Dr. Samuel Roy David
Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology
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Dr. Roy David Samuel is a consultant, researcher, and lecturer in the psychology of sport, exercise, and performance. He is a licensed psychologist accredited by the Israeli Ministry of Health and the International Society of Sport Psychology (Member of the ISSP Practitioner and Supervisor Registry).
He holds a BA in Psychology and Philosophy from Tel Aviv University, an MSc in Sport Psychology from Liverpool John Moores University (UK), and a PhD in Sport Psychology from Florida State University (USA), where he also served for several years as an adjunct lecturer. His doctoral dissertation examined changes in athletes’ careers (e.g., injuries and transitions between competitive levels) among athletes across different performance levels. As part of this work, he developed a conceptual framework describing change processes in sport careers and a corresponding measurement tool.
Dr. Samuel’s research focuses on changes and transitions in sport careers, adaptation processes, and the psychological support of athletes during periods of change. His work also addresses career processes, decision-making, and mental preparation among football referees. He is a leading researcher in these areas, and his work has been published in leading sport psychology journals. He also serves as a reviewer for several journals and has previously served as an associate editor of the International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, an editorial board member of Case Studies in Sport and Performance Psychology, and a guest editor for special issues in other journals.
Dr. Samuel teaches in the MA program in Social Psychology, in the Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology track at Reichman University, where he teaches several courses, including the practicum in sport psychology.
In addition to his academic work, Dr. Samuel serves as a professional consultant to leading sport organizations in Israel, including the Elite Sport Unit of the Israel Olympic Committee, the Israel Football Referees Association, Athena (the national program for the promotion of women’s sport), the Otzma Center, and Ayelet. He also coordinates sport psychology services in the Medix chain of sports medicine centers, which provides services to athletes at various levels, including professional teams and Olympic athletes. -
Samuel, R. D., & Stambulova, N. (2025). Editorial 2. Working with sport clients in transitions: Practitioners’ interventions with individual clients. Journal of Sport Psychology in Action, 16:2, 87–90. https://doi.org/10.1080/21520704.2025.2463736
Stambulova, N., & Samuel, R. D. (2025). Editorial 1. Working with sport clients in transitions: Interventions with diverse clients conducted by teams of practitioners. Journal of Sport Psychology in Action, 16:1, 1–4. https://doi.org/10.1080/21520704.2025.2446080
Webb, T., Hancock, D. J., Weston, M., Warner, S., Helsen, W. F., MacMahon, C., Brick, N., Samuel, R. D., & Tingle, J. K. (2025). The future for sport officiating research: an expert statement.
Managing Sport and Leisure. https://doi.org/10.1080/23750472.2025.2468711Samuel, R. D., Hochman, G., & Galily, Y. (2025). The “silent” noise: Moving forward from bias to noise in football referees’ decision-making. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1080/1612197X.2025.2453462
Stambulova, N., Samuel, R. D., & Schinke, R. (2025). Working with sport clients in transitions: A commentary on where we are and where to go next. Journal of Sport Psychology in Action.
Samuel, R. D., Galily, Y., Englert, C., & Basevitch, I. (2024). Football referees issue more yellow cards following VAR interventions – Mental, tactical, and performance considerations. International Journal of Sports Science and Coaching
Samuel, R. D., & Galily, Y. (2024). The delicate balance between achieving greatness and respecting legends: Lebron James, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and the case of breaking records in sports. Asian Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajsep.2024.10.001
Samuel, R. D., Galily, Y., & Tenenbaum, G. (2024). Reshaping sport performers' careers: Lessons from the 2023–2024 war in Israel. Asian Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajsep.2024.10.002
Samuel, R. D. (2024). Adaptation to change: A case study of a sailor who experienced multiple career change events and became a world champion. The Sport Psychologist. https://doi.org/10.1123/tsp.2024-0022
Samuel, R. D., Filho, E., & Galily, Y. (2024). Attention allocation in elite football refereeing: conceptual, empirical, and applied considerations. Journal of Cognitive Psychology. https://doi.org/ 10.1080/20445911.2024.2345407
Samuel, R. D., Englert, C., Basevitch, I., & Galily, Y. (2024). The effects of VAR interventions on self-rated mental fatigue and self-rated performance of football referees. International Journal of Performance Analysis in Sport, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/24748668.2024.2340195
Samuel, R. D., Stambulova, N., Galily, Y., & Tenenbaum, G. (2023). Adaptation to change: A meta-model of adaptation in sport. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/1612197X.2023.2168726
Samuel, R. D., Aragão e Pina, J., Galily, Y., Travassos, B., Hochman, G., Figueiredo, P., & Tenenbaum, G. (2023). The effects of the 2020-2021 Coronavirus pandemic change-event on football refereeing: Evidence from the Israeli and Portuguese leagues. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 21(1), 33–55. https://doi.org/10.1080/1612197X.2021.2025139
Samuel, R. D.,& Brom, D. (2023). Potential applications of Somatic Experiencing® in applied sport psychology. Journal of Sport Psychology in Action, 14(2), 97–109. https://doi.org/10.1080/21520704.2022.2119318
Galily, Y., Samuel, R. D., Tenenbaum, G., Filho, E., eds. (2021). The psychology of sport, performance and ethics. Lausanne: Frontiers Media SA.
https://doi.org/10.3389/978-2-88966-679-9Galily, Y., Samuel, R. D., Filho, E., & Tenenbaum, G. (2021). Editorial: The psychology of sport, performance and ethics. Frontiers in Psychology, 12:658457.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.658457Samuel, R. D., Eldadi, O., Galily, Y., & Tenenbaum, G. (2021). Mobility and migration experiences of transnational coaches within the Israeli handball context. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2020.101853
Samuel, R. D., Tenenbaum, G., & Galily, Y. (2021). An integrated conceptual framework of decision-making in soccer refereeing. International Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 19(5), 738-760. https://doi.org/10.1080/1612197X.2020.1766539
Samuel, R. D. (2021). Transitions and change in the sport career. In E. Filho & I. Basevitch (Eds.), Sport, Exercise and Performance Psychology: Research directions to advance the field (pp. 287–300). Oxford University Press USA. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780197512494.003.0019
Samuel R. D., Tenenbaum, G., & Galily, Y. (2020). The 2020 Coronavirus pandemic as a change-event in sport performers’ careers: Conceptual and applied practice considerations. Frontiers in Psychology, 11:567966. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.567966
Samuel, R. D., Matzkin, G., Gal, S., & Englert, C. (2020). The “10 Mentality:” A longitudinal case study of self-control strength in two competitive recurve archers. Case Studies in Sport and Exercise Psychology, 4(1), 142-151.https://doi.org/10.1123/cssep.2020-0021
Samuel, R. D., Galily, Y., Filho, E., & Tenenbaum, G. (2020). Implementation of the video assistant referee (VAR) as a career change-event: The Israeli Premier League case study. Frontiers in Psychology, 11:564855. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.564855
Samuel, R. D., Stambulova, N., & Ashkenazi, Y. (2020). Cultural transition of the Israeli men’s U18 national handball team migrated to Germany: A case study. Sport in Society, 23(4), 697–716. https://doi.org/10.1080/17430437.2019.1565706
Samuel, R. D., Basevitch, I., Wildikan, L., Prosoli, R., & McDonald, K. (2020). Please stop changing the rules! The modifications of judo regulations as a change-event in judokas’ and coaches’ careers. Sport in Society, 23(4), 774–794. https://doi.org/10.1080/17430437.2019.1669911
Samuel, R. D. (2020). Referees: Developmental, performance, and training considerations. In M. Bertollo, E. Filho, & P. Terry (Eds.), Advancements in mental skills training (pp. 249–267). Routledge.
Stambulova, N., & Samuel, R. D. (2020). Career transitions. In D. Hackfort and R. Schinke (Eds.), The Routledge international encyclopedia of sport and exercise psychology - talent and career section, Vol. 2 (pp. 119–133). Routledge.
Samuel, R. D., Galily, Y., Guy, O., Sharoni, E., & Tenenbaum, G. (2019). A decision-making simulator for soccer referees. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, 14(4), 480–489. https://doi.org/10.1177/1747954119858696
Samuel, R. D. (2019). Soccer referees' transition to the Premier League: A case study reflecting individual experiences and consultancy. Case Studies in Sport and Exercise Psychology, 3(1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1123/cssep.2018-0017
Samuel, R. D.,Hirschfeld‐Dicker, L., Tiram Vakrat, E., & Dubnov‐Raz, G. (2019). Preferred weight‐related terminology by parents of children with obesity. Acta Paediatrica, 108(4), 712–717. https://doi.org/10.1111/apa.14538
Samuel, R. D., Englert, C., Zhang, Q., & Basevitch, I. (2018). Hi ref, are you in control? Self-control, ego-depletion, and performance in soccer referees. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 38, 167–175. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2018.06.009
Samuel, R. D., Roy, J., Lew, P., Arnon, M., & Tenenbaum, G. (2018). A New Approach in Evaluating Athletes' Pre-Performance Mental States in an Applied Context. Journal of Contemporary Athletics, 12, 31–47.
Samuel, R. D. (2017). Training prospective soccer referees using a deliberate practice perspective: The Israeli excellence program. Journal of Sport Psychology in Action, 8(3), 184–196. https://doi.org/10.1080/21520704.2017.1287798
Samuel, R. D., Zavdy, O., Levav, M., Reuveny, R., Katz, U., & Dubnov-Raz, G. (2017). The effects of maximal intensity exercise on cognitive performance in children. Journal of Human Kinetics, 57, 85–96. https://doi.org/10.1515/hukin-2017-0050
Samuel, R. D., Galily, Y., & Tenenbaum, G. (2017). Who are you, ref? Defining the soccer referee's career using a change-based perspective. International Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 15(2), 118–130. https://doi.org/10.1080/1612197X.2015.1079792
Samuel, R. D., Tenenbaum, G., & Gil Bar-Mecher, H. (2016). The Olympic Games as a career change-event: Israeli athletes' and coaches' perceptions of London 2012. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 24, 38–47. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2016.01.003
Samuel, R. D. (2015). A psychological preparation framework for elite soccer referees: A practitioner's perspective. Journal of Sport Psychology in Action, 6(3), 170–187. https://doi.org/10.1080/21520704.2015.1065938
Samuel, R. D., Tenenbaum, G., Mangel, E., Virshuvski, R. Chen, T., & Badir, A. (2015). Athletes' experiences of severe injuries as a career change-event. Journal of Sport Psychology in Action, 6(2), 99–120. https://doi.org/10.1080/21520704.2015.1012249
Samuel, R. D. (2013). Counseling athletes in career change-events: Applying the Scheme of Change for Sport Psychology Practice. Journal of Sport Psychology in Action, 4(3), 152–168. https://doi.org/10.1080/21520704.2013.804015
Samuel, R. D., & Tenenbaum, G. (2013). Athletes' decision-making in career change-events. The Sport Psychologist, 27(1), 78–82. https://doi.org/10.1123/tsp.27.1.78
Samuel, R. D., & Tenenbaum, G. (2011). How do athletes perceive and respond to change-events: An exploratory measurement tool. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 12(4), 392–406. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2011.03.002
Samuel, R. D., & Tenenbaum, G. (2011). The role of change in athletes' careers: A scheme of change for sport psychology practice. The Sport Psychologist, 25(2), 233–252. https://doi.org/10.1123/tsp.25.2.233
Samuel, R. D., Kim, C., & Johnson, T. E. (2011). A study of a social annotation modeling learning system. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 45(1), 117–137. https://doi.org/10.2190/EC.45.1.f
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Dr. Roy David Samuel's website