., Freysinger, V. J., Mellano, K. T., & Brookhouse, E. (2016). Building mental toughness: Perceptions of sport psychologists. The Sport Psychologist 30(3), 231-241.

Smith, A. L., Mellano, K. T., & Ullrich-French, S. (2019). Peer relationships. In T. S. Horn & A. L. Smith (Eds.), Advances in Sport and Exercise Psychology (4th ed., pp. 133-150). Chicago, IL: Human Kinetics.

Mellano, K. T., Elber, A., Compton, B. & Himmelstein, D. (2018). Issue 3: Sport & refugee populations. Thematic Volume: Sport and Social Justice through a Socio-cultural Lens. APA Division 47 Sport Psych Works 6(3).

Mellano, K. T. (2018). Considerations for peer relationships in sport: Examining the supportive characters in our athletic story. Michigan High School Athletic Association GamePlans Magazine 9(4).