I’m delighted to speak with Ben Freakley this week. Ben is a highly skilled and experienced sport psychology professional, helping athletes, coaches, and teams to achieve peak performance and reach their goals. Ben is also the founder of Ready.Set.Resilient. Ben has coached individuals, athletes, teams, soldiers, and businesses on the psychology of performance, leadership, team dynamics, and well-being for nearly 20 years. Along the way, Ben has been a NCAA Division I men’s soccer coach, mental performance coach for special operations forces, Head of Mental Performance for the Toronto Blue Jays and he now works in the MLS and USL. Ben holds master’s degrees in Sport Psychology and Sport Management from Georgia Southern University where he was an NCAA Division I athlete. He has a doctoral degree in Sport and Performance Psychology with an emphasis in Clinical Mental Health Counselling. Ben is a Certified Mental Performance Coach (CMPC) and member of the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP).  I talk to Ben about his experiences as both a coach and a sport psychology professional and we discuss the factors inherent in high performance coaching environments. 

I’m delighted to speak with Matthew Layton this week. Matt is head of youth development phase at Swansea City Football Club. He manages the multidisciplinary staff departments and the players within the youth development phase to support and coordinate their pathway throughout the programme into the professional development phase. Matt and I discuss a brilliant paper he co-wrote with Dr Jamie Taylor and Prof Dave Collins about the measurement, tracking and development practices of academies. The paper is available here https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02640414.2023.2289758 

I’m delighted to speak with Dr Sam Thrower this week. Sam is a Senior Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Psychology at Oxford Brookes University. His main research interests lie in the area of youth sport and specifically the psychosocial development of young athletes. He is particularly interested in topics such as parenting in sport, sport-confidence, motivational climates, stress and coping, and anti-doping in sport. Sam’s research in these areas has been published in a range of leading international journals including: ‘Psychology of Sport & Exercise’, ‘Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise & Health’, ‘Sport, Exercise & Performance Psychology’, ‘Journal of Applied Sport Psychology’ and 'Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology'. His current research focuses on parent-child interactions and the development, implementation, and evaluation of evidence-based sport parent education programmes. In this episode we discuss a paper Sam led about enhancing wellbeing, long-term development, and performance in youth sport.

I’m delighted to speak with Dr Shakiba Moghadam this week. Shakiba is a chartered psychologist with a specific focus on community psychology, as well as sport and exercise psychology. Shakiba currently lectures in psychology and Sport and Exercise psychology at Solent University.   Shakiba graduated with a first-class honours degree in BSc Psychology from the University of Portsmouth and completed her MSc in Sport and Exercise Psychology at the University of Portsmouth. Shakiba’s research predominantly focuses on mental health literacy and athlete mental health, experiences of women athletes in male dominated sports, human rights violations in sports, and the experiences of marginalised communities such as refugees and asylum seekers. She is one of four leads on the British Association of Sport and Exercise Science’s SEPAR equality, diversity, and inclusivity workshops where much of her work focuses on providing training on cultural competence in practice for upcoming sport and exercise psychologists. Shakiba is also the Chair of the British Psychological Society’s Human Rights Advisory Group.

This week I’m delighted to speak to Dr Charlie Corsby, Prof Robyn Jones and Dr Andy Lane. Charlie is a Senior Lecturer in Sport Coaching at Cardiff Metropolitan University. Charlie holds a UEFA ‘A’ Licence coaching qualification. Alongside his academic responsibilities, Charlie is the Head Coach for Cardiff Met FC BUCS1 programme.​ The focus of Charlie’s research relate to the everyday complexities and affairs of coaches, particularly relating to ‘influence’ and ‘control’ within the coaching context. Robyn is Professor of Sport and Social Theory and a former Associate Dean of Research at Cardiff Metropolitan University, UK. Robyn’s research area comprises a critical sociology of coaching in respect of examining the relational nature of the work, and how practitioners manage the power-ridden dilemmas that arise. The purpose is to generate critical insight into an important part of cultural life, namely that of sports participation, and how that complex experience is framed by coaches Andy is a Senior Lecturer in Sport Coaching at Cardiff Metropolitan University. He is currently the Programme Director for the BSc Sport Coaching Undergraduate degree and teaches across undergraduate and post graduate programmes. Andrew also currently supervises a number of post graduate students within coaching and coach education and is a member of the Schools Social Science ethics committee. We discuss a paper co-written by Charlie, Robyn and Andy entitled “Contending with vulnerability and uncertainty: what coaches say about coaching”.

I’m delighted to speak with Prof Chris Harwood this week. Chris is the Director of the Sport, Health and Performance Enhancement (SHAPE) Research Centre at Nottingham Trent University (NTU). He is a Professor of Sport Psychology at NTU where his research focuses on the psychosocial aspects of athlete development, wellbeing and performance including the roles of the coach, parents, and the wider social and organisational environment. Chris is particularly focused on the integration of psychological principles into youth sport settings and his applied research is characterised by working with the support system around young people. Chris is also prominent in the area of professional development, supervision and training of sport psychologists in the UK and international systems.  We speak about Chris’s research over the past 30 years, focusing on Achievement Goal Theory, Reflection-in-Action, and the 5 C’s: Commitment, Communication, Concentration, Control, and Confidence.

I am delighted to welcome back Dr Ian Peek in this episode. Ian has been a golf coach for 35 years. He is currently consulting with the Swiss Golf Federation supporting the coaches at national and regional level and supporting parents at some of the leading juniors in the country.   Ian helps his clients achieve their goals whether that’s transitioning to a new level of achievement or maintaining their position at the top of their sport or industry. Ian is also a PGA Master Professional - the highest educational level in The PGA - which recognises PGA Members who make a significant effort to improve themselves as golf professionals and maintain the highest degree of excellence for themselves and their operations. In this episode Ian and I discuss the mental health challenges that professional sport competitors face when competing at the very highest level of their game. 

In this episode I’m delighted to welcome back Prof Mark Williams and Prof Nicola Hodges to speak about skill acquisition in sport. Mark Williams is a Senior Research Scientist at The Institute of Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC)- a not-for-profit research institute of the Florida University System and is affiliated with several Florida universities. Mark was previously at the University of Utah, where he was professor and chairman of the Department of Health, Kinesiology, and Recreation. Mark has held various senior leadership positions Liverpool John Moores University, University of Sydney and Brunel University, London. Mark’s research interests focus on the neural and psychological mechanisms underpinning the acquisition and development of expertise. He has published almost 300 journal articles in peer-reviewed outlets in numerous fields including exercise and sports science Nikki is a Professor at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Vancouver in the School of Kinesiology. It is at UBC that Nikki runs the Motor Skills Laboratory where she studies the mechanisms of motor skill learning. Her research focuses on processes involved in watching, learning and predicting from others and how practice should be best structured to bring about long-term enhancement of motor skills and high-level performance (particularly in sport). She has been involved in sport-consulting and she has published over 100 peer-reviewed articles and chapters.

I’m delighted to speak with Dr Daniel Fortin-Guichard this week. Daniel works as a Postdoc fellow at the University of Toronto where he specialises in talent identification research through psychological characteristics. Daniel received his PhD from Université Laval in psychology with a specialty in perceptual-cognitive skills in sports. In parallel with his thesis, Daniel worked with the Quebec Remparts hockey team as an advisor to the scouting staff. Each year, Daniel travelled the Province of Quebec and the Maritimes with the scouts to measure the players' psychological and perceptual-cognitive skills. In this episode we discuss a paper that Daniel led which looked at the identification of “sleeping” talent using psychological characteristics.

In this episode I’m joined by Dr Keith McShan and Dr Whitney Moore. We talk about coach-athlete relationships. Keith is Assistant Professor of Kinesiology at Missouri State University. Before joining MSU, Keith was an active high school basketball and football coach in Canada. Keith has worked for organisations such as Football Canada, Duke University Men’s Basketball Camp, and the Corporation of the City of Windsor. Keith is an active member of the North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity (NASPSPA) and The Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP). Keith is the current faculty advisor for the Kinesiology Research and Career (KRC) Club.  Whitney is Assistant Professor in the Department of Kinesiology at East Carolina University. Prior to this, Whitney was an Assistant Professor at the University of North Texas and an Associate Professor at Wayne State University. Whitney previously owned and was the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach for MOORE Training. Her company focused on providing high-quality training for youth and adults. In this episode we discuss a fascinating paper Keith and Whitney edited entitled “A systematic Review of the Coach-Athlete Relationship From the Coaches’ Perspective”.

I’m excited to speak with Dr Mark Aoyagi this week. Mark is the Co-Director of the Master’s programme in Sport and Performance Psychology and Professor in the Graduate School of Professional Psychology at the University of Denver. He is also the founder of the Center for Performance Excellence. Mark’s areas of expertise include performance excellence, team effectiveness, and achieving meaning, satisfaction and fulfilment through sport, work, and life. He is a recognised sport psychology consultant and has worked with several professional and Olympic teams and athletes as well as NCAA athletic departments and developmental athletes. Mark is active in several professional organizations including the International Society for Sport Psychology, American Psychological Association (APA) and the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP). In this episode Mark and I speak about theories of performance excellence.

In this episode I’m joined by Dr Alison Maitland and Jenna Ashford to talk about their new book “Drop the Struggle: A Transformative Approach to Achieving Your Potential in Sport and Life”. Alison is a widely recognised and experienced HCPC registered and BASES accredited Sport Psychologist. She has a PhD in elite sport and uses her expertise in human performance in a wide range of settings in sport and businesses around the world. Alison has helped elite athletes achieve World Championship titles and Olympic success. Jenna is a Chartered Sport and Exercise Psychologist and Performance Consultant, working with top athletes, CEO's at global companies and within sectors including education and healthcare. Jenna is also a passionate sportswoman and represented England Hockey and played in premier league teams all over the world. Their book, “Drop the Struggle” is based on scientifically proven techniques from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and takes a radically new look at the mental side of reaching your potential in sport. It has been written for athletes, coaches and anyone wanting to achieve more and provides a practical kitbag of ways to succeed. It will teach you a sustainable way of dealing with difficult thoughts, managing your emotions and harnessing them to help you perform to the best of your ability.

In this episode I’m joined by Dr James Munnik and Prof Leon Van Niekerk. James is a Counselling Psychology Lecturer at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. James has worked with a number of athletes in his own private practice as a high performance mental coach in psychotherapy and counselling. He has special interests in sport/exercise psychology research and Rational Emotive Behavioural Therapy (REBT) theory and practice. Leon is a Professor of Psychology at University of Fort Hare in South Africa. He is a registered Counselling Psychologist and has his own psychology consultancy practice where he focuses on the provision of sport psychological services to individual athletes and teams. Leon’s research interests are in the psychological well-being of athletes. This includes topics such as the development of mental toughness, sport identity and life roles, burnout, stress and anxiety among athletes, the effectiveness of mindfulness during competition, mental health in sport and the psychological health benefits of exercise. In this episode we discuss a paper entitled “Recommendations for Integrating Psychological Skills Training (PST) into Rational Emotive Behavioural Therapy (REBT)” which was led by James and co-written by Dr Martin Turner and Leon.

On this week’s episode I speak to Dr Chris Mesagno. Chris is a sport psychologist, a Senior Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Psychology at Victoria University, and a Research Fellow at the Institute for Health and Sport, Victoria University.  Chris has over 20 years of research expertise in stress, anxiety, attention and concentration skills and has successfully developed theory-matched interventions to improve performance for highly anxious and “choking-susceptible” athletes. Chris also worked, and continues to work, with numerous athletes from a range of team and individual sports to enhance mental skills for better performance and mental health outcomes. Chris maintains a robust academic research profile with more than 50 research articles and book chapters and has given various presentations at national and international conferences. This international research profile has been recognised with awards and keynote conference presentations within sport and exercise psychology. In this episode we focus on a paper led by Dr Peter Gröpel and co-written by Chris entitled “Choking interventions in sports: A systematic review”. The purpose of the paper is to provide an overview of studies that have tested interventions used to alleviate choking. The results of the paper may help athletes and coaches select and implement effective strategies and methods to improve performance under pressure.

In this episode I’m joined by Dr Ella McLoughlin and Dr Rachel Arnold. We discuss a paper that was led by Ella which examines how stressors influence sport performers’ health, well-being, and performance. Ella is a Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Psychology at Nottingham Trent University. Her research interests span the topics of lifetime stressor exposure, the enhancement of health, well-being, and performance, and psychophysiological responses to acute stressors among athletes. Ella is a member of the Sport, Health, and Performance Enhancement (SHAPE) Research Centre. She has published in peer-reviewed journals in the area of stress, health, and performance and has presented her work at national and international conferences. Rachel is the Academic Director (Doctoral) and a Reader in Sport and Performance Psychology at the University of Bath. Rachel is a Chartered Psychologist and Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society, registered Practitioner Psychologist with the Health and Care Professions Council, accredited Sport and Exercise Scientist with the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences, Chartered Scientist with The Science Council, and Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Rachel’s research looks at how individuals and organisations can optimally manage stress to enable thriving, predominantly in sport but also in high pressure domains. She has published widely in leading peer-reviewed journals on the area of stress, performance, and well-being.

I’m excited to speak with Dr Steve Ingham this week. Steve has spent his career immersed in high performance having provided support to over 1000 athletes, of which over 200 have achieved World or Olympic medal success, including some of the world’s greatest athletes such as Jessica Ennis-Hill, Sir Steve Redgrave and Sir Matthew Pinsent. He also coached Kelly Sotherton to Olympic and World medal winning success. Steve worked at the British Olympic Association as the Sports Science Manager and then English Institute of Sport as the Head of Physiology and then Director of Science and Technical Development where he led a team of 200 scientists in support of Team GB and Paralympics GB. Steve is the host of the brilliant Supporting Champions podcast which explores aspects of human performance. He is also an author, having written the best-selling ‘How to Support a Champion: The art of applying science to the elite athlete’ and ‘The First Hurdle: A guide to searching, applying and interviewing for jobs in sports performance’. Steve is a motivational speaker and consultant on the topic of 'high performance teams', having spoken at Google, McLaren, Elastic, Samsung, Legal and General. Steve and I discuss his journey as a sport scientist and leader, discussing the challenges he’s experienced along the way and the leadership processes he executed to help develop some of the world’s greatest athletes.

I’m joined by Dr Jon Rhodes in this episode. Jon is an Associate Lecturer in Motivational Psychology and Sport Psychology at the University of Plymouth. Jon is also a Chartered Cognitive Psychologist and is co-developer of Functional Imagery Training (FIT) which is a unique approach to behaviour change that uses mental imagery to motivate change. FIT teaches people new ways of thinking about their immediate future to help them stay motivated as they achieve each small step towards their goal. Jon has written about FIT in his new book “The Choice Point: The Scientifically Proven Method for Achieving Your Goals” co-written with Joanna Grover. The book describes how FIT can help us lengthen our Choice Point: that moment when we say to ourselves, 'Am I going to make the healthy decision, or am I going to choose to take an action that I know will undermine my success?'. Merging mindfulness, motivational interviewing and cognitive behavioural therapy into a user-friendly model, The Choice Point grants us control of the decisions that define us.

I’m delighted to speak to Dr Carla Edwards in this week’s episode. Carla is a psychiatrist whose practice focuses on the treatment of mental illness and psychological struggles in athletes.   Carla completed her Bachelor of Science and Masters’ degrees in Chemistry at Mount Allison University. While completing her degrees, she also competed on their varsity volleyball team, accumulating such awards as Conference Rookie of the Year and First Team All Star for each of her five years of competition. She was inducted into the Newfoundland and Labrador Sport Hall of Fame in 2015. Carla obtained her medical degree at Memorial University of Newfoundland before completing a psychiatry residency at McMaster University. She has been an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences at McMaster University since 2005.  Carla is President at the International Society for Sports Psychiatry which aims to carry the science and practice of psychiatry to the athletic community, so that all people may enjoy the benefits of healthy participation in sports. The Society develops the field of sports psychiatry and advocates for mental health and wellness in sports. Carla also holds leadership positions with the Canadian Academy of Sports and Exercise Medicine, Student Athlete Mental Health Initiative, and U SPORTS. Additionally, Carla is involved with the Safe Sport International Athlete Working Group, the Canadian Football League mental health program and the NCAA Mental Health Advisory Group. Drawing from her extensive experience working with athletes Carla has written a paper entitled “Athlete Maltreatment in Sport” which we discuss in detail. You can find the paper here: https://www.sportsmed.theclinics.com/article/S0278-5919(23)00068-6/fulltext

I’m delighted to speak to licensed clinical and sport psychologist, Dr Mitch Greene in this week’s episode. Mitch is Adjunct Instructor in Temple University’s College of Public Health. He completed his PhD in clinical psychology and worked in family therapy before moving into sport psychology. He is now the sport psychology consultant to several athletic departments, endurance coaches and national race series.  Mitch has written a fantastic book from his time both as a sport psychologist and an athlete himself entitled “Courage over Confidence: Managing Mind Chatter and Winning the Mental Game”. In the book, Mitch explodes one of the field’s most common and malicious myths - that confidence is a prerequisite for athletic success. Stating that the evidence shows that most athletes find it nearly impossible to sustain positive thinking when their minds are riddled with mind chatter - that unwelcome, doom and gloom self-conversation that crops up in high-stakes competitions. Chatter-filled athletes will excel in practice but struggle to perform on game day and they will fear the stakes of losing despite having trained to compete at their best. The clear instructions in Courage over Confidence provide guidance for managing mind chatter and a method for “joining forces” with that negative voice rather than battling it. With courage over confidence, good players can learn to become great competitors.

I’m delighted to speak to Dr Billy Low in this week’s episode. Billy is Assistant Professor at the School of Sport and Exercise at Heriot-Watt University. Billy completed his PhD at the University of Essex on the topic of pressure training. We take a deep dive into pressure training and discuss a fascinating paper Billy led on the subject along with Dr Mike Stoker, Prof Joanne Butt and Prof Ian Maynard entitled “Pressure Training: From Research to Applied Practice”. The purpose of the paper is to guide coaches and sport psychology practitioners in conducting pressure training at both elite and lower levels of sport. The paper includes steps for conducting pressure training effectively. Based on research and applied practice, the recommendations address how to create pressure and how to establish training environments that are conducive to pressure training. Each recommendation describes a principle that can guide practitioners and coaches as they tailor pressure training to specific sports and levels of competition.

In this episode I’m joined by Dr Brendan SueSee and Dr Shane Pill. We continue the conversation on the spectrum of teaching styles from episode 232. Shane is one of Australia's leading coach educators and developers, and thought leaders in physical education. He is Associate Professor in Physical Education and Sport at Flinders University. Shane's research is in the fields of sport coaching and physical education curriculum and pedagogy, and education leadership. He has authored over 150 peer reviewed and scholarly articles. Brendan is a senior Lecturer in Health and Physical Education at University of Southern Queensland. His interests are in the Spectrum of Teaching Styles and Physical Education Pedagogy. Prior to lecturing, Brendan was a high school physical education teacher for over 20 years. Brendan and Shane take us through the Spectrum of Teaching Styles and break each one down as it applies to sports coaches – a topic they have written about in the brilliant book they have co-written called The Spectrum of Sport Coaching Styles.

I’m delighted to welcome back licensed clinical psychologist and sport psychologist, Dr Scott Goldman in this episode. Scott started out at the University of Arizona where was one of the first embedded sport psychologists in an athletic department. He has since served as a clinical and performance psychologist for the University of Michigan and Saint Louis’ Athletic Departments. Scott also helped co-author the best practices for the NCAA and was part of their first mental health task force.   Scott has worked as sport psychologist for the Miami Dolphins and Detroit Lions NFL teams and NBA teams Washington Wizards, and currently the Golden State Warriors and Minnesota Vikings.   Scott has also developed a test called the AIQ which measures sport-specific intelligence that is used across all 5 major leagues in the US as well as in other countries around the world. Scott shares his considerable knowledge with us on the topic of leadership and we take a deep dive into the different leadership styles.  

This week I’m delighted to speak to Cailie McGuire and Dr Daniel Brown about thriving in sport. Cailie is in her final year of her PhD at Queen’s University. Her research interest is in sport psychology, specifically team dynamics: looking at how teammates interact with one another and how that influences individual and collective outcomes. Cailie’s PhD specifically focuses on the importance of building trust between teammates, coaches and support staff to promote athlete thriving. Dan is a senior lecturer in Sport and Exercise Psychology at the University of Portsmouth and leads the undergraduate programme in Sport and Exercise Psychology there. He is a Chartered Psychologist of the British Psychological Society and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Dan’s research centres on the psychology of human excellence and well-being (thriving). Cailie and Dan have written a paper along with Dr Desmond McEwan, Dr Rachel Arnold and Dr Luc Martin and led by Cailie entitled “Thriving together: conceptual and methodological considerations for examining thriving in interdependent sport”. Cailie and Dan take us through the paper and what it means in practice for coaches.

I’m delighted to speak to Dr Andrew Kirkland in this week’s episode. Andrew is a Lecturer in Sports Coaching at the University of Stirling. He is also a member of the General University Ethics Panel, a Chartered Scientist and a BASES Accredited Sport and Exercise Scientist (support & pedagogy). Andrew has worked as a sport physiologist and coach developer at British Cycling and supports others in developing performance environments. Andrew's research philosophy is driven by impact and translation of research into practice. Specifically, he uses Implementation and Behavioural Change Science to explore mental health in sport, 'merging' his practical experience with evidence-based practice with the aim of helping others to develop more effective sporting systems. We discuss a range of topics related to Andrew’s research and experience, including biopsychosocial factors influencing engagement and performance and the mental health of athletes.

I’m delighted to welcome Dr Jerry Lynch and John O’Sullivan back to the show. Jerry is a performance, leadership and coaching expert helping people of all ages and abilities in all arenas of performance to develop the qualities of courage, integrity, fearlessness, tenacity, patience, persistence in order to overcome mental and emotional blocks. Jerry helps individuals and teams to create confidence, mental toughness, inspiration and empowerment for competitive events and to better navigate the unchartered waters of life. He has worked with athletes and teams at universities such as The University of North Carolina, Duke, Maryland, Oregon State, Stanford, Harvard, and more. John is an internationally known speaker for coaches, parents and youth sports organisations, and has spoken for TEDx, the US Olympic Committee, US Soccer, USA Wrestling, USA Swimming, Ireland Rugby, Australian Rugby League and at numerous events around the world. John’s work has been featured by CNN, Outside Magazine, ESPN, NBC Sports and numerous other media entities. John’s background as an athlete and coach led him to start the Changing the Game project with the mission to put the ‘play’ back into ‘play ball’ by providing parents and coaches with the information and resources they need to make sport a healthy, positive, and rewarding experience for their children. John is also a bestselling author and he has teamed up with Jerry for his latest “The Champion Teammate: Timeless Lessons to Connect, Compete and Lead in Sports and Life”. In this fantastic book Jerry and John share wisdom accrued from decades of consultation with well over 100 conference, national, and world championship teams and dozens of Hall of Fame coaches; interviews with hundreds of athletes, coaches, and leadership experts on their Way of Champions Podcast; and hundreds of workshops on being an exceptional teammate, leader, coach, and parent. This book offers a powerful approach to help build better relationships, practice effective leadership, and develop the competitive prowess needed to be an exceptional teammate. Through numerous stories of modern-day athletes, as well as time-honoured lessons garnered from Eastern philosophy, Western psychology, and Native American tradition, this book will guide and mentor you in creating an environment where you and your teammates can connect, compete, and thrive in sports and in life.

I’m delighted to speak to Dr Elizabeth King in this week’s episode. Elizabeth is recognised as a one of Australia’s leading authorities on leadership development. Over the last three decades, she has worked as an advisor, mentor, executive coach, and facilitator, focusing on organisational, team and individual performance in disruptive contexts. Elizabeth has worked with some of the region’s biggest companies, designing and delivering solutions that build the competencies and culture required for navigating complexity. Her PhD thesis "Developing Leaders to perform in uncertainty" provides insight into the challenges facing leaders who are navigating increasing levels of systemic pervasive change and resultant uncertainty. It explores the role that mindfulness might play in developing leaders and their organisations to succeed in such conditions by addressing the challenge of how to develop leaders to perform in uncertainty. Elizabeth has also written a best-selling book on mindfulness in the workplace entitled "Buddha in Pinstripes". In this episode we discuss a brilliant research paper Elizabeth led about navigating team resilience.

In this episode, I’m delighted to be joined by Prof Marc Jones, Dr Carla Meijen and Dr Martin Turner. We discuss The Theory of Challenge and Threat States in Athletes (TCTSA) which provides a psychophysiological framework for how athletes anticipate motivated performance situations. Marc led the original research, along with Carla, in 2009 proposing this theory. Marc, Carla and Martin have conducted many years of research on Challenge and Threat states within a number of competitive environments, including sporting environments. Marc is a Professor of Psychology at Manchester Metropolitan University. He is interested in stress, health and performance and particularly how people perform under pressure. Marc is a registered Sport and Exercise Psychologist and a Chartered Psychologist. Carla is a registered Sport and Exercise Psychologist and Associate Professor in Applied Psychology at St Mary’s University, London where she also leads the MSc in applied Sport Psychology. Carla’s research focuses predominantly on the psychological demands of endurance performance, stress in sport and Challenge and Threat states. Martin is a Reader in Psychology at Manchester Metropolitan University specialising in stress and emotion in performance situations. Martin is particularly interested in the psychophysiological reactions to pressured performance and how research can be used to help individuals reach their potential. 

I’m delighted to speak to educator and author Doug Lemov on this week’s episode. Doug is a former teacher and school principal. Doug’s international bestselling book “Teach like a Champion”, now in its third edition, describes techniques used by exceptional teachers. It has sold more than a million copies and is responsible for transforming classrooms around the world. In his book “The Coach’s Guide to Teaching” Doug brings his considerable knowledge about the science of classroom teaching to the sports coaching world to create championship calibre coaches on the court and field. In this episode Doug and I speak about improving players’ ability to ‘read the game’. Specifically, Doug shares his theory that helping players to develop their reading of the game is similar to helping people to learn to read text. Doug discusses three factors that he feels are crucial for quick and accurate game reading: fluency, vocabulary, and knowledge. Together, we unpack these factors and bring to life how coaches can utilise them in practice.

This week I’m delighted to speak to Dr Kathryn Johnston and Prof Joe Baker. Kathryn currently works at the School of Kinesiology and Health Sciences at York University, Canada as a lecturer and postdoctoral fellow. She teaches a business administration in sport course, and a sport psychology course. Kathryn previously worked with student athletes from a developmental and wellness perspective supporting students during difficult transitions. Joe is the Head of the Lifespan Performance Laboratory in the School of Kinesiology and Health Science, at York University. Joe’s research focuses on optimal human development, largely to understand how someone gets to, and stays at, the highest levels of performance. Kathryn and Joe have co-authored a paper along with Alexander McAuley and Dr Adam Kelly entitled “Language games and blurry terminology: Can clarity enhance athlete development?” and it’s this fascinating paper that we discuss in this episode. 

This week I’m delighted to speak to Prof Andrew Lane and Prof Greg Whyte OBE. Greg is an Olympian in modern pentathlon, and is a European and World Championship medallist. Greg is a Professor of Applied Sport and Exercise Science at Liverpool John Moore’s University and Director of Performance at the Centre for Health and Human Performance. Greg's former roles include Director of Research for the British Olympic Association and Director of Science & Research for the English Institute of Sport. In 2014 Greg was awarded an OBE for his services to Sport, Sport Science and Charity, and was voted as one of the Top 10 Science Communicators in the UK by the British Science Council. Andy is a BASES accredited Sport and Exercise Scientist, a Chartered Sport Psychologist registered with the HCPC, and a Professor of Sport Psychology at the University of Wolverhampton. Andy completed his undergraduate, Masters degree and PhD before becoming a lecturer at Brunel University. He then moved to the University of Wolverhampton where he progressed from Senior Lecturer to Associate Dean. Andy is responsible for developing and implementing a research strategy for staff and doctoral students. Greg, Andy and I discuss the psychology of endurance and we speak about Greg’s incredible documentary ‘Unstoppable: Inside the Mind of the Extreme Athlete’.

I’m excited to speak with Dr Peter Sear in this episode. Peter is the founder of The Empathic Minds Organisation, a company working with coaches and leaders to help their teams and organisations achieve their needs and goals. Specifically assisting in areas such as increasing productivity; developing great leadership; developing cohesive teams; and improving communication.  Peter has a background in psychology and is interested in emotional environments within organisations and the influence of empathic leadership. He completed his PhD in Empathic Leadership of teams in sport. Peter has just released a book on this subject entitled “Empathic Leadership: Lessons from Elite Sport” drawing on his extensive research and experience incorporating the words of leaders of teams to help to explain how empathy can help leaders be successful in their work. And it’s this fantastic book we speak about.

I’m delighted to speak with Dr Robin Taylor and Dr Jamie Taylor in this episode. Jamie is a senior coach developer at Grey Matters, a company specialising in performance enhancement and coaching development for individuals, sporting/cultural organisations and systems. Jamie is also Assistant Professor at Dublin City University working on their Performance programmes. He also coaches academy rugby union at Midlands Central academy.  Robin is an Assistant Professor in Elite Performance at Dublin City University. His research is focused on talent development and he is particularly interested in the holistic role family can play in the development of sporting talent. Robin is a Performance Centre Head Coach within the England Hockey Player Pathway and has worked closely with a range of NGBs and sports organisation supporting player and coach development, and parental engagement. We discuss a brilliant paper Robin and Jamie have written alongside Dr Michael Ashford and Dr Rosie Collins entitled “Contemporary pedagogy? The use of theory in practice: An evidence-informed perspective”.

I’m delighted to welcome back Amy Price in this episode. Amy works as a coach developer for the FA working with coaches in the senior women’s professional game – women’s super league, women’s championship, first team and under 21’s. Prior to this, Amy was a lecturer at St Mary’s University, London in Physical and Sport Education and then Programme Director. Amy holds a Masters and DProf and is nearing completion of her PhD in game understanding within team sport. We discuss a fascinating paper Amy has written alongside Prof Dave Collins entitled “Contributing to a Coaching Team’s Shared Mental Model of Player Game Understanding: An Intervention within High-Level Youth Soccer” which examines coaches’ views on levels of player understanding, checks the coherence of these views between the coaching team and provides coaching teams with tools to measure and build Shared Mental Models. 

I’m delighted to speak with Dr Matt Hoffmann in this episode. Matt is Assistant Professor in the Department of Kinesiology at California State University, Fullerton. He is primarily interested in examining the nature and benefits of high-quality peer athlete mentoring relationships. Relatedly, he investigates how athletes exhibit effective leadership behaviours, including the ways in which leadership is often distributed among team members. Additional interests include the home (dis)advantage phenomenon (particularly in ice hockey), coaching in Masters athletics and the psychosocial experiences of Masters athletes.  Matt and I discuss a paper he wrote with Dr Jeemin Kim entitled ‘Personality, social status and willingness to mentor teammates among NCAA athletes’ which investigates why athletes are inclined to mentor teammates examining whether personality and social status predicted athletes’ willingness to provide mentorship.

I am delighted to welcome back Dr Andrew Abraham to the show this week. Andrew is Head of Department for Sport Coaching at Leeds Beckett University. He is a coach developer with an interest in how coaches do their job in relation to effectiveness, judgement, decision-making and talent development.   Andrew has most recently been involved in developing and delivering a Post Graduate Diploma in Coach Development to coach developers within The English Football Association.  Andrew's research and consultancy work is recognised across the world. The impact of this work is seen within the International Sport Coaching Degree Standards, co-produced with the International Council for Coaching Excellence, academics from universities across continents and practitioners from International Coaching Federations. We speak about Professional Judgement and Decision Making (PJDM) in coaching.

I’m delighted to welcome back Richard Nugent to the show. Richard is founder and MD of TwentyOne Leadership.  Over the past 20 years, Richard has worked with thousands of professionals in some of the biggest and best-known organisations in the world. He specialises in helping executive leaders and teams grow and change their strategic direction.  Richard also teaches leadership and culture modules on the League Managers Association (LMA) diploma in management for up-and-coming football managers. Richard is the best-selling author of several books and his latest ‘The Alignment Advantage’ is out in June.  We speak all things leadership and culture and Richard gives some brilliant real-world examples about culture, leadership and engagement that are applicable in sport, business and life.

In this episode I’m joined by Dr Shane Pill. Shane is one of Australia's leading coach educators and developers, and thought leaders in physical education. He is Associate Professor in Physical Education and Sport at Flinders University. Shane's research is in the fields of sport coaching and physical education curriculum and pedagogy, and education leadership. He has authored over 150 peer reviewed and scholarly articles. Shane is an experienced consultant and education provider to the sport and education industry, contributing to wellbeing, physical activity, sport and physical education work groups, committees and reference groups. Shane has worked with the Department of Education, Australian Sports Commission/Sport Australia, Tennis Australia, Cricket Australia, South Australian Cricket Association, Australian Football League, South Australian Football League, West Australian Football Commission, South Australian Certificate of Education Board, Rugby Australia, Lacrosse Australia, ACT Physical Activity Foundation, and Australian Rugby League.  Shane and I talk about his experiences as a coach and coach educator and we discuss games-based approaches to coaching and the ‘Spectrum of Teaching Styles’. 

I am delighted to be joined by Danielle Cormier and Dr Kent Kowalski in this week’s episode. We speak about self-compassion in sport. Danielle is a Doctoral Candidate at University of Saskatchewan, specialising in Sport Psychology. Danielle is passionate about encouraging athletes to build on their character strengths rather than focusing on their weaknesses. She is particularly interested in the application of positive psychology in sport, and the construct of grit and self-compassion in athletes competing at both elite and developmental levels. Kent is a Professor in the College of Kinesiology at the University of Saskatchewan. Kent’s research, teaching, and applied work is primarily in the area of sport, exercise, and health psychology. His main research focus currently is on exploring the role of self-compassion in the lives of athletes.  Kent is also an Assistant Coach with the University of Saskatchewan Men’s Soccer Team and a mental training consultant with the Saskatchewan Sports Science and Medicine Council. Danielle and Kent have co-authored a paper, along with colleagues, entitled ‘Self-compassion in sport: a scoping review’. The paper reviews the self-compassion in sport literature and provides further evidence of the potential benefits of self-compassion to sport participants.

In this episode I’m joined by Performance Coach, Aaron Walsh. Aaron’s primary focus areas are mental performance, leadership development and culture reviews. He is the current mental skills coach with Chiefs Rugby Club and Scotland Rugby, as well as helping develop mental performance programs for Harlequins and Texas Rangers. Before this, Aaron worked in MLB, NRL and with various national teams. He is also currently coaching multiple corporate leadership teams in creating and maintaining high-performance working environments. He is also a sought-after and highly regarded presenter. Aaron and I speak about mental skills and discuss his approach to incorporating mental skills into high performance environments.

In this episode, I’m joined by Barnaby Sargent Megicks. Barney is a PhD Student in Sport Coaching at Leeds Beckett University with ICOACHKIDS. His research focuses on talent and holistic development. Barney is a Loughborough University and University of Birmingham Graduate and a qualified PE teacher. He is also a hockey coach at Leeds Hockey Club and West Yorkshire. Barney and I discuss talent development environments (TDEs) and particularly focus on a paper that Barney led entitled ”Examining European Talent Development Environments: Athlete, Parent and Coach Perceptions”. We discuss the findings of the paper and elaborate on what coaches and leaders can take from the research. You can find the paper here:  https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02640414.2023.2172800 

In this episode, I’m joined by Henrik Herrebroden. Henrik is a sport psychologist and PhD fellow at the University of Oslo. His area of interest is in mental effort and elite performance. We talk about a fascinating paper in which Henrik discusses the benefits of both external and internal focus of attention in motor learning and performance. In the paper Henrik analyses the idea that an external focus is superior to an internal focus, and argues that motor performers will benefit from instructional cues that guide attention toward task-relevant information, regardless of whether the cues are internal or external.  The paper is entitled “Motor Performers Need Task-relevant Information: Proposing an Alternative Mechanism for the Attentional Focus Effect” And you can find it here: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00222895.2022.2122920

In this episode I welcome back Prof Chris Cushion, Prof Stephen Harvey and Dr Ed Cope to the show. Chris, Stephen and Ed bring their considerable coaching and academic knowledge to this episode to discuss different approaches to coaching. We do a deep dive on instructional approaches, discuss the confusion around instructional coaching and offer clarification to listeners. Chris is Professor of Coaching and Pedagogy and the Director of Sport Integration at Loughborough University and the Head of Coaching at England Netball. Chris has a range of research and teaching interests around the coaching process including coach education, coach behaviour and learning environments.  Stephen is Professor in Sport Pedagogy at Ohio University. His research is focused on teacher/coach pedagogy and practice and its influence on student/player learning. Stephen is the Coach Educator Developer at US Soccer Federation and the Head Coach at Ohio Soccer Club. Ed has been a lecturer in Sport Coaching for over a decade and is currently based at the prestigious Loughborough University. Ed has also worked in football, holding the role of Learning Design and Development Manager at the English Football Association where he was responsible for the design and development of their education courses.

In this episode, I’m joined by Dr Martin Turner. Martin is a Reader in Psychology at The Manchester Metropolitan University specialising in human performance under pressure and adversity. Martin’s research also includes the use of a counselling framework called Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT) to help athletes reduce their irrational beliefs that cause unhelpful emotions and maladaptive behaviours. As a practitioner sport and exercise psychologist, Martin has worked with a number of professional athletes across a range of sports including football, cricket, rugby, cycling, archery, shooting, and equestrian. Martin has a new book out entitled “The Rational Practitioner” which provides a comprehensive portrayal of REBT applied within sport and performance. In this episode we explore the book with a focus on how athletes and coaches can utilise and incorporate REBT into their practices.

In this episode I speak with Bernadette Kellermann. Bernadette is a Performance Psychology PhD student at the University of Edinburgh researching the Multi-Action Plan (MAP) Model and transitions between mental states in performance. We discuss a paper Bernadette has written along with Dr Alan MacPherson, Prof Dave Collins and Dr Maurizio Bertollo about this subject. The MAP Model is an action-focused, sport-specific intervention model that can be utilised to investigate and improve human performance. The Multi-Action Plan presents as an action-focused, sport-specific, mixed methods intervention model. In addition to her performance psychology studies, Bernadette is a violinist, composer and tutor having graduated from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

I speak with Dr Dale Whelehan in this episode. Dale is a Behaviour Scientist and Chartered Physiotherapist graduate from Trinity College, Dublin. His research focuses on the relationship between sleep and performance. He has interests in performance science, sleep science, positive psychology, behaviour change, medical education, higher education, and public health. His research is in the area of Surgical Performance in Trinity College Dublin with particular focus on the interplay between sleep, performance and clinical decision making in surgeons. Dale completed a Doctor of Philosophy degree in the Behaviour Sciences with particular focus on objectivity of performance, the influence of sleep deprivation and the opportunity for positive psychological approaches to optimise accessing states of thriving. Dale and I review his research into fatigue and explore the impact it can have on the performance of coaches and competitors alike. We also discuss how to create balance to minimise the detrimental influences of fatigue.

In this episode I speak with Dr Kieran File. Kieran is Associate Professor in Applied Linguistics at University of Warwick. Kieran’s main interest is in language use in high performance sporting contexts. Kieran is also director of Reactive Sports Media which offers research informed media training and advice for professional sports players, sporting body executives and broadcast interviewers about how they can use language to achieve a variety of goals when speaking in the media. Kieran has written a fascinating book entitled “How Language Shapes Relationships in Professional Sports Teams” which examines the role that coach and athlete language plays in shaping relationships. The book looks at how every day, authentic language patterns used by coaches, captains and players influence these relationships and how they can mediate factors such as power and threat and teamwork.

This week I’m delighted to speak to Lindsey Hamilton. Lindsey is Head of Mental Conditioning at IMG Academy where she leads, develops, and facilitates a team of 12 mental conditioning coaches that oversees the mental skills development of over 1,100 student-athletes across eight sports. She also leads the IMG Institute through developing and delivering high performance mindset training to executive level business professionals and corporate teams interested in optimising leadership and enhancing organisational excellence. Along with a number of other authors, Lindsey presented a panel at the Association for Applied Psychology (AASP) annual conference in October 2022 discussing “The Failures That Guided Us: Sharing Vulnerabilities in Ascending to the Elite Level”. The panellists demonstrated vulnerability by sharing some of the failures they experienced as they worked their way to and within the elite level. Lindsey and I discuss how athletes and coaches can navigate and accept failure as a part of the sporting experience.

I am delighted to be joined by Dr Mike Ashford and Dr Loel Collins in this episode. Both Mike and Loel lecture at Edinburgh University. Loel is the Programme Director for MSc Performance Coaching and Development and Mike lectures in Sports Coaching and Performance. They are also both coach developers at Grey Matters, a company specialising in performance enhancement and coaching development for individuals, sporting/cultural organisations and systems. And they’ve written a paper along with Prof Dave Collins and Dr Jamie Taylor called “It depends coaching – The most fundamental, simple and complex principle or a mere copout?”. In this paper, the authors set out the arguments for Professional Judgement and Decision-Making (PJDM - the scientific representation of it depends coaching) as a genuine construct in coaching and, therefore, coach development. They do this through a critical consideration of three “pillars” or core constructs of PJDM. Namely, the concept of nested planning, the nature and use of knowledge in coaching, and the expression of expertise in coaching utilising a PJDM approach.

In this week’s episode I’m delighted to be joined by Kevin Smith, Dr Con Burns and Dr Ed Coughlan. We discuss a new paper Kevin, Con, Ed, and a number of other authors have written entitled “How to coach: A review of theoretical approaches for the development of a novel coach education framework”. The article reviews literature relating to theoretical constructs of a novel coach education framework developed by the Irish Rugby Football Union. The three constructs included are: self-determination theory (SDT), explicit learning theories (ELT) and implicit learning theories (ILT). We take a deep dive into the paper and examine the roles of SDT, ELT and ILT in coaching and discuss how they can be combined to enhance coaching practice.

In this episode I speak with chartered occupational psychologist, Sarah Broadhead. Sarah is Director and founder of Broadhead Performance which aims to give individuals and organisations in sport and business the insight, skills and support they need to perform and thrive. She has worked in a range of sports including GB Taekwondo, British Swimming, GB Canoeing, Archery GB, UK Athletics and GB Triathlon. Sarah was part of the Director team that created Chimp Management with Professor Steve Peters, shaping the vision of the company. In this episode we discuss Sarah’s fantastic new book “Perform & Thrive: A Sportsperson’s Guide to Mental Health and Wellbeing” which examines how sportspeople keep on top of wellbeing and the mental side in both sporting performances and life overall. Taking a deep dive into the elements that really count, and identify what can be done - practically - to provide sportspeople with the best possible chance of success. Filled with real-world examples, findings from the latest research, plus life stories from top athletes, this book - for athletes and coaches - is a must-read for nurturing people who wish to perform and thrive.

I speak with Blaine McKenna in this episode. Blaine is a UEFA A soccer coach, former academy director and author. Having completed his Masters is Sport Psychology, Blaine started to incorporate mental skills into his coaching curriculum and has taken his brand of coaching all over the globe from Kuwait to Thailand. Taken from his experiences coaching abroad, Blaine has written a fascinating new book “Coaching Abroad” which gives brilliant insight into the ins and outs of coaching abroad. We particularly focus on coaching people from different cultures and backgrounds and Blaine shares some fantastic tips he's picked up from his many years of coaching abroad.

This week I’m delighted to speak to Prof Joe Baker. Joe is the Head of the Lifespan Performance Laboratory in the School of Kinesiology and Health Science, at York University, Canada. Previously Joe has held visiting researcher/professor positions in the Carnegie Research Institute at Leeds Metropolitan University UK, Victoria University, Australia, the Australian Institute of Sport and the Institute of Sport Science at Westflische Wilhelms-Universitat Münster in Germany. Joe’s research focuses on optimal human development, largely to understand how someone gets to, and stays at, the highest levels of performance. His previous research in this area has considered various psychosocial and environmental factors influencing athletic skill development across a range of sports. Joe is the Past President of the Canadian Society for Psychomotor Learning and Sport Psychology and the author/editor of 5 journal special issues and more than 300 peer reviewed articles, commentaries, position statements and 14 books. And it’s his latest book ‘The Tyranny of Talent: How it compels and limits athletic achievement… and why you should ignore it’ that is the topic of this podcast. The book explores the elements that affect people's likelihood of success, starting with a thorough discussion of what 'talent' is, why both nature and nurture are critical factors, and why this distinction no longer matters. For many coaches, parents, and athletes, misunderstandings about ‘talent’ continue to constrain how they think about their long-term development and achievement.

This week I’m delighted to speak to Dr Nicky Keay. Nicky is an Exercise Endocrinologist and an Honorary Clinical Lecturer in Medicine at University College London. Previously, Nicky was a Research Fellow in the Department of Sport and Exercise Sciences at Durham University. Nicky is a member of the British Association of Sport and Exercise Medicine and she conducts clinical research in sports/dance endocrinology which has resulted in a range of research publications and awards. Nicky’s aim is to redefine optimal health and fitness for the individual helping them to: improve general health and fitness or athletic performance, prevent injury, or rehabilitate after injury or illness. Nicky helps individuals achieve their goals by bringing together her areas of expertise. We discuss Nicky’s fascinating new book “Hormones, Health and Human Potential: A guide to understanding your hormones to optimise your health and performance”.

I speak with Dr Julie Johnston and Joseph Stanford in this episode. Julie is a Senior Lecturer in Sport & Exercise Psychology at Nottingham Trent University. Her research focuses on behavioural, social and environmental influences on children and adolescent psychosocial development, health and wellbeing. Both her PhD and current research has focused on developing an understanding of coach and parenting roles within sport and the impact of these roles on young athletes' psychosocial development, health and wellbeing. Joseph is a PhD student at Nottingham Trent University, a Performance Swim Coach at University of Nottingham Sport and A squad coach at Nova Centurion - the elite performance programme for Nottinghamshire swimming and one of the UK's top swimming clubs. Joseph’s research focuses on what makes a successful athlete and how coaches and athletes work together to facilitate positive relationships. Both Julie and joseph have a particular interest in swimming. Julie competed on the international swimming arena for Ireland and Northern Ireland for ten years, participating in three Commonwealth Games, three World Championships, three World University Games and a number of European Championships. We discuss an upcoming paper that Julie led and was co-written by Joseph along with Dr Chris Saward, Dr Mustafa Sarkar, Prof Chris Harwood and Prof Daniel Gould entitled “How to help coaches meet the psychosocial skill needs of their Generation Z athletes: A season long investigation in swimming”.

This week I’m delighted to speak to Martin Erikstad. Martin is a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Agder in Norway. His areas of interest are coaching, transformational leadership, talent development and youth sport. Martin played soccer to an elite level in Norway before moving into an academic career. Martin completed his Masters and PhD in talent development in football at the University of Adger. He also spent several months at Queens University in Canada studying under Jean Côté. After completing his PhD he worked as an Associate Professor at Nord University.   Martin has also led and co-authored a paper along with Prof Bjørn Tore Johansen, Marius Johnsen, Prof Tommy Haugen and Jean Côté entitled “As Many as Possible for as Long as Possible: A Case Study of a Soccer Team that Fosters Multiple Outcomes”. The study examines the Norwegian soccer club, Bryne FC and how it successfully fosters player participation and engagement in the game for the long term regardless of their athletic potential or motivation.   You can find the study here https://www.researchgate.net/publication/349966854_As_Many_as_Possible_for_as_Long_as_Possible-A_Case_Study_of_a_Soccer_Team_That_Fosters_Multiple_Outcomes

In this episode I’m delighted to speak with Dr Ross Wadey and Dr Melissa Day, Ross is a Professor in Sport Psychology at St Mary’s University. Ross’s research is at the forefront of advancing knowledge in areas including psycho-social-cultural considerations in the prevention of, and recovery from, sport injury and multilevel learning following adversity in sport and beyond. Ross is a Chartered Psychologist with the British Psychological Society and a Full Member of the Division of Sport and Exercise Psychology. He sits on the Editorial Board for The Sport Psychology and Journal of Applied Sport Psychology. Mel is a Reader in Qualitative Sport Psychology at University of Chichester and the programme coordinator for the BSc in Sport and Exercise Psychology. She teaches at undergraduate and postgraduate level and currently supervises PhD students. Mel’s main research area is stress and trauma in sport including vicarious trauma in sport through witnessing injury, and the potential that sport holds to foster post traumatic growth. Mel is BASES accredited and HCPC registered. She regularly reviews for a range of journals and is on the editorial board of Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health. Ross, Mel and I discuss the psychology of injury and explore how the stories we have about ourselves can be a help or a hindrance.

I'm delighted to speak with Dr Matthew Scott, Prof Paul Holmes and Dr David Wright in this episode.   Matt is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of British Columbia in the School of Kinesiology. Matt investigates the effect of dyad practice - training with a partner - on motor learning. His interests are in combined (and independent) action observation and motor imagery, motor learning and motor control. Paul is Deputy Pro-Vice Chancellor in the Faculty of Health and Education at Manchester Metropolitan University and a Research Professor of Motor Cognition. Paul’s research interests include motor cognition in human performance and movement rehabilitation where he has published widely on both subjects focusing on motor imagery and action observation mechanisms. Paul has worked as a sport psychologist in high performance sport for over 25 years. David is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology in the Department of Exercise and Sport Science at Manchester Metropolitan University. His area of interest is in neurophysiological processes involved in various aspects of sport psychology. David’s research focuses on motor imagery using brain stimulation techniques. Matt, Paul, David and I discuss a fascinating paper they have published alongside Dr Dave Smith and led by Matt which reviews PETTLEP imagery. The PETTLEP model was first published by Paul and Professor Dave Collins 20 years ago as a framework to improve the delivery and outcome of motor imagery (MI) interventions. Drawing on research from neuroscience, cognitive-behavioural psychology, and sport psychology the model served as a set of guidelines for sport psychologists to consider when developing MI interventions and tailoring them to individual athlete needs. PETTLEP is an acronym for seven practical elements that sport psychologists could consider when developing MI interventions with athletes (Physical, Environment, Task, Timing, Learning, Emotion, and Perspective). In the 20 years since its publication, the PETTLEP model has become one of the most dominant models for structuring MI interventions in sport.  Please see a link to the paper here https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667239122000260?via%3Dihub

This week I’m delighted to speak to Adam Commens. Adam is the High Performance Director of the Belgium Hockey Federation. Adam is a former player himself, having represented the Australian Men’s National Field Hockey Team at the Olympic Games in Sydney in 2000, where they won a bronze medal. After his playing days, Adam moved into various coaching roles. He coached the Belgium National Team, leading them to the Beijing Olympics and was the head coach of the Australian women's national field hockey team, coaching them to the London and Rio Olympic Games. Since 2016 Adam has been in the role of High Performance Director at the Belgium Hockey Federation. This has been a hugely successful period for the Red Lions, winning at the World Champions, the European Champions, and taking Olympic Gold in 2020. Adam and I speak about what it takes to develop a high performance environment to help athletes flourish and how to incorporate psychology into  coaching sessions.

In this episode I’m delighted to speak with Marketa Simova and Richard Simpson. Marketa is a PhD researcher at Sheffield Hallam University. Marketa’s research explores the mental health and well-being of high-performance coaches. Her role involves wide literature searches and interviewing with subsequent data analysis. Marketa also supports teaching activities at Sheffield Hallam University, teaching on various well-being and research methodology-related modules. Richard is a PhD candidate, an associate lecturer and a research assistant in sport and exercise psychology within the Carnegie School of Sport at Leeds Becket University. Richard is also an associate lecturer at The Open university. Richard’s doctoral research is centred around advancing theoretical, conceptual, methodological, and applied knowledge of psychological well-being in sport organizations. We discuss all things well-being and talk about several studies Richard and Marketa have undertaken including their joint paper “In Pursuit of the ‘Good Life’: Concerns, Considerations, and Choices in the Exploration of Psychological Well-Being in Sport” (as yet unpublished).

I'm honoured to speak with Peter Moores and Chris Marshall in this episode.   Peter is a former first-class cricketer who played for the England Cricket Team. Peter moved into coaching and was the head coach of the men's England cricket team twice. He was the performance director at the National Academy for England and has coached at three different county clubs: Sussex, Lancashire and now Head Coach at Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club. Chris has been a sport psychologist for 14 years starting out as a sport psychology intern at the English Institute of Sport (EIS) under the guidance of Dr Pete Lindsay and Dr Mark Bawden. Chris has worked as the sport psychologist for Olympic Table Tennis, Paralympic Table Tennis, GB Boxing, the English FA, and cricket. Chris now works as an independent sport psychologist, spending most of his time between Nottinghamshire CCC and Wasps Rugby Team. Peter and Chris have forged a fantastic relationship at Nottinghamshire CCC with sport psychology being fully integrated into the coaching practice. We discuss how Peter and Chris work together to create a psychologically informed environment that supports all players and staff.

I’m delighted to speak to Dr Tom Mitchell this week. Tom is a Senior Lecturer in Sport Coaching at Leeds Beckett University. Tom’s research interest is in the lived experiences of youth and professional footballers and how organisational culture in professional football influences the development of their Identity. Tom has over 10 years of engagement with professional football. Recently, he has engaged in performance coaching activity within professional squads working with players and staff. Tom is also a grassroots coach. Tom and I discuss a brilliant paper he has published which he led along with other authors entitled ‘Fostering Psychosocial Characteristics Within an English Soccer Academy’. The aim of the paper is to present a real-life example of the design, delivery, and implementation of a theoretically informed psychosocial development programme for players within an academy soccer setting to include player workshops, coach delivery and ways to influence the environment.

I'm delighted to speak with Steafan Deery and Dr Kyle Paradis in this episode.   Steafan is completing his PhD on Leadership and Team Dynamics at Ulster University. He is also a PE lecturer at the School of Sport at Ulster University. Steafan's PhD examines coach leadership, particularly transformational leadership and social identity leadership. His interest in the theoretical underpinning of coaching stems from his years as a coach. Steafan previously spent 10 years coaching with the Irish Football Association. Kyle is an Assistant Professor lecturing in Sport and Exercise Psychology at Ulster University. His research interests include group dynamics and the social processes in sport groups and its influences on mental health outcomes. Kyle holds professional membership affiliations with the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP) the North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity (NASPSPA) and the Canadian Society for Psychomotor Learning and Sport Psychology (SCAPPS). We discuss different leadership styles in sport and in particular identity leadership and transformational leadership.

In this episode I welcome back Professor Nicola Hodges. This time Nikki is joined by Dr Keith Lohse. Nikki is a Professor at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Vancouver in the School of Kinesiology. She runs the Motor Skills Laboratory at UBC where she studies the mechanisms of motor skill learning. Her research focuses on processes involved in watching, learning and predicting from others, and how practice should be best structured to bring about long-term enhancement of motor skills and high-level performance. She has published over 100 peer-reviewed articles and chapters and has consulted at a number of leading sporting organisations and governing bodies. Keith is Associate Professor of Physical Therapy and Neurology at Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis. He received his PhD in cognitive psychology from the University of Colorado, before undertaking post doctoral studies in Nikki’s lab at UBC. Keith focuses on measurement, design, and analysis as they pertain to rehabilitation science and clinical practice. With rehabilitation being a complex, dynamic process with many interacting factors at physiological, psychological, and sociological levels, Keith specialises in analytical and predictive modelling techniques to help disentangle these problems and mechanistically explore the rehabilitation process. In this episode, we discuss a paper Nikki and Keith have co-authored titled: “An extended challenge-based framework for practice design in sports coaching” found here https://www.researchgate.net/publication/357785323_An_extended_challenge-based_framework_for_practice_design_in_sports_coaching which builds on the original challenge-point work published 20 years ago. Specifically, they emphasise the importance of the challenge-point framework as a model of motor learning, and expand this framework to apply to sports coaching (giving practical suggestions for coaches to use in their practice).

I speak with Michael Passaportis and Dr Daniel Brown in this episode. Michael is a lecturer at the University of Sussex in Sport and Exercise Psychology. He is also completing his doctoral research at the University of Portsmouth. Michael’s research is centred on exploring the interconnectivity of human excellence and well-being within multidimensional organisational systems, with a specific focus on the psychosocial factors that influence thriving within elite sport organisations. Michael’s research interests are influenced by his past experiences of competing in professional rugby. Dan is a senior lecturer in Sport and Exercise Psychology at the University of Portsmouth and leads the undergraduate programme in Sport and Exercise Psychology there. He is a Chartered Psychologist of the British Psychological Society and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Dan’s research centres on the psychology of human excellence and well-being (thriving). Specifically, his focuses on understanding and facilitating thriving in humans, athlete transitions and developmental experiences, and the development and assessment of interventions used in sport and performance psychology. Dan also supervises doctoral students at Portsmouth University, Michael being one of those students. Michael and Dan have co-written a paper with others which is about creating environments for thriving which examines the environmental factors that facilitate athlete thriving. You can access the paper here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1469029222001157?via%3Dihub

I’m delighted to speak to Dr Leisha Strachan this week. Leisha is a Professor and is serving as Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Studies in the Faculty of Kinesiology and Recreation Management at the University of Manitoba. Leisha’s research is focused on positive youth development through sport and she is interested in exploring positive coaching behaviours and parent involvement. Along with Dr Dany MacDonald and Dr Jean Côté, Leisha began Project SCORE, an online resource for coaches and parents to learn about the 4 Cs in sport (competence, confidence, connection, and character) and how the Cs could be incorporated to promote positive youth sport spaces. Leisha is interested in cultural relevancy within the field of positive youth development and has recently completed a SSHRC-funded grant that explored the Cs through the voices of Indigenous youth.  Leisha is a former national team member in the sport of baton twirling, earning 2 bronze medals at the World Championships. She has been coaching in the sport for the past 26 years and is a judge and choreographer in baton, working with athletes across Canada, Scotland, England, and Australia. 

I’m delighted to speak to Dr Emma Mosley this week. Emma is a Senior Lecturer in Sport Psychology in the Department of Sport Science and Performance at Solent University, Southampton. Emma completed her BSc in Sport Psychology and Coaching Sciences and went on to complete her PhD at Bournemouth University. Emma is an active researcher within psychophysiology and sport performance, with a particular specialism in heart rate variability. She is a member of the mind-body connections research group at Solent. Emma is also a Chartered Scientist (CSci) and a BASES Accredited Sport and Exercise Scientist. Emma has co-written a paper with Dr Sylvain Laborde entitled “A scoping review of heart rate variability in sport and exercise psychology” which aimed to provide a scoping review of the use of heart rate variability (HRV) within Sport and Exercise Psychology.

This week I’m delighted to speak to Prof Andrew Lane. Andy is a BASES accredited Sport and Exercise Scientist, a Chartered Sport Psychologist registered with the HCPC, and a Professor at the University of Wolverhampton. Andy completed his undergraduate, Masters degree and PhD before becoming a lecturer at Brunel University. He then moved to the University of Wolverhampton where he progressed from Senior Lecturer to Associate Dean. Andy is responsible for developing and implementing a research strategy for staff and doctoral students. Andy and I discuss a study that he led in conjunction with BBC Lab UK. The study, which had in excess of 40,000 participants, examined the effects psychological skills training has on the experience of emotion under pressure and competitive performance. We talk through the psychological techniques utilised in the study (imagery, self-talk, and if-then planning), and assess the effectiveness of these techniques when delivered online. You can find the study here https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00413/full

I’m delighted to speak to Prof Elaine Fox this week. Elaine is the Head of School of Psychology at the University of Adelaide. Prior to that Elaine was at The University of Oxford for 12 years where, up until very recently, she ran a research lab and team. Elaine’s background is in cognitive psychology. More recently she has undertaken research around emotion, specifically how we react to different situations, as well as in mental health research.  She is also director of her company Oxford Elite Performance which she co-founded with her husband to utilise scientific research in psychology and cognitive science in order to optimise high performance in sport, the military, and business. Drawing on her 25 years of scientific research, Elaine has just released her brilliant new book “Switchcraft: Harnessing the Power of Mental Agility to Transform Your Life” in which she shares her step-by-step guide to what she calls ‘Switchcraft’: the set of skills we need to navigate a complex and uncertain world. In her work coaching top athletes, military leaders and business professionals, she has seen that it’s the people who know how and when to switch between different approaches – people who have an agile mind – who achieve the best performance.

Something a bit different for this 200th episode of The Sport Psych Show. This week I speak to Trevor Whyte. Trevor has worked in hospitals as a Respiratory Therapist since 2006 having spent time on the frontline, on various projects and in leadership. Dealing with airway management and critical care taught him the importance of high functioning teams for good outcomes. At the beginning of the pandemic Trevor was tasked with leading a team to set up and operate a mass testing site for COVID-19, quickly finding traction with his team. Trevor was given the opportunity to become an early mass vaccine site which delivered almost 170,000 vaccines. To manage the rapidly changing information and challenging conditions, Trevor worked to build a team mindset and framework that allowed the team to work in safe uncertainty and meet their goals under great pressure. Trevor has played and coached soccer and has been able to translate his experience in sports to help his healthcare teams find success in challenging and ever-changing conditions, such as a pandemic.

I’m delighted to speak to Dr Alexander T. Latinjak this week. Alexander is an Associate Professor in Sport and Exercise Psychology at the University of Suffolk.  In his youth, Alexander was a high-level tennis player who travelled the world pursuing his sports career. After retiring from tennis Alexander studied psychology at the University of Barcelona and obtained his PhD in Psychology with Distinction from the Autonomous University of Barcelona. He then worked for eight years at the prestigious School of Health and Sports Sciences (EUSES) at the University of Girona before joining the University of Suffolk to contribute to the sports psychology curriculum and broaden his diverse lines of research and applied practices.  Alexander specialises in the area of self-talk and cognitive self-regulation in sports and has co-edited a brilliant book on the subject entitled ‘Self-Talk in Sport’ with Antonis Hatzigeorgiadis.

I speak with Dr Laura Healy and Joseph Stanford in this episode. Laura is a Senior Lecturer in Sport & Exercise Psychology at Nottingham Trent University. Her research explores how to optimise goal pursuit in sport and physical activity for individuals and teams. This has included examining how the motivation underpinning goal striving can impact upon the self-regulation of goals and well-being. Recently, Laura has researched in areas associated with elite performance environments, including the role of personality in elite coach-athlete relationships, resilience, psychological safety and fear of failure in a national sport governing body, and the experience of release from professional football academies. Joseph is a PhD student at Nottingham Trent University, a Performance Swim Coach at University of Nottingham Sport and A squad coach at Nova Centurion - the elite performance programme for Nottinghamshire swimming and one of the UK's top swimming clubs. Joseph’s research focuses on what makes a successful athlete and how coaches and athletes work together to facilitate positive relationships. As part of his undergraduate degree and continuing in his PhD, Joseph has written a paper along with Laura, Dr Mustafa Sarkar and Dr Julie Johnston entitled “Interpersonal perceptions of personality traits in elite coach-athlete dyads” You can read the full article the article here https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S146902922200022X

I’m delighted to speak to Prof Tim Rees this week. Tim is a Professor in the Department of Rehabilitation and Sport Sciences at Bournemouth University, a Higher Education Academy Fellow, a British Psychological Society Chartered Psychologist and Associate Fellow, and a BASES Accredited Sport & Exercise Scientist. Tim’s research centres on the development of talent, and social psychological influences on performance and physical activity. His research has been featured in all major UK broadsheets, BBC R4’s flagship programme “All in the Mind”, US National Public Radio’s “Only a Game”, Psychology Today and Huffington Post, and has informed and changed practice across all UK Olympic Sports, England Rugby, and the England and Wales Cricket Board. Tim and I discuss several papers that he has contributed to regarding elite athletes and, in particular, we discuss the differences between elite and super-elite athletes.

I speak to Jay DeMerit in this week’s episode. Jay is a retired professional soccer player having played in the Premier League and USMNT. He played for Watford F.C over six seasons, including one season in the Premier League, having scored in their victory in the 2006 Football League Championship play-off Final. Jay also played in the 2010 World Cup for the US. Jay now runs youth programme Rise + Shine which aims to inspire youth to identify their strengths and passions; and to develop the skills required for ongoing success, well-being, and the pursuit of excellence. Rise and Shine provides attendees with a series of experiences and lessons that explore the habits, mental skills, and personal responsibilities that are critical tools for emerging leaders.  We talk about Jay’s remarkable story from not being drafted by any MLS clubs following his graduation from college to playing in the English Premier League in just a few short years.

In this episode I speak to Prof Mark Beauchamp. Mark is a Professor at The University of British Colombia. His research primarily focuses on the social psychology of groups within health, exercise, and sport settings and has been published in a variety of journals such as the Annals of Behavioral Medicine, Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, and the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Mark is a Chartered Psychologist, Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society (BPS), Associate Editor for the 'Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports', and he is on the editorial boards for a number of other journals including 'Sport, Exercise and Performance Psychology'​ (APA), and the 'Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology'. Mark characterises his work as the psychology of human thriving.  Mark and I discuss a brilliant paper he has written along with Alan Kingstone and Nikos Ntoumanis entitled “Psychology of Athletic Endeavor” which examines the (high quality) evidence that allows athletes to succeed, to thrive and to perform well. You can find the pre-print version of the paper on ResearchGate https://www.researchgate.net/publication/360181284_Psychology_of_athletic_endeavor

In this episode I’m delighted to welcome back teacher, teaching mentor and bestselling author, Doug Lemov to the show.   Doug studies high performing teachers and what it is they do that makes them so effective in the classroom. Back in episode 120 Doug came on the show to talk about his brilliant book “The Coach’s Guide to Teaching” in which he brings his considerable knowledge about the science of classroom teaching to the sports coaching world to create championship calibre coaches on the court and field. In this episode Doug is back to speak about the book a little over a year since its release, the question’s that have arisen from the book and his recent thoughts on some of the topics he introduced in the book.

I’m delighted to welcome Steve Magness back to the show this week. Steve is a world-renowned expert on performance. He has served as a consultant on mental skills development for professional sports teams, including some of the top teams in the NBA. He has also coached numerous professional athletes to the Olympics and world championship level. Steve was a columnist for Running Times magazine and is now the co-host of two podcasts: The Growth Equation podcast with Brad Stulberg and On Coaching with Magness and Marcus with Jon Marcus. His writing has also appeared in Runner’s World and Sports Illustrated. In addition, Steve's expertise on elite sport and performance has been featured in The New Yorker, Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Men’s Health, The Guardian, Business Insider, and ESPN The Magazine.  Steve is the author and co-author of a number of best-selling books. Collectively his books have sold more than a quarter-million copies. His upcoming book (out in June) is called “Do Hard Things: Why We Get Resilience Wrong and the Surprising Science of Real Toughness”. We take a deep dive into this brilliant book.

I speak to Dr Keagen Hadley in this week’s episode. Keagen is an occupational therapy doctor who specialises in using psychological treatments such as ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) to improve the lives of his patients. Keagen is about to release his first book entitled "Torn: Overcoming the Psychological Challenges Post-ACL Injury" (out in June). The book has been written for people who may be struggling with psychological issues related to ACL injuries, though the practical tips on managing stress and overcoming the mental hurdles of injury recovery would be beneficial for those recovering from all types of injury. Keagen drew on his own personal experiences to write the book, having torn both ACLs playing college and semi-professional football (NFL). This experience made him acutely aware of the struggles associated psychologically post-ACL injury and how to overcome them with positive results. You can check out his website here https://keagenhadley.com

I speak to Dr Lee Hancock in this week’s episode. Lee is a professor in kinesiology at California State University, Dominguez Hills. He is also a coach educator at the US Soccer Federation and the sport psychology coach for Canada Women’s Beach Volleyball team that competed in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio De Janeiro and Tokyo 2020. Lee is also the founder and owner of DLH Performance - a company dedicated to helping professional athletes, coaches at all levels, business and team leaders, students, parents and organisations fulfil their potential. And he’s recently released a brilliant book “Talent Zones: 10 Tools to Help Kids Develop Their Talents” in which Lee redefines talent so that parents, teachers, and coaches can create environments rich in opportunities for all kids to boost their confidence and to develop talents in multiple areas. He presents ten evidence-based, developmentally appropriate strategies called Talent Development Zones (TDZs) which transform talent concepts and research into practical strategies adults can use to create environments for developing talents.

I speak with Prof Rosemary Purcell & Dr Courtney Walton in this week’s episode. Rosie is Director of Knowledge Translation at Orygen. She is also the Deputy Head of Department of the Centre for Youth Mental Health at the University of Melbourne and a registered psychologist.  Rosie has co-authored over 150 publications in the areas of youth mental health, early intervention in forensic mental health and mental health in elite sport. She is an investigator on a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Project Grant investigating the benefits of physical activity for young people with depression, and a member of the International Olympic Committee’s Elite Athlete Mental Health Consensus Group and the IOC’s Mental Health Translation Working Group. Rosie’s primary research interests are understanding mental health problems in elite athletes and developing optimal strategies for improving and maximising mental health and wellbeing in sporting environments Courtney is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow within the Mental Health in Elite Sports research group at The University of Melbourne and Orygen. He is also a psychologist at The Mind Room, where he works primarily with athletes and performers. Courtney's research aims are to understand the aspects of unstable and competitive environments that both positively and negatively interact with mental health. He is also interested in exploring the ways in which sport and exercise can be supportive of adolescent mental health and well-being. He is an Associate Editor at Australian psychologist, and has contributed to research and consultancy projects with leading sporting organisations such as the AFL, AIS, Cricket Australia, and Tennis Australia. So far, he has published over 50 peer reviewed articles and book chapters. Courtney and Rosie have co-authored a fantastic paper entitled “An Evidence-Informed Framework to Promote Mental Wellbeing in Elite Sport” and it’s this paper we discuss in detail. You can read the paper here: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.780359/full

I speak to Dr Desmond McEwan in this week’s episode. Desi is a Chartered Psychologist and Assistant Professor at the University of Bath. His research examines the psychology of human health and performance and he has a particular interest in teamwork, group dynamics, team effectiveness, psychological safety, goal setting, and behaviour change. Desi has written a fascinating paper along with Kaitlin Crawford entitled “Why does teamwork execution breakdown? Experiences of university team sport athletes”. We take a deep dive into the paper and discuss the novel findings from the study which extend current knowledge of teamwork and group dysfunction in sport and provide directions for future research on teamwork breakdowns. We also discuss the potential applied implications for coaches and other team leaders related to these findings.  You can find the article here: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/359073208_Why_does_teamwork_execution_breakdown_Experiences_of_university_team_sport_athletes

I’m delighted to speak to coach, researcher and educator, Ross Ensor in this week’s episode. Ross is a PhD researcher in Sports Coaching at Loughborough University. He has experience with grassroots, semi-professional, national and county squads, and as a Foundation Phase coach at Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (where he also worked in the pre-academy and the development centre). Ross is passionate about creating positive learning environments to support multidisciplinary player development and has a particular interest in games-based approaches to coaching. We discuss an article he has written about using a game-sense approach to coaching.

I speak with Dr Trish Jackman and Rebecca Hawkins in this episode. Both Trish and Rebecca are Senior Lecturers in Sport and Exercise Psychology at the University of Lincoln. Trish’s research focuses on optimal experiences in sport and exercise. This work seeks to understand the positive, rewarding experiences that athletes and exercisers have during sport and physical activity to understand how these experiences can be promoted. Rebecca studies part-time for her PhD alongside her role as a lecturer. Her research is focused on the role of goal setting in physical activity promotion. We discuss a number of Trish and Rebecca’s research papers that cluster around themes such as flow and clutch states, performance under pressure, goal setting, and self-regulation. You can check out their profiles and papers here: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Patricia-Jackman https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Rebecca-Hawkins-8

I speak to Dr Brandon Orr in this week’s episode. Brandon is a Sport and Performance Psychology Specialist with 20 years’ experience coaching, educating, and training individuals and teams in executive-corporate entities, sport and performance domains and Special Operations personnel. Brandon integrates evidence-based strategies for applied psychology for the purpose of facilitating resilience, optimising sustained high performance, as well as assessment and selection of personnel for leadership aptitude, job fit, personality screening, and talent assessment, acquisition, and development. Brandon trained under Dr Rick McGuire at The University of Missouri before becoming Director of Sport Psychology at the University of Missouri. He currently works as Lead Cognitive Performance Specialist for the United States Special Operations Command.

I’m delighted to speak to performance, leadership and coaching expert, Dr Jerry Lynch in this week’s episode. Jerry has been coaching for an incredible 58 years. Jerry helps people of all ages and abilities in all arenas of performance to develop the qualities of courage, integrity, fearlessness, tenacity, patience, persistence in order to overcome mental and emotional blocks. Using a rather unconventional approach, by combining Eastern Thought, Native American Tradition and western psychology, Jerry helps individuals and teams to create confidence, mental toughness, inspiration and empowerment for competitive events and to better navigate the unchartered waters of life. Jerry has worked with athletes and teams at universities such as The University of North Carolina, Duke, Maryland, Oregon State, Stanford, Harvard, Middlebury, Syracuse, UConn, Washington, Iowa, New Mexico and more. Jerry has conducted countless seminars and workshops talking about what it takes to be a champion. He is also the author of 15 books, including his upcoming book Everyday Champion Wisdom (out soon).

I’m delighted to speak to Dr Karen Treisman MBE in this week’s episode. Karen is an award winning, highly specialised clinical psychologist and trauma specialist. Karen is the founder of Safe Hands and Thinking Minds which supports organisations to help them become more trauma, adversity and culturally informed at a language, policy, culture, and practice level. This work focuses on creating meaningful and multi-layered cultural and paradigm shift across whole systems. Karen is the best-selling author of 10 books and is a TEDx speaker on the power of relationships and viewing behaviour as communication. Karen and I discuss how organisations and individuals can be more trauma, adversity and culturally informed.

I’m delighted to speak to Dr Stephen Harvey in this week’s episode. Stephen is Professor in Sport Pedagogy at Ohio University. His research is focused on teacher/coach pedagogy and practice and its influence on student/player learning. Stephen is a former junior international field hockey coach and currently works with organisations such as USA field hockey and the United States Olympic Committee in a coach development and education role. He has successfully completed international coach educator/developer qualification and was previously a coach educator with England Hockey. Stephen is an experienced licensed soccer and badminton coach. In 2016 he was honoured as a Research Fellow by the Society of Health and Physical Educators (SHAPE) America due to his extensive contributions to research in both physical education and sports coaching.  Stephen is particularly interested in game-based approaches to teaching and coaching. And it’s this topic that forms the basis of our discussion in this episode.

I’m delighted to speak to Christian Swann in this week’s episode. Christian is Associate Professor in Psychology at Southern Cross University, Australia. Christian’s research areas are in goal setting, mental health, and the psychology of exceptional performance. We discuss a research article that Christian has written alongside a number of authors which aims to critically examine the use of SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Timebound) goals for physical activity promotion. The paper recognises that SMART is a highly prominent strategy for setting physical activity goals. And, while it is intuitive, and its practical value has been recognised, the scientific underpinnings of the SMART acronym are less clear. Therefore, the paper’s aim is to narratively review and critically examine the scientific underpinnings of the SMART acronym and its application in physical activity promotion. Specifically, the review suggests that the SMART acronym: is not based on scientific theory; is not consistent with empirical evidence; does not consider what type of goal is set; is not applied consistently; is lacking detailed guidance; has redundancy in its criteria; is not being used as originally intended; and has a risk of potentially harmful effects. These issues are likely leading to sub-optimal outcomes, confusion, and inconsistency. Recommendations are provided to guide the field towards better practice and, ultimately, more effective goal setting interventions to help individuals become physically active. Read the article here https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17437199.2021.2023608

I’m delighted to speak to Dr Colum Cronin in this episode. Colum is Senior Lecturer in Physical Education and Sport Coaching at Liverpool John Moores University. Colum’s research concerns youth sport coaching, coach education and coaching in community contexts. Colum has worked with a number of sporting organisations such as the Football Association and UK Coaching. He is an associate editor of the academic journal Sports Coaching Review and is co-author of the book ‘Care in Sport Coaching’ along with Kathleen Armour. And it’s this brilliant book we discuss in this episode.

I’m delighted to speak to Prof Kristoffer Henriksen in this week’s episode. Kristoffer is Head of the Learning and Talent in Sport Research Unit at the University of Southern Denmark. He is also a sport psychologist for Team Denmark – an organisation that works to provide Danish athletes with the best possible frameworks and conditions for them to live out their potential and perform at the highest international level. We discuss Kristoffer’s approach to working with athletes as well as a fantastic paper he wrote along with Gregory Diment and Carsten Hvid Larsen entitled ‘Team Denmark’s Sport Psychology Professional Philosophy 2.0’. The purpose of the article is to discuss Team Denmark’s professional philosophy; including: (1) the vision for the team; (2) basic beliefs and values; (3) the psychological theories that interventions are based upon; (4) Team Denmark’s Sports Psychological model which describes the content and focus of the team’s work; and (5) the concrete psychological services that delivered. High quality service requires coherence across all five levels of the philosophy. Read the paper here: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/339167625_Team_Denmark's_Sport_Psychology_Professional_Philosophy_20

I speak with Dr John Stoszkowski and Dr Danny Massaro in this episode. Danny is widely recognised as one of the best squash coaches in the United Kingdom. He coached his wife, world champion, Laura Massaro, for over 10 years, guiding her to world number 1. Danny is a lecturer in Sports Coaching at the University of Central Lancashire. And just completed his PhD. John was, up until very recently, a senior Lecturer at the University of Central Lancashire, leading a range of modules on the BSc Sports Coaching and Performance, BA Sports Coaching and Development, and MSc Sports Coaching programmes. In recognition of his contributions to teaching, John is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. He is research active with a particular interest in coach learning. John has just launched Think Space Academy, a new online cohort-based course. We discuss the importance of critical thinking in sporting environments.

I speak with Dr Fiona Leggat and Dr Sean Figgins in this episode. Fiona is a Research Associate at Kingston and St Georges University London. She completed her MSc in Sport and Exercise Psychology at the University of Chichester and her PhD in Applied Health Psychology at St Mary's University. Fiona’s academic interests include co-design, narrative pedagogy, rehabilitation psychology, implementation science and group dynamics.  Sean is a Senior Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Psychology and Research Methods at the University of Chichester. Sean’s research focusses on the social psychology of groups in sport and exercise contexts, with a particular focus on leadership and group dynamics. His research has primarily focussed on how leaders inspire groups and individuals, as well as the personal and contextual factors that impact on this process. We discuss in detail a brilliant paper that Fiona and Sean have written along with Dr Matthew Smith entitled ‘Talented but Disruptive: An Exploration of Problematic Players in Sports Teams.

I’m delighted to speak to sport and performance psychology expert, author, and speaker, Dr Nate Zinsser this week. Nate has been at the forefront of applied sport psychology for over thirty years. He is the director of West Point’s prestigious Performance Psychology Program, a Certified Mental Performance Coach (CMPC) with the Association for Applied Sport Psychology and has a PhD in sport psychology from the University of Virginia. Nate has been a regular consultant to the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Giants for twelve seasons. We discuss Nate’s brand new book ‘The Confident Mind: A Battle-Tested Guide to Unshakable Performance’ in which he distils his research and years of experience, offering a fascinating guide to the science of confidence. The book provides readers with a practical, step-by-step programme to best harness their belief in themselves to achieve success in any field. The Confident Mind is a complete guide to confidence: how to understand it, how to build it, how to protect it, and how to rely upon it when your performance matters most.

I’m so excited to speak with the very first Sport Psych Show guest, Dr Ed Coughlan this week.  Ed is widely acknowledged as one of the top skills coaches working in elite sport today. He is a senior lecturer at Munster Technological University and Research Lead in Skill Acquisition. Ed has worked with a wide range of competitors and coaches including from the EIS, GB Shooting, UEFA, Chelsea FC, St Helen’s Rugby League and with a number of golfers on the European Tour. Ed has over 30 years coaching experience. We discuss how his coaching has changed over that time; being comfortable with not having all the answers for players; the ASPIRE model he and fellow researcher, Dr Paul Ford developed and Ed shares his top tips for coaches of teams for session design with skill acquisition in mind.

I am delighted to be joined by Mike Ashford in this episode. Mike is a lecturer in Sport Coaching at Coventry University. His research interests include player and coach decision making, coach development and understanding how we can shape effective learning environments. Mike completed his PhD at Leeds Beckett University. Mike is also a coach developer at Grey Matters, a company specialising in performance enhancement and coaching development for individuals, sporting/cultural organisations and systems. Mike and I discuss two papers he has co-written along with Dr Andrew Abraham and Dr Jamie Poolton on decision making processes in team sports. We take a deep dive into these brilliant papers which can be found here https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.609127 and https://doi.org/10.3390/sports9050065

I speak to BPS Chartered Sport and Exercise Psychologist and HCPC Practitioner Psychologist, Dr Bryan McCann in this episode. Bryan is a lecturer in Psychology at Glasgow Caledonian University. He is an active researcher interested in a range of sport and exercise psychology topics, in particular the social influences on motivation in sport and exercise contexts. In Bryan’s previous role as a Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Science at Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen he led a range of innovative and award-winning projects. Bryan has provided psychological support to a range of national, international and Olympic level athletes and teams in different sports, including football, golf, swimming, table tennis and skiing and has consulted for organisations such as the Scottish FA, The Camanachd Association, Scottish Swimming and Sport Scotland. Bryan and I speak about a fascinating paper he has written about the perceived influence of coaches, parents and peers on players' motivation during development.

I’m delighted to speak to Dr Matthew Schweickle in this week’s episode. Matt is a post-doctoral research associate at the University of Wollongong. Matt’s particular area of interest is clutch performances and the psychology of what is happening during clutch performances when people are performing well under pressure. We discuss in detail a fascinating paper that Matt wrote, along with Prof Christian Swann and Prof Stewart Vella which looks at objective and subjective performance indicators of clutch performances.

I’m delighted to welcome back licensed clinical psychologist and sport psychologist, Dr Scott Goldman in this episode. Scott started out at the University of Arizona where was one of the first embedded sport psychologists in an athletic department. He has since served as a clinical and performance psychologist for the University of Michigan and Saint Louis’ Athletic Departments. Scott also helped co-author the best practices for the NCAA and was part of their first mental health task force.   Scott has worked as sport psychologist for the Miami Dolphins and Detroit Lions NFL teams and NBA teams Washington Wizards, and currently the Golden State Warriors.   Scott has also developed a test called the AIQ which measures sport-specific intelligence that is used across all 5 major leagues in the US as well as in other countries around the world.

I speak with Dr Amy Whitehead and Jenny Coe in this episode. Amy is a Reader in Sport Psychology and Coaching and teaches across the Sport Coaching, Physical Education and Sport Psychology programmes at Liverpool John Moores University. Amy is a BPS accredited sport and exercise psychologist and has worked for organisations such as St. Helen’s RFC, British Cycling, the FA, Professional league and non-league football and European Tour Golfers.  Jenny is head of performance and well-being at West Ham United Women’s Team. Jenny has been involved with elite sport for most of her life, having played as a guard in basketball for Ireland and WIT Wildcats before joining UK Coaching in 2018, where she supported coaches across 13 high-performance Olympic sports on their respective journeys.  Jenny and Amy have edited the newly released ‘Myths of Sport Coaching’ and it’s this fascinating book that we discuss.  

I speak with Dr Oliver Runswick in this episode. Ollie is a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Performance Psychology at King's College London. His research focuses on understanding and enhancing learning and performance in domains including sport, dance, education, and the military. Prior to joining King’s Ollie worked as a Senior Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Psychology and Programme Co-ordinator at The University of Chichester and as an Evening Lecturer in ‘The Brain: Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience’ at Imperial College London. He has received a first-class BSc in Sport and Exercise Science from Swansea University, MSc in Human Movement Science from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, PGCHE from St Mary’s University, and PhD from Liverpool Hope University where he studied perceptual-motor skills based with St Mary’s University’s Expertise and Skill Acquisition Research Group.  

I’m delighted to speak with Dr Karen Howells and Holly Bradshaw in this episode. Karen is a Senior Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Psychology at Cardiff Metropolitan University. She is a Chartered Psychologist of the British Psychological Society (BPS) and a registered Practitioner Psychologist with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).  Karen regularly provides sport and performance psychology support to athletes from a wide range of individual and team sports competing at a variety of levels. Holly is the British record holder in pole vault and recent Olympic bronze medallist winner at the Tokyo Olympics. Holly is also a Sport Psychology MSc student at Loughborough University and has co-authored a new paper along with Karen and Mathijs Lucassen entitled “Abandoned to manage the post-Olympic blues: Olympians reflect on their experiences and the need for a change”. It’s this fascinating paper that we discuss.

I’m delighted to speak with Dr Jamie Taylor in this episode. Jamie is a senior coach developer at Grey Matters, a company specialising in performance enhancement and coaching development for individuals, sporting/cultural organisations and systems. Jamie is also Assistant Professor at Dublin City University. He works at The University of Edinburgh, and he coaches Performance Rugby at Loughborough University. We discuss in depth two fascinating papers Jamie has recently written about optimising talent development experience.

I’m delighted to welcome Dr Mustafa Sarkar back on the show. Mustafa is Associate Professor of Sport and Performance Psychology at Nottingham Trent University. His main area of research is on individual, team and organisational resilience in elite sport. Mustafa has a background in teaching and research with most of his research focusing on the psychology of sporting and performance excellence, specifically looking at resilience in high achievers in sport and business. Mustafa also works with coaches and organisations helping them to develop resilience in athletes and teams. We talk about a brilliant paper that Mustafa has contributed to which discusses psychological safety in sport.

I’m delighted to speak with Professor Laurence Alison and Dr Neil Shortland in this episode. Laurence is Chair of Forensic and Investigative Psychology at Liverpool University. He is a leader in forensic psychology, and specialises in the most difficult interactions imaginable: criminal interrogations. He advises and trains the police, security agencies, the FBI and the CIA on how to deal with extremely dangerous suspects. Neil is the Director of the Centre for Terrorism and Security Studies (CTSS) at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. CTSS leads and facilitates scientific research, education and training to help understand and respond to the evolution, convergence and complexity of domestic and foreign security challenges. Having spent over 20 years helping soldiers, police officers, doctors and other professionals in high-stakes environments make tough decisions when lives are on the line, Laurence and Neil have written the brilliant new book “Decision Time: How to make the choices your life depends on”. In the book they show us how those same decision-making techniques apply to everyday life. With tips, studies, interviews and observations from their training with police officers together with role-play scenarios, this book will help you identify and fight off the common enemies of good decision-making - inertia, procrastination and indecision - and empower you to make the choices that matter the most.

I speak to Dr Gillian Cook in this week’s episode. Gillian is a Lecturer in Sport and Performance Psychology at Liverpool John Moores University. She is a British Psychological Society (BPS) Chartered Sport and Exercise Psychologist, and a Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) registered Practitioner Psychologist. She is the club sport psychologist at Dundee United Football Club, and has worked with teams and organisations including British Swimming, British Athletics, Birmingham City Football Club's Academy, Scottish Hockey, Loughborough Sport, Nike, the NHS, and BBC. Gillian teaches and supervises across the undergraduate, postgraduate, professional doctorate and PhD degree programmes. She is the Module Leader for Developmental Psychology and Individual Differences, as well as Developmental and Social Psychology. Her research interests include high performance leadership, and the psychology of performance excellence. Specifically, her research examines how effective leaders create the conditions for others to thrive and deliver optimal outcomes in high pressure environments.

In this episode, I’m delighted to be joined by Prof Peter Clough, Doug Strycharczyk and Dr John Perry who have come on to talk about the newly released 3rd edition of the brilliant book Developing Mental Toughness: Strategies to Improve Performance, Resilience and Wellbeing in Individuals and Organizations. Prof Peter Clough needs little introduction having helped develop the concept of mental toughness. Peter is a research professor interested in performance under pressure and performance enhancement, in particular Mental Toughness. Doug Strycharczyk is the founder and CEO of AQR International - the business that has taken the concept of Mental Toughness and introduced it to people all over the world through psychometric testing.   Dr John Perry is Head of Department of Psychology at Mary Immaculate College. He has served as Acting Dean of Arts and worked as a lecturer in UK university. His research interests initially developed from a sports background and are now applied more broadly. John has joined Peter and Doug to co-author the 3rd edition of Developing Mental Toughness.

In this episode I welcome back sport and performance scientist Elliott Newell. This time Elliott is joined by Olympic Canoe Slalom Coach at British Canoeing, Craig Morris.   Elliott is currently Senior Performance Pathway Scientist at the English Institute of Sport. Specialising in psychological support, Elliott works in high performance sport with an emphasis on talent development. His focus is on supporting sports in using psychological knowledge and strategies to maximise the effectiveness and efficiency of performance pathways. Craig works within the elite performance pathway of British Canoeing and is just back from the Tokyo Olympics. Craig nurtures high performing people to facilitate high performing athletes, by always taking a person-centred approach, prioritising connections with self, belonging and psychological safety.

I speak to Prof Adam Nicholls in this week’s episode. Adam is a professor of sport psychology at the University of Hull. Adam’s research is supported by more than £1.1 million as a principal investigator and £1.5 million including all projects. He has published more than 85 journal articles and written 3 books. Adam and I speak about the recently released 3rd edition of his book Psychology in Sports Coaching Theory and Practice which has been fully revised and updated. Drawing on the very latest research and theory, the book introduces the psychological tools and techniques that coaches can use to get the best performances out of their athletes. Including three new chapters on the constraints approach to assessing psychological needs, mental imagery, managing perfectionism tendencies, and mentoring leaders.

I speak to Niels Feddersen in this week’s episode. Niels is a postdoctoral researcher in sports science at Norwegian University of Science and Technology. Niels studies organisational culture and power relations in elite sports organisations in the UK, Norway, and Denmark. Niels obtained his PhD from Liverpool John Moores University. In the research, he collaborated with several Olympic sports organisations, the FA, and Premier League football clubs. Niels also has a background as a practitioner in sport psychology, primarily in rowing in the youth national teams in Denmark. We speak about a fantastic paper that Niels has contributed to entitled A Qualitative Meta-Study of a Decade of the Holistic Ecological Approach to Talent Development

I speak to Dr Suzanne Brown in this week’s episode. Suzanne is a clinical psychologist specialising in mental health and performance. She works with individuals in one-to-one therapy and with elite organisations in sport, business and education. With over 14 years of experience, she has pioneered a new way of working that bridges clinical psychology with elite performance, helping people to achieve emotional fitness across all areas of their life.  We speak about mental health in sport and how understanding yourself better can help you to flourish personally and professionally.     

I’m delighted to speak to Amy Williams MBE in this week’s episode. Amy was a Gold Medal winner in the women's Skeleton  2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. She won Great Britain’s first gold medal in an individual event for 30 years, and the first by a woman for 58 years. Amy retired as an athlete in 2012 and has spent the years since doing television presenting roles, public appearances and motivational speaking. Amy has a book coming out on October 8th entitled Talent to Triumph: How Athletes Turn Potential into High Performance in which Amy guides the reader through their entire sporting journey, using her own experiences and those of some of Britain's greatest athletes to help turn talent into your triumph. You'll learn about mindset, confidence, teamwork, overcoming barriers & setbacks, dealing with injuries, longevity, training & preparation, talent identification schemes, maximising competition/match day outcomes.

In this episode, I’m joined by Dr Ed Cope & Prof Chris Cushion. Ed is a lecturer in Sport Coaching at Loughborough University. He completed his BSc in Sport Coaching from Leeds Beckett University, his MSc in Sports Coaching Science from the University of Worcester and his PhD at the University of Bedfordshire. Ed has also worked at the English Football Association, where he was responsible for the design and development of their education courses. Chris is Professor of Coaching and Pedagogy at Loughborough University. Starting out as a football coach, Chris has worked at every level of the game – from community schemes, grassroots football and academy professional clubs at all age levels. Ed and Chris have come back on the show to further discuss the topic of ‘direct instruction’ in coaching. Specifically, we speak about Barak Rosenshine’s principles of instruction, linking them to sports coaching.  

I speak to Dr Camilla Knight in this week’s episode. Camilla is a professor at Swansea University specialising in sport psychology, particularly in youth sport. Her particular area of interest is around parent involvement in sport. Camilla completed her BSc and MSc at Loughborough University, and her PhD at the University of Alberta in Canada. She is also the lead of the Welsh Research Advisory and Evaluation group for the Child Protection in Sport Unit, a member of the Welsh Safeguarding in Sport Strategy group, and the Youth Sport lead for the Welsh Institute of Performance Science. We speak about parents in sport: the challenges they face; helping coaches understand their perspective; and simple ways that coaches can help to create a parent-positive environment.

I’m delighted to speak to Dr Alex Auerbach in this week’s episode. Alex is the Director of Wellness and Development for the Toronto Raptors, where he is responsible for all things mental health, mental performance and off-court development for players and staff. He joined the Raptors after serving as the Director of Clinical and Sport Psychology for the University of Arizona. Alex has worked with NCAA Division-I schools in the Pac-12, ACC, Big 12, and Conference USA, where his work has included serving as the performance consultant for a Conference USA bowl-winning football team, ACC championship team, and student-athletes who continued in professional sport and/or the Olympic games. He earned his doctoral degree in counselling psychology with a specialisation in Sport and Performance Psychology from the University of North Texas.

I’m delighted to speak with Dr Marina Harris and Shameema Yousuf in this episode. Marina recently graduated with her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Nevada. She also has a Master's degree in Kinesiology and Health with an emphasis in sport psychology from Miami University. She also spends part of her time in the University of North Carolina Athletics Department, working with athletes to improve their mental wellness and sport performance. Shameema is a HCPC registered sport psychologist, registered clinical mental health counsellor and is a member of APA, AASP, and BASES. Shameema has a private practice working with youth athletes all the way up to elite athletes. We discuss a fantastic paper Marina recently wrote entitled “Simone Biles and Team USA Redefine Mental Toughness - The true definition of mental grit and what we can learn from it” which Shameema provided her expert opinion on.  

I speak to Jonny McMurtry in this week’s episode. Jonny has been involved in high performance age grade rugby programmes across Australia for over 10 years. He is currently completing research in conjunction with University of QLD and Rugby Australia, looking at age grade players’ engagement and understanding what motivates, engages and drives players' participation. Jonny’s background and passion is understanding people’s motivation and helping them achieve what they are striving to accomplish in sport and work environments. We speak about Jonny’s findings from his fascinating research project.

I’m so excited to speak to Geir Jordet in this week’s episode. Geir is Professor of Sport Psychology with a specialisation in football (soccer) and coaching at Norwegian School of Sport Sciences. Geir conducts research on the psychology of football - with an emphasis on visual perception, effective learning, performing under pressure, and psychology applied to elite level football. His work has been published in leading sport science and psychology journals such as Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, Journal of Sports Sciences, British Journal of Sports Medicine, and British Journal of Psychology, as well as in major media outlets - BBC World, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, El Pais and Spiegel. Geir and I speak about building habits, scanning, penalty kicks and the 2020 Euro’s.

In this episode I’m delighted to have Laurence Halsted back on the show. Laurence is a 2-time Olympian for the British Fencing team and director of mentoring for The True Athlete Project (TAP) as well as a consultant on TAPs various programs. TAP works across disciplines to design mindful training techniques that engage sport as a powerful tool for self-mastery and increased overall awareness. The practical, athlete-centred approach to changing the culture of sport aims to improve performance, nurture mental wellbeing, and cultivate a more compassionate world.​ In this episode, Laurence takes us though his brilliant new book Becoming a True Athlete: A Practical Philosophy for Flourishing Through Sport (due out 20th Aug 2021). The book draws on a combination of ancient wisdom and modern psychology, The True Athlete Philosophy explores how athletes can harness their lived experience of sport to contribute to a healthy, meaningful and fulfilled life and be of greater benefit to their community.

I’m delighted to welcome back Dr Noel Brick on this week’s episode. This time, Noel is joined by Scott Douglas. Noel is a Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Psychology at Ulster University. He has a Masters in Sport and Exercise Psychology and a PhD in Attentional Focus and Psychological Strategies in Endurance Activity. Scott is a writer and editor in fitness and health and has written 15 books. And it’s his latest book, written alongside Noel, that we speak about in this episode. The Genius of Athletes: What World-Class Competitors Know That Can Change Your Life combines cutting-edge science, illustrative stories from the world's top endurance athletes and practical instruction. Elite endurance athletes - including runners, cyclists, and swimmers - know that success hinges as much on how they use their minds as on how well they've trained their bodies. Long before race day, they've developed a rich arsenal of cognitive strategies that they incorporate into their long-term training regimens to unlock peak performance, from effective goal-setting and ingenious habit forming techniques to developing resilience and increasing self-belief. And now a growing body of evidence is showing that these strategies can help the rest of us achieve whatever we set our minds to in sport and life. The Genius of Athletes arms us with proven tools for reaching high and meeting our goals - whether it's running a marathon or any other personal or professional challenge.

In this episode I welcome back Prof Mark Williams. Mark is one of the world’s leading authorities in sports performance. This time, Mark is joined by Prof Nicola Hodges. Nikki is a Professor at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Vancouver in the School of Kinesiology. It is at UBC that Nikki runs the Motor Skills Laboratory where she studies the mechanisms of motor skill learning. Her research focuses on processes involved in watching, learning and predicting from others and how practice should be best structured to bring about long-term enhancement of motor skills and high-level performance (particularly in sport). She has been involved in sport-consulting and she has published over 100 peer-reviewed articles and chapters. Mark and Nikki have just released the 3rd edition of a book they edited entitled Skill Acquisition in Sport: Research, Theory and Practice. This edition has 40 new authors and 10 new chapters. And it’s this book that we discuss in detail.

I have the pleasure of being joined by Dr Paul McCarthy and Zoe Moffat in this episode. Paul is Programme Director of the Taught Doctorate in Sport and Exercise Psychology at Glasgow Caledonian University and has his own private practice supporting athletes and coaches in a range of sports, particularly in golf & football. Zoe is in her final year as a DPsych student and is a trainee Sport and Exercise Psychologist at Glasgow Caledonian University. Zoe is also a tennis player and tennis coach. Zoe and Paul, along with Dr Bryan McCann, have written a research paper which reports a brief attribution-retraining (AR) intervention with youth tennis players. Athletes were struggling to maintain emotional control, resulting in problematic on-court behaviour (e.g., racket throwing). The intervention used a Think Aloud protocol and AR. Evaluation suggested that AR and Think Aloud interventions can improve athletes’ emotional control and attribution capabilities, and, in turn, their behaviour. The case seeks to present a novel approach to working with youth athletes, highlighting the importance of practitioner adaptability. 

I’m excited to be speaking with Christian Jarrett in this episode. A cognitive neuroscientist by training, Christian is Deputy Editor of Psyche, a global digital magazine that explores all aspects of the human condition. Christian has written about psychology and neuroscience for publications across the world, including BBC Future, WIRED, New York magazine, New Scientist, GQ Italia and The Guardian. He was the founding editor and creator of the British Psychological Society's Research Digest, presenter of their PsychCrunch podcast, and an award-winning journalist on The Psychologist magazine. His books include The Rough Guide to Psychology and Great Myths of The Brain.  Christian also has a new book out entitled Be Who You Want: Unlocking the Science of Personality Change which argues that contrary to the old adage, not only can leopards change their spots, they can swap them for stripes, and they can do so to their own advantage. In psychological terms, although our initial personality type is moulded by a combination of genetic influences and early experiences, it is not fixed. It's malleable, voluntary even. This book will tell the story of how our personalities are formed and gives us the tools to shape them in the ways which we desire and which will benefit us most. Drawing on the latest psychological theories and methods, interviews with leading experts, as well as personal anecdote, Christian Jarrett shows us that we can shape ourselves in ways that make our lives better.

I’m excited to be speaking with Ian Leslie in this episode. Ian is a writer, speaker, and author of acclaimed books on human behaviour. He also writes about psychology, culture, technology and business for the New Statesman, the Economist, the Guardian and the Financial Times. Ian and I discuss his fascinating new book Conflicted: Why Arguments Are Tearing Us Apart and How They Can Bring Us Together which draws essential lessons on how to disagree well from world-class experts: interrogators, hostage negotiators, divorce mediators, diplomats and addiction counsellors. It tells inspiring stories of productive disagreements and combines them with fascinating insights from the science of human communication. Whether it's at work, at home, or in public, confronting our differences is the only way to make the most of them. Conflicted is about how to do that successfully.

In this episode I speak with Dr Andy Hill. Andy is a professor at York St John University. His research focuses on the antecedents and consequences of participation in sport and exercise. His main areas of interest are the consequences of perfectionism for athletes, exercisers, and youth sport participants. He has published in leading journals in sport and exercise psychology, health psychology, and general psychology on this topic. Andy has written an insightful chapter in the book Handbook of Self-Regulation and Motivation. We speak about this chapter and explore what perfectionism is; perfectionism in sport; goal-setting; creating sporting environments that are healthy and less perfectionistic; and what things coaches can do to help athletes with perfectionistic tendencies.

I am so excited to be joined by Dr Michael Gervais in this episode. Michael is a high performance psychologist working in high-stakes environments with some of the best in the world, training the mindset skills and practices essential to pursuing and revealing one’s potential. His clients include world record holders, Olympians, internationally acclaimed artists and musicians, MVPs from every major sport and Fortune 100 CEOs. A published, peer-reviewed author and recognized speaker on optimal human performance, Dr Gervais has been featured by NBC, ABC, FOX, CNN, ESPN, NFL Network, Red Bull TV, The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Outside Magazine, WIRED, ESPN Magazine and others. He is the co-founder of Compete to Create, a digital platform business helping people become their best through mindset training. He is also the host of Finding Mastery, a podcast that takes you inside the rugged and high-stakes environments of those on the path of mastery to explore how they train minds to be at their very best.

I’m delighted to have Dr Josie Perry on this week’s episode. Josie is a chartered sport psychologist, working mainly 1-1 with athletes – from novice athletes just starting out through to world champions. She teaches athletes the skills they need to overcome barriers to success and ensures they feel more comfortable and confident when they compete. Josie is also an author, writing features for magazines including cycling weekly. She has written three sport psychology books including her latest, I Can: The Teenage Athlete's Guide to Mental Fitness which is designed to help young athletes become mentally skilled. The book covers what it takes to be successful, how to handle competition nerves, ways to push harder and get braver, techniques to build confidence, ways to improve emotional control, activities to increase concentration and focus, tactics for dealing with setbacks and injury, advice on how to feel comfortable in the sporting world and tips on how to look after your wellbeing as an athlete.

I’m honoured to be speaking with Dan P. McAdams in this episode. Dan is a Professor of Psychology at ‎Northwestern University. He is author of over 300 scientific articles and chapters, numerous edited volumes, and 8 books. Professor McAdams works in the areas of personality and life-span developmental psychology. His theoretical and empirical writings focus on concepts of self and identity. Professor McAdams is most well-known for formulating a life-story theory of human identity. In this episode we’re going to speak about one of my all-time favourite psychology books: The Art and Science of Personality Development which draws on state-of-the-art personality and developmental research. This book presents a new and broadly integrative theory of how people come to be who they are over the life course. We discuss the 5 personality traits in detail, what they are, what they mean and why they can be useful for coaches to know about.

I’m excited to have Prof Mark Williams back on the show for this episode. Mark is one of the world’s leading authorities in sports performance. He completed his PhD in Movement Science with a focus on perceptual cognitive expertise. Mark has worked at various academic institutions including Liverpool John Moores university, University of Sydney, Brunel University London, Florida State, and he is now Professor and Chair of the Department of Health, Kinesiology, and Recreation at the University of Utah.   Mark has come back on to discuss a fascinating book he has co-edited entitled Anticipation and Decision Making in Sport. This is the first book to identify the underlying science behind anticipation and decision making in sport, enhancing our scientific understanding of these phenomena and helping practitioners to develop interventions to facilitate the more rapid acquisition of the perceptual-cognitive skills that underpin these judgements.

I have the pleasure of being joined by Dr Jon Rhodes in this episode. Jon is an Associate Lecturer in Motivational Psychology and Sports Psychology at the University of Plymouth. Jon is also a Chartered Cognitive Psychologist and is co-developer of a new technique called Functional Imagery Training (FIT) which is a unique approach to behaviour change that uses mental imagery to motivate change. FIT teaches people new ways of thinking about their immediate future to help them stay motivated as they achieve each small step towards their goal. And it’s this fascinating topic that we delve into in this episode.

I’m delighted to speak with Dr David Eccles in this episode. David is Professor of Sport Psychology at Florida State University. His primary area of research interest is skilled and expert human performance and its development, particularly from a cognitive perspective. David has written a paper along with Emma Leone and Prof Mark Williams entitled Deliberate Practice: What Is It and How Can I Use It? This fascinating paper introduces the reader to 7 principles for applying deliberate practice – established training techniques, existing skills as building blocks, pushing the envelope, enhancing mental representations, responding to feedback, total application of focus, and specific goals. We discuss these principles and then link deliberate practice to a second paper David has written entitled How To Help Athletes Get The Mental Rest Needed To Perform And Stay Healthy.

In this week’s episode I speak with Dr Don Vinson & Victoria Huckle. Don is a principle lecturer in Sports Coaching at the University of Worcester with a particular interest in athlete and coach learning and coach development. He is also a coach and coach developer with England Hockey within the talent development programme. Victoria is a PhD student at the University of Worcester in the School of Sport and Exercise Science. Victoria’s main research interest is how coaches learn. In addition to working towards her PhD, Victoria has worked with the UK Invictus team, and now works as a professional rowing coach with Bedford School Boat Club. Don and Victoria, along with Dr Andy Cale, have written paper about understanding how sports coaches learn outside of their coaching community. Recent approaches to facilitating coach development place considerable emphasis on social interaction aimed at enhancing participants’ learning through collaboration and discussion. This investigation examined the usefulness of utilising the Landscapes of Practice (LoP) framework to better understand such “social” learning.

I’m delighted to speak with Prof Roger Kneebone in this episode. Roger directs the Imperial College Centre for Engagement and Simulation Science (ICCESS), based within the Division of Surgery. Roger co-leads a multidisciplinary research team whose aim is to advance human health through simulation, collaborating closely with clinicians, scientists, patients, and experts outside medicine.  Roger is the expert on experts, having spent a lifetime striving to learn about expertise and in his book Expert: Understanding the Path to Mastery he combines his own experiences as a doctor with insights from extraordinary people and cutting-edge research to map out the path we're all following - from 'doing time' as an Apprentice, to developing your 'voice' and taking on responsibility as a Journeyman, to finally becoming a Master and passing on your skills. And it’s this fascinating book that we discuss on this week’s episode.

In this episode, I’m joined by Dr Ed Cope & Prof Chris Cushion. Ed is a lecturer in Sport Coaching at Loughborough University. He completed his BSc in Sport Coaching from Leeds Beckett University, his MSc in Sports Coaching Science from the University of Worcester and his PhD at the University of Bedfordshire. Ed has also worked at the English Football Association, where he was responsible for the design and development of their education courses. Chris is Professor of Coaching and Pedagogy at Loughborough University. Starting out as a football coach, Chris has worked at every level of the game – from community schemes, grassroots football and academy professional clubs at all age levels. Ed, Chris and I discuss a paper they have written together entitled “A Move Towards Reconceptualising Direct Instruction in Sport Coaching Pedagogy” which looks at what ‘direct instruction’ is and what it encompasses. The paper is available to read here https://impact.chartered.college/article/a-move-towards-reconceptualising-direct-instruction-sport-coaching-pedagogy/  

I’m excited to speak with positive psychology and performance coach, John Yeager in this episode. John is the founder and chief executive officer of Yeager Leadership which works with sports, business, and education clients. John holds a Doctorate in education from Boston University and a Master's in Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) from the University of Pennsylvania. He has authored/co-authored five books, including his latest The Coaching Zone: Next Level Leadership in Sports which he co-wrote with Jon Cunha. With more than 50 years of sports coaching experience between them, John and Jon joined forces to create a roadmap for coaches to better navigate the three focus areas: self, athlete, team. The book covers a wide range of concepts drawn from mindfulness traditions, sport psychology, positive psychology, and positive organisational behaviour. It tells many stories illustrating both the challenges that coaches face and the solutions that worked – or didn’t work. The book also provides 48 exercises that you can use to practice as you learn.

I speak with Dr Oliver Eslinger in this episode. Doc is Head Men's Basketball Coach for the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). Since his initial campaign, Doc's Caltech squads have set more than 145 team and individual records, including most conference wins in a season, the best start in history, and most victories in a season since 1954. Prior to his role at Caltech, Doc was an associate head coach at MIT. He is an NABC Guardian of the Game and the all-time programme leader in NCAA wins. Doc completed his EdD at Boston University in Counselling and Sport Psychology under Dr Leonard Zaichkowsky.

I speak with Adam Miles in this episode. Adam is manager of talent development and player pathway at Otago Cricket Association in New Zealand. Adam also coaches New Zealand first class cricket team, Otago Volts. Adam moved from the UK to New Zealand on a PhD scholarship in Sport Psychology at the University of Otago exploring Life Skills Development in Elite Athletes. We speak about how coaches of all sports can help their players develop mental skills, how New Zealand coaches are embracing sport psychology and how this positively influences their ability to develop some of the best competitors in world.

In this episode, I speak with Gordon MacLelland. Gordon is founder and CEO of Working with Parents in Sport (WWPIS) which supports organisations, parents and coaches in working together to provide children with the best possible sporting experiences. Gordon has a BA/Hons degree in Sports Science from University College Chester and a PGCE from Lancaster University. He has been Director of Sport at an independent prep school in the UK for the last 13 years and has worked in schools in both the UK and New Zealand for the last 16 years. Gordon is also the author of three books, ‘Two Hats’ – a book for parent coaches who are coaching or thinking of coaching their own children,  ‘Great Sports Parenting’ – A pocket guide for parents of children in sport and ‘Engage’ – A coaches guide to building positive relationships with parents.

I’m excited to speak with Dr Nicole Gabana in this episode. Nicole is Director of Sport Psychology for the University of Massachusetts. Previously, Nicole was Assistant Professor of Sport Psychology in the Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems at Florida State University. She is a Certified Mental Performance Consultant (CMPC) of the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP). Nicole’s interests centre on athlete mental health and well-being, specifically the integration of positive psychology. Nicole and I discuss positive psychology and we explore the concept of gratitude as a trait and a state.  

I’m delighted to welcome Ian Peek back on the show. This time, Ian is joined by Steven Orr. Steven is a golf coach with 20 years of experience. He is a PGA Master Professional - the highest educational level in The PGA and has an MSc in Sports Coaching. He is currently undertaking his professional doctorate at the University of Central Lancashire. Ian has been coaching golf for almost 30 years. He is a transition & performance coach, helping his clients achieve their goals whether that’s transitioning to a new level of achievement or maintaining their position at the top of their sport or industry. Ian holds a Master’s degree in Sports Coaching and is a PhD researcher. He is also a PGA Master Professional. Ian, Steven and I speak about the tools and techniques they utilise in their coaching practices. We discuss how these tools can help coaches have better conversations with players; understand players as people first; and utilise Motivational Interviewing to become better listeners.

I’m excited to speak with Dr James Hegarty in this episode. James has a PhD in Experimental Psychology, with a strong background in basic behavioural sciences, he is a registered clinical psychologist, and a fellow of the New Zealand College of Clinical Psychologists. James also has an interest in ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy/Training) and he has written a book along with Christoph Huelsmann entitled ACT in Sport: Improve Performance through Mindfulness, Acceptance, and Commitment which is a practical workbook providing a variety of simple strategies for athletes, sport psychologists, and coaches for growing their skills. It is a manual for anyone wanting to become familiar with this increasingly popular but poorly understood approach to the psychology of sports performance.

I’m delighted to welcome Dr Mustafa Sarkar back on the show. This time, Mustafa is joined by Kirsten Fasey. Kirsten is a PhD researcher at Nottingham Trent University. She previously studied Sport and Exercise Psychology at Loughborough University. Mustafa is Associate Professor of Sport and Performance Psychology at Nottingham Trent University. His main area of research is on individual, team and organisational resilience in elite sport. And it’s the topic of organisational resilience that we’re going to be focusing on in this episode. We will discuss in detail a research paper Kirsten and Mustafa have co-written entitled “Defining and Characterising Organisational resilience in Elite Sport” which aims to identify resilient characteristics of elite sport organisations.

I’m excited to speak with Dr Duncan Simpson in this episode. Duncan is Head of Mental Skills at IMG Academy, the world’s most prestigious sports, performance and educational institution. Established in 1978 with a pioneering concept known as the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy, IMG Academy has since grown to become a global phenomenon. Prior to his role at IMG, Duncan was an Associate Professor in Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology Programme at Barry University in Miami. Duncan received his PhD in Sport Psychology from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Duncan and I discuss the collaborative approach IMG Academy takes to developing its athletes, with mental conditioning being front and centre alongside the technical, tactical and physical areas. We discuss what that integration looks like by exploring the ways Duncan works alongside coaches and other staff at the Academy.

I’m really excited to speak with Ethan Kross in this episode. Ethan is one of the world’s leading experts on controlling the conscious mind. An award-winning professor in the University of Michigan’s top ranked Psychology Department and its Ross School of Business, he is the director of the Emotion & Self Control Laboratory. Ethan has just released the absolutely brilliant book Chatter. The Voice in Our Head and How to Harness It, in which he interweaves cutting-edge science with real-world case studies to explain how our inner conversations shape our work and relationships. Then he reveals the tools you need to harness your own voice so that you can be happier, healthier and more productive. Ethan and I delve into this fascinating book discussing practical tools and techniques players and coaches from all sports can use.

I’m delighted to welcome Dr Chris Shambrook back on the show. This time, Chris is joined by 5 x Olympian, 4 x World Champion and 3 x silver medallist, Frances Houghton MBE. Frances was the first British woman to be selected for five consecutive Olympic Games in rowing, and only the fifth woman in any sport to achieve this mark for Team GB. Chris was the team psychologist for the British rowing team from 1997 to 2019 attending 5 Olympic Games and supporting Frances for much of her career. These days Chris takes the lessons learned from Olympic Champions and applies them to help enhance corporate performance. Frances has written the fascinating new book “Learnings From Five Olympic Games” which is the accumulation of her notes and learnings from her 21 year career. Frances, Chris and I discuss the book in detail and break down the processes Frances utilised to compete at the very highest level.

I’m delighted to welcome back on the show Author and Performance Expert, Fergus Connolly and Head Coach of Canada’s AFL (Australian Football League) programme Cody Royle. Fergus and Cody recorded a series of webinars over the summer of 2020 which spurred some brilliant conversation about coaching and performance. And so, I wanted to get them both on to talk about some of the key take-aways they had from the show. We also speak about their new books – Fergus’ book, The Happiness Handbook for High Achievers: Stoics, Circles & Sheepdogs, takes readers on a journey in search of the answers to our most pressing questions about happiness and contentment. And Cody’s latest book which is due for release 1st February is The Tough Stuff – a book that focuses entirely on the human experience of head coaching - the emotional toll, the identity issues, the loneliness.

I’m delighted to speak with Suze Burton-Wylie in this episode. Suze is a performance psychologist working at the English Institute of Sport (EIS) and with the British Sailing Team. Suze is currently working towards her Doctorate in Sport and Exercise Psychology focusing on Organisational Culture at the University of Portsmouth. And it’s this topic, organisational culture, that we focus on during our conversation: How do we define it? How do we build it? How do we keep it? And how do we accommodate individual differences while establishing a shared vision and set of values?

I’m delighted to speak with Hannah Huesman in this episode. Hannah is the mental skills coach for the Philadelphia Phillies Major League Baseball organisation. Hannah received her Master’s degree in Sport Psychology and Motor Behaviour from the University of Tennessee. Hannah is also the host of Mental Sweat Monday – one minute videos containing tips and tricks to help viewers work on their mental game.  We speak about using mental skills to help simplify performance; attentional cues; being comfortable with being uncomfortable; and optimism versus positivity.

I’m delighted to speak with Sian Beilock in this episode. Sian is a cognitive scientist, with two PhD’s: one in Kinesiology and one in Cognitive Psychology. Sian is one of the world’s leading experts on the brain science behind ‘choking under pressure’ and the brain and body factors influencing all types of performance from public speaking to your golf swing.  In this podcast, Sian and I take a detailed look at what ‘choking’ is and why it happens.

I’m so excited to have Dr Len Zaichkowsky and Dan Peterson back on the show. Len and Dan have just published “The Playmaker's Decisions: The Science of Clutch Plays, Mental Mistakes and Athlete Cognition” which focuses on the split-second decision-making process that produces both clutch plays and mental mistakes. This book is for coaches needing to sharpen their team's decisions under pressure, a parent who is trying to understand their child’s mental game or even a fan who has yelled at the TV wondering why their team breaks your heart, "The Playmaker’s Decisions" combines science and stories to shed light on the black box of athlete cognition. The Playmaker’s Decisions: https://geni.us/theplaymakersdecisions The Playmaker’s Advantage: https://geni.us/ThePlaymakersAdvantage

In this episode I’m delighted to have teacher, teaching mentor and bestselling author Doug Lemov back on the show.   Doug studies high performing teachers and what it is they do that makes them so effective in the classroom. Following requests from people in the sports sector, Doug has taken his experiences from the classroom to help coaches optimise their teaching ability. And in his new book “The Coach’s Guide to Teaching” Doug brings his considerable knowledge about the science of classroom teaching to the sports coaching world to create championship calibre coaches on the court and field. What great classroom teachers do is relevant to coaches in profound ways. After all, coaches are at their core teachers.

I’m honoured to speak with Dr Lisa Feldman Barrett in this episode. Lisa is a University Distinguished Professor at Northeastern University with appointments at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. She is among the top 1% most cited scientists in the world for her revolutionary research in psychology and neuroscience. Lisa is also author of several books including her latest "Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain" in which she demystifies that big grey blob between your ears.  Lisa and I take an in depth look at this phenomenal book and how it relates to sports coaching, learning and performance.

I’m excited to speak with sport psychologist Tom Young in this episode. Tom completed his Master’s at Liverpool John Moores University and has subsequently worked as a chartered psychologist in both business and sport, predominantly golf and football (soccer). Tom has always had an interest in leadership and culture and has recently published the brilliant book “The Making of a Leader: What Elite Sport can Teach us About Leadership, Management and Performance” which shares the practical principles of sustained elite performance and shows how any individual can add value to their own business or organisation by applying these insights. During our conversation we explore the book chapter by chapter.

I’m delighted to speak with Dan Clements in this episode. Dan works in elite coach development, currently at The Welsh Rugby Union. Prior roles include Head of Performance at Wales Hockey and Performance Coach Manager at Wales Rugby League. Dan has co-written a fascinating paper entitled ‘Coach development through collaborative action research: enhancing the learning environment within a national talent development system’. We take an in depth look at this paper and discuss action research; appreciative inquiry; the positivity principle and the intriguingly named ‘provocative proposition’.

I’m excited to speak with Dr Pippa Grange in this episode. Pippa is a sport psychologist and culture coach and has worked in the areas of culture, psychology, ethics and leadership, primarily in elite sport. She held the position of Head of People and Team Development at The Football Association, helping the England team reach the semi-final of the 2018 World Cup. She is currently head of cultural strategy at Right to Dream, which places emphasis on flipping the script on women’s football. And Pippa has written a book, Fear Less: How to Win at Life Without Losing Yourself which shows all of us how, by starting to live with less fear, we can find our real passions and deeper fulfilment. And it’s this book we mainly focus on during this conversation, specifically we speak about scarcity narrative; ‘in the moment fear’, ‘not good enough fear’; distorted fear; and ‘see it, face it, replace it’. 

I’m delighted to speak with sport psychologist Rebecca Symes in this episode. Rebecca works with elite and professional athletes to enhance performance and wellbeing. She is currently psychologist for GB women’s Hockey. Rebecca also runs her own consultancy, Sporting Success, which has seen her work with clients including Surrey County Cricket Club, Archery GB; England and Wales Cricket Board; and England Athletics. Her work with Archery GB has taken her to two Paralympics. She has also held roles at the FA across the men’s and women’s pathways. We speak about personal and athletic identity; the impact of language; identity foreclosure; psychological recovery; and career transitions.

I’m delighted to speak with Professor Laurence Alison in this episode. Laurence is Chair of Forensic and Investigative Psychology at Liverpool University. He is a leader in forensic psychology, and specialises in the most difficult interactions imaginable: criminal interrogations. He advises and trains the police, security agencies, the FBI and the CIA on how to deal with extremely dangerous suspects. After 30 years’ work Laurence, along with fellow Forensic Psychologist and wife, Emily Alison, has written the brilliant book Rapport: The Four Ways to Read People. And it’s the central premise of the book that we focus on in this episode, looking at what rapport is; how to develop it; how to have great conversations; the HEAR principles - Honesty; Empathy, Autonomy and Reflection; the role of power; self-awareness; and the 3 key components to building expertise in rapport.

I’m delighted to speak with Cath Bishop in this episode. Cath is a former Olympic rower, competing at Atlanta, Sydney and Athens. Cath now works in leadership development, working with teams and leaders to help organisations be more effective. She has also written the fantastic new book entitled ‘The Long Win: The Search for a Better Way to Succeed’ which explores “…our cultural obsession with winning and how it affects the way we approach work, sport, education and beyond.” In the book, Cath looks at some of the consequences of a win-at-all-costs approach and proposes a new way of redefining success. And it’s this book we mainly speak about, specifically focusing on the process rather than on winning; valuing athletes as people first; athletes having something more than just their sport; finding a balance between competition and cooperation.

I’m excited to speak with Dr Sergio Lara-Bercial in this episode. Sergio is a Reader in Sport Coaching at Leeds Beckett University and the International Council for Coaching Excellence (ICCE). He has also coached different sports for the past 25 years, primarily basketball, coaching in the English Women First Division and Team GB, going to five European Championships. Sergio, along with University of Queensland’s Associate Professor Cliff Mallet, led a fascinating study “The practices and developmental pathways of professional and Olympic serial winning coaches” in which they interviewed 14 serial winning coaches and 21 of their athletes from 9 countries and 11 sports. And it’s this study we mainly focus on, specifically “driven benevolence”; work/life balance and avoiding burnout; perfectionism; 20/20 vision; and emotional stability. 

I speak with Dr Joe Dixon in this episode. Joe is performance psychologist for Bath Rugby Club and also for Stoke City Football Club.   Joe has co-edited and also contributed a chapter to a new book entitled The Psychology of Soccer which seeks to present the detailed understanding of the theories underpinning the psychological issues relating to soccer, along with practical insights into effective psychological interventions and strategies. And it’s this book that we focus on during this episode. Specifically, challenge and threat states; approach versus avoidance focus; can athletes in a threat state still perform well?   

I’m delighted to speak with professional ballet dancer and choreographer, Kit Holder in this episode. Kit is first soloist at the Birmingham Royal Ballet where he has danced for 20 years. He trained at The Royal Ballet School in London and is currently studying psychology. We speak about the psychology of ballet and its parallels with sport, specifically, skill acquisition; attentional cues, lost move syndrome; flow; the importance of having multiple identities; pre-performance routines; and the need for sport psychology in the demanding discipline of ballet.

I’m delighted to speak with mental performance coach Brian Levenson in this episode. Brian is founder of Strong Skills, which provides executive coaching and mental performance coaching, speaking and consulting to elite organisations, performers and leaders. He has worked with CEO’s, professional athletes and with teams in the NBA, NHL, and MLS, Division 1 athletic departments, the Federal Reserve, the Department of Homeland Security, Hilton, Young Presidents Organisation (YPO) and many other organisations. Brian has a new book coming out entitled ‘Shift Your Mind: 9 Mental Shifts to Thrive in Preparation and Performance’ which takes readers through nine mental shifts to elevate preparation and performance. And it’s this book that we focus on in this episode.

I’m delighted to speak with Amy Price in this episode. Amy has a football coaching background holding her UEFA A Licence and now works as women's national coach developer for the FA. Prior to this, Amy was a lecturer at St Mary’s University London in Physical and Sport Education and then programme director. Amy holds a Masters and DProf. We speak about a paper that Amy has just co-authored related to strategic understanding, which looks at soccer coaches’ interpretation, knowledge and application of game strategies. Specifically, game understanding; building meta- cognitive game skills; and the use of video games to improve learning transference onto the football pitch.

I’m honoured to be speaking with Prof Mark Williams in this episode. Mark is one of the world’s leading authorities in sports performance. He completed his PhD in Movement Science with a focus on perceptual cognitive expertise. Mark has worked at various academic institutions including Liverpool John Moores university, University of Sydney, Brunel University London, Florida State, and he is now Professor and Chair of the Department of Health, Kinesiology, and Recreation at the University of Utah.   Mark has authored 18 books and over 500 research papers and has just co-authored a book entitled The Best: How Elite Athletes are Made. And it’s this book we mainly focus on, specifically 10,000 hour rule; early specialisation; transference; choking; deliberate practice; and resilience.

I’m delighted to speak with former Olympic 100m sprinter and bobsleigher, Craig Pickering in this episode. After early success as a young athlete, Craig went on to win a number of medals at European and World Championship levels. After a career-ending injury Craig completed his doctorate and now works as athlete pathway manager at Athletics Australia. We speak in depth about Craig’s experiences as an athlete including attentional cues, dealing with injury, well-being and managing success and failure.

I speak with rugby league international coaching specialist, Stuart Wilkinson in this episode. Stuart started out playing the game, before moving on to coaching in the National pathway. He was Great Britain Academy Assistant Coach and a coach with the English national team for a number of years. In the late 90’s he became the first player performance manager in GB Rugby League where his brief was to build up a local pathway for players. Stuart moved on to work with the first team at Wigan Warriors and then became the RFL national performance coach. He has coached with the national teams of Wales, France, Russia and is now coaching in Serbia, as well as undertaking a PhD in talent development. We speak in depth about developing an integrated system around the player. 

I speak with Dr Amy Whitehead in this episode. Amy is a sport psychologist, coach developer and Programme Manager for the Sports Coaching and Sport Development programmes at Liverpool John Moores University. Amy specialises in ‘Think Aloud’ protocol in a sporting context which asks athletes and coaches to think aloud as they perform/coach. And it’s this protocol we focus on during the podcast. Specifically, how it works in practice; how it can help coaches and athletes analyse their performances; self reflection and flow.

I speak with sport psychologist Gareth J Mole in this episode. Gareth spent his younger days in South Africa and credits this for his love of sport. He then moved to the UK and went on to undertake his psychology undergraduate at the University of Leeds after which he moved to Australia to complete his Masters in sport psychology at the University of Western Sydney. In 2005 Gareth set up Condor Performance, a (now) 10 strong team of Australian sport and performance psychologists. Condor Performance has grown to become the largest independent sport and performance psychology practice in Australia. We speak about what the future of sport psychology might look like, specifically greater role clarity; stronger regulations in the field; cohesion between coaches and psychologists; the landscape of sport psychology across the world and hopes for the future.

I’m delighted to have award-winning journalist and author, Joan Ryan on this episode. Joan was a pioneer in sports journalism, becoming one of the first female sports columnists in the country. Since 2008, Joan has been senior media advisor for the San Francisco Giants baseball team. Joan spends most of her time in the company of the players in the clubhouse, and the experiences she has had from this time prompted her to write her latest book, “Intangibles: Unlocking the Science and Soul of Team Chemistry” which asks does team chemistry really exist or is it a myth? If it exists, what is it exactly? And it’s this book we mainly speak about. We discuss the dynamics of team chemistry, what hinders and what helps, and its effect on performance.  

In this episode, I speak with Dr Natalie Campbell. Natalie is senior lecturer at the University of Gloucestershire in the Department of Sport and Exercise sciences. She completed her PhD in Social Psychology. Natalie is also a research and education associate of a charity called Switch the Play Foundation which helps to transition athletes into life outside of their sport.   We speak about pop psychology; authenticity; acknowledging that success looks different for different people; experiential versus empirical knowledge.

To mark the 100th episode of The Sport Psych Show, Dr Scott Goldman has come back on to interview me. Scott and I speak about my experiences as a sport psychologist over the last 15 or so years. We explore the role of a sport psychologist and the importance of integrating sport psychology into sporting organisations. We also discuss what I feel coaches can do to get the very most from their players.

In this episode, I’m joined by Rory Mack and Andrew Wood. Andrew is a Sport and Exercise Psychology Lecturer teaching at multiple universities. He also works as lead sport psychologist to the B1 football squad. Rory has been based at Sheffield Hallam University for the past 12 years. He is a post Viva PhD candidate. His PhD is in Motivational Interviewing in applied sport psychology. Rory and Andrew have written a fascinating research paper which discusses combining Motivational Interviewing (MI) with Rational Emotive Behavioural Therapy (REBT) in a series of sessions with an athlete and this is the focus of our conversation. Over the course of 6 sessions, the paper retraces how the frameworks were used to help the athlete think more effectively.

In this episode, I speak with leadership coach and team architect, Donna Fishter. Donna is owner of a consulting business working with teams, training leaders, developing culture and coaching coaches and individual athletes. Prior to this, Donna was a soccer coach for over 20 years. 13 of those years were at the University of Central Florida. We speak about the importance of introspection as a coach and leader: how can coaches be more self-aware with their communication, their tone, their demeanour? We also discuss how coaches can continue to self-monitor - asking themselves why do they do things the way they do?

I am honoured to be joined by Justine Siegal in this episode. Justine was the first woman ever to coach professional baseball. Her experiences in the pro leagues motivated her to change the landscape of gender inequality in baseball. She has a PhD in Sport Psychology and is founder of Baseball For All, which is a national non-profit organisation empowering girls to coach, play and lead. We speak about Justine’s experiences growing up playing a very male dominated sport and how they shaped her to become the coach she is today.

I am honoured to be joined by Dr Christian Zepp in this episode. Christian splits his time between lecturing at The German Sport University in Cologne and consulting as an applied sport psychologist. Christian obtained his PhD in sport sciences with a focus on sport psychology at the Institute of Psychology at The German Sport University. Christian has more than 20 years’ experience in high-performance sport and has worked in multiple sports including being sport psychologist for the German National Table Tennis team and the National Team Coach for the disabled standing volleyball team in Cambodia. We speak in depth about the role of sport psychology – what it is and what it isn’t; common objections to using it; how it can help coaches and the possibilities it can open up for them and their athletes; and the importance of investing time with athletes to create trust.

I am excited to be joined by Dr Andrew Abraham in this episode. Andrew is Head of Department for Sport Coaching at Leeds Beckett University. He is a coach developer with an interest in how coaches do their job in relation to effectiveness, judgement, decision-making and talent development. Andrew's research and consultancy work is recognised across the world. The impact of this work is seen within the International Sport Coaching Degree Standards, co-produced with the International Council for Coaching Excellence, academics from universities across continents and practitioners from International Coaching Federations. We speak about the biopsychosocial model; reductionism; the psychology of learning; how people learn; cognitive learning theory, social learning theory; constructivist learning theory; motor learning theory and dynamical systems.

I am honoured to be joined by Lisa Alexander in this episode. Lisa is one of the most successful coaches in Australian sport. Formerly a maths and physical education teacher, Lisa worked her way up from coaching under 10’s netball to become the Australian Diamonds Head Coach.   We speak about Lisa’s long career as Head Coach of the Diamonds. How she went about establishing a true person-centred environment; the parallels between teaching and coaching; getting to know your team and directive vs non-directive coaching.  

I’m excited to be joined by Stephen Renwick in this episode. Stephen is a sport psychology consultant, training through BASES as a probationary sport & exercise scientist specialising in psychology. He works with athletes in multiple sports and uses a framework called Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). Stephen also holds a senior world ranking for tennis. In this episode we speak in depth about Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Stephen takes us through how this framework is used can be used practice.

I have the pleasure of being joined by Jennifer Lace in this episode. Jennifer is Head of Sport Psychology and Personal Development at Nottingham Forest FC. Prior to her role at Forest, Jennifer worked at Burnley FC as Sport Psychology Practitioner and Lecturer. Jennifer has an MSc from Stafford University and is accredited by BASES (Bristish Association of Sport and Exercise Science). We talk about the road to becoming a sport psychologist and the path options that are available; how to get coaches on board with sport psychology; aiding a coach’s delivery and specific psychological approaches and models.

I am delighted to be joined by father and son, Keith and David Mayer in this episode. Both Keith and David are both coaches and ex-professional players. Keith has coached soccer for 37 years on 6 continents and is currently coaching Liverpool Football Academy. David also started coaching after his playing days and has coached on 4 continents and is currently Global Head of Foundation Phase at 7Elite Academy in Salt Lake City. Keith and David have written a fantastic book entitled Gold Dust: How to Become a More Effective Coach, Quickly. And it’s this book we mainly speak about discussing the significance of interpersonal skills; coaching with intention; coaches monitoring the language they use and being aware of their communication.

I have the pleasure of being joined by Prof Brendan Cropley in this episode. Brendan is Professor of Sport Coaching at the University of South Wales. He is also Head of the Centre for Football Research in Wales. Brendan has made a significant contribution to the Sport & Exercise Sciences, particularly in the area of sport psychology and sport coach education. He has provided a range of consultancy services to athletes, coaches, and NGBs as well as having an emerging research profile that has helped to shape training and development programmes in the sport sciences and sport coaching. This contribution was recognised by the British Association of Sport & Exercise Science (BASES) who awarded Brendan Fellowship status in 2014. We speak about the importance of integrating sport psychology into coaching curriculums and what that can look like in practice.

I’m excited to be joined by Morgan Lewis in this episode. Morgan is an ex-professional footballer, having played for AFC Bournemouth in the 1980’s. Since his playing days, Morgan has worked as a teacher for 15 years as well as in healthcare communications, using behaviour change theories to create interventions that help people to make better decisions. Morgan is also a keen table tennis player and coach, coaching elite junior players. An ongoing student of sport psychology and a facilitator of mental skills in sport, Morgan and I speak about behaviour change; coaches and players co-creating solutions; psychological safety and acceptance.

I’m excited to speak with Stuart Lancaster in this episode. Having held various leadership, management and coaching positions at different levels of the game, Stuart became head coach of the English national rugby union team in 2011. Stuart now coaches Leinster Rugby in Ireland. He currently sits on the Technical Advisory board for the Football Association and has worked with many other sports and businesses in delivering leadership lessons and ideas on how to create long term high performing teams. A former PE teacher, Stuart talks about learning from his experiences during his teaching days. We also speak about the importance of sport psychology; mental skills being learnable skills; coaching styles and moving between the scale of coaching; developing players’ resilience in training; and what great leadership looks like.

I’m delighted to speak with Skye Eddy Bruce in this episode. Skye is the founder of Soccer Parenting Association which aims to inspire players by empowering parents. Skye is also a soccer coach and holds her USSF “B” license. She is a grassroots instructor for US soccer and a goalkeeping instructor for United Soccer Coaches. The work that Skye does is geared toward shifting cultures and awareness and helps coaches and clubs rethink the role that parents play in the sporting experience of their child. Skye is a former soccer player, having played collegiately and professionally and she is a soccer parent herself.

I’m honoured to speak with two-time FIFA Women's World Cup champion, two-time Olympic gold medallist, and two-time FIFA Player of the Year, Carli Lloyd and her personal coach and mentor James Galanis in this episode. Carli needs no further introduction, she’s one of the greatest soccer players of all time. James is technical director of Medford Strikers Soccer Club and is the founding Director of premier soccer school, Universal Soccer Academy, the goal of which is to achieve excellence at each level of play while always striving to reach the next level. James has been by Carli’s side from the very early days in her career, helping her to push herself to be the best she can be. We speak about Carli’s journey from her early playing days through to now and James’ support and the strategies that have helped her become one of the greatest soccer players in the world. We speak about the dedication Carli has to improvement and how James pushes her to continually improve.

I’m excited to speak with Dr Noel Brick in this episode. Noel is a Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Psychology at Ulster University. He has a Masters in Sport and Exercise Psychology and a PhD in Attentional Focus and Psychological Strategies in Endurance Activity. As a runner himself, Noel was interested in what endurance athletes think about during a race, what they focus on, what mental strategies they use, how they develop those strategies and how do they know if they’re working for them. We speak about Noel’s background and how he became interested in attentional focus; the use of mantras, active and involuntary distraction; dealing with injury and pain; self-regulation; practising using strategies when you most need them; meta-cognition and the importance of reflection.  

I speak with Steve Magness in this episode. Steve is a sport scientist and a track and field coach. He coaches competitors at all levels, including athletes who have competed in the World Championships and the Olympics. He is Head Cross Country coach at the University of Houston, a Lecturer of Strength and Conditioning at St. Mary’s University, UK and author of three best-selling books, including the latest: The Passion Paradox. We speak about power posing in science and in practice; how feelings mediate an athlete’s performance; challenge vs threat states; the brain/body connection; attention; and the result of failing to develop the psychological side.

I’m excited to be joined by AFC Wimbledon Academy Manager, Michael Hamilton. Prior to his role as Academy Manager, Michael was Academy Head of Coaching.  In this episode we speak about the forward-thinking coaching process that are being implemented at AFC Wimbledon including practices that aim to enhance player development; creating a supportive environment for players; player-centred coaching; and working towards being player-led.

I have the pleasure of being joined by Dr Chesli Day in this episode. Chelsi is a sport psychologist within the athletic department at Ohio State University. She was previously at Indiana University as Director of Counselling and Sport Psychology. Her primary role is to provide mental health and performance enhancement services to student athletes and to consult with coaches. We speak about integrating sport psychology and wellness into the curriculum; breaking the stigma of mental health; vulnerability; coaching generation Z; coaching styles and mental health.

I’m delighted to be joined by founder and MD of 21 Leadership, Richard Nugent in this episode. Richard works with fast-paced organisations, including the League Managers Association (LMA), helping them build their capability and capacity for change. He is the best-selling author of ‘50 Secrets of Self Confidence’ and a keynote speaker. In this episode we speak about the most important characteristics for leaders to have; knowing what you stand for as a leader; forward facing vs moving away from; leaving people with energy; physiology of leaders and competence.

I have the pleasure of being joined by Dr Paul McCarthy in this episode. Paul is Programme Director of the Taught Doctorate in Sport and Exercise Psychology at Glasgow Caledonian University. He is also resident sport psychologist at St Andrews Links Golf Academy and has his own private practice supporting athletes and coaches in a range of sports, particularly in golf & football. We take a deep dive into how change happens in athletes by examining person-centred frameworks; the belief that change is possible; listening as a skill; how people get better; different types of relationships; and having boundaries within roles. 

I’m speaking with Chartered Psychologist, speaker, author and high performance consultant, Dr Steve Bull in this episode. With a keen interest in sport, Steve started out as a PE teacher before completing his Masters and then PhD in Applied Psychology at the time when the discipline was only just starting to take hold. He was the Great Britain Team Headquarters Psychologist at 3 Olympic games where he worked with coaches and athletes as well as staff across all sports. He also held various roles including team psychologist with the England Cricket Team for 16 years. We speak about the importance of intervening at the right time; relationship building; mental toughness; types of mental toughness; helping athletes build mental toughness and personality science. 

In this week’s episode I welcome back Dr Scott Goldman. I asked Scott back on the show to speak about the Athletic Intelligence Quotient (AIQ) which he created together with Dr Jim Bowman when they both received training at the Albert Ellis Institute in New York. The AIQ is an intelligence test that assesses the innate cognitive abilities that are most utilised in attaining, developing, and applying athletic skills, strategies, and tactics. The AIQ has over 6000 professional elite athletes in its database covering all 5 major leagues in the US as well as Olympic training facilities and an English Premier League team. We take an in depth look into the AIQ, how it works and what the outcomes mean for individuals and teams.

I’m excited to be speaking with Dr Scott Goldman in this episode. Scott is Director of High Performance Psychology for one of the NFL teams in the US. He provides psychological support and expertise to the team, Head Coach, General Manager, and Vice President. Scott has served as a clinical and performance psychologist for the University of Michigan, Arizona, and Saint Louis’ Athletic Departments. In 2018, he was elected President of the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP), an international, multidisciplinary organisation with over 2,500 members across 55 countries. We speak about the range of support around an athlete; different styles of coaching; psychological safety; and the role of luck.  

I’m speaking with Rob Cooper in this episode. Rob is Head Coach of Penn State University baseball. A former college baseball player himself, Rob went on to complete a psychology degree at the University of Miami where he also played and where began his coaching career. And he has been coaching ever since - he was named Head Coach at Wright State University, Dayton Ohio and was Head Coach at USA Baseball in 2013 where his team won a gold medal in Taiwan. We speak about the importance of the mental game; redefining failure; the importance of experiencing failure; reframing; and athletes playing with freedom.

I’m delighted to speak with professional basketball and global skill coach, Ganon Baker in this episode. Ganon is regarded as one of the premiere basketball skill trainers in the world. He trains players from the NBA, NCAA, high school and middle school levels. His relentless passion, work ethic, and competency for the game has the respect of players and coaches all over the world. Ganon has travelled the globe impacting the game of basketball and has worked with and shared the court with players such as Lebron James, Chris Paul and Kevin Durant. We speak about what makes a successful athlete; connecting not communicating; behaviour change; playing with a sense of fun and how to coach different types of people.

I have the pleasure of being joined by Stuart Singer in this episode. Stuart is a performance psychologist with a Masters of Education in Counselling and over a decade of experience working to improve individual and group performance. He currently works with the Washington Wizards and the Washington Mystics and serves as the Performance Enhancement Coach for the Connecticut Sun of the WNBA. Stuart has also coached high-school athletes in varsity soccer, basketball, track, and cross-country, and was a graduate assistant for the Women's Cross-Country and Track teams at Shippensburg University. Stuart's practice includes providing mental performance skills coaching for athletes from the elite high school level through to college and professional athletes. We speak about players knowing themselves at their best; focusing on the process; intentionality and accepting imperfection.  

In this episode, I’m joined by Bobby White. As National Performance Manager for England Handball, Bobby is responsible for creating and enhancing handball and personal development opportunities for players. A former player himself, Bobby captained Great Britain’s handball team at the London 2012 Olympics. Bobby holds his UEFA B license and has completed a Sports Science degree. We speak about Bobby’s playing days; what confidence feels like; gamification; self-determination theory and we drill down on specific examples of training sessions that help players create autonomy and improve decision making while improving technique. 

I’m so excited to have John O’Sullivan on this episode. John’s background as an athlete and coach led him to start the Changing the Game project with the mission to put the ‘play’ back into ‘play ball’ by providing parents and coaches with the information and resources they need to make sport a healthy, positive, and rewarding experience for their children. Changing the Game consults with organisations such as the US Olympic committee and many of the sport governing bodies in the US and in clubs and schools both internationally and in the US. John also has a fantastic podcast The Way of Champions and has written several books including his bestselling latest book Every Moment Matters: How the World's Best Coaches Inspire Their Athletes and Build Championship Teams. And it’s this book we mainly speak about during this conversation, specifically every moment counts when you coach; self-awareness as a coach; responding vs reacting; learning environments and the importance of making all team members feel valued.

I’m excited to be speaking with Dr Jamie Barker in this episode. Jamie is a senior lecturer in sport psychology at Loughborough University. He has worked in sport psychology for the past 20 years, mostly in elite sport and predominantly in professional cricket and the Paralympics. Jamie also coordinates sport psychology provision across all the FA disability squads. In addition, he works in other performance domains such as business, the military, law and medical, relating sport psychology concepts to areas such as well-being and stress in the workplace; organisational change and leadership. Jamie has co-authored a research paper that examines the relationship between challenge and threat states and performance. And it’s the fascinating findings of this paper we focus on during our conversation, specifically we take a deep dive into challenge and threat states and the impact these states have on performance.

I’m delighted to be speaking with Paula Reid in this episode. Paula is a trainer, facilitator, coach, author and adventurer. Her adventuring has led her to sail around the world, ski to the South Pole and paddle the Srepok and Mekong rivers. Drawing from her experiences adventuring, as well as from her knowledge of positive psychology having completed her Masters in the discipline, Paula developed Adventure Psychology which aims to help leaders and organisations cope, survive and thrive. We speak about adventuring; resilience; Anticipatory Thinking and self-exploration.

I am speaking with Dr Jonathan Fader in this episode. Fader was Director of Mental Performance for the New York Giants and served as the team psychologist for the New York Mets for nine seasons. He is a certified consultant by the Association for Applied Sport Psychology and a resource doctor for Major League Baseball’s Rookie Development Program. Through practical strategies Fader helps athletes and teams to achieve improved results. This episode follows on from last weeks’ episode when I spoke with Prof Stephen Rollnick. Fader and Stephen co-authored the fantastic book Coaching Athletes to be Their Best: Motivational Interviewing in Sports and in this episode we will speak about the concept of “I insist you resist”; guiding vs fixing; how to be an empathetic listener; affirmations; helping build a player self-efficacy and understanding people’s perspectives.

I have the pleasure of speaking with Prof Stephen Rollnick in this episode. Stephen provides consultancy, mentorship and training on the subjects of motivation, change, teamwork and Motivational Interviewing (MI) of which he is a co-founder. Stephen is a clinical psychologist and an Honorary Distinguished Professor in the School of Medicine in Cardiff University. He has also co-authored the brilliant book Coaching Athletes to be Their Best: Motivational Interviewing in Sports and it’s this book we mainly speak about, specifically relationship building; Motivational Interviewing (MI); how to speak to groups to get the most out of them; using empathy to help people change; building trust with players; and we give an example of what MI can look like in practice.

I’m excited to be speaking with Dr Jennifer Fraser in this episode. Jennifer is an award-winning educator, researcher and best-selling author. Her online courses and workshops provide dynamic lessons in the impact neuroscientific knowledge has on personal development and culture-change. Jennifer set up Motion Press to help coaches, parents and those who work with children and youth learn about the practical applications of brain science via online courses, workshops and articles. She has also just finished her fourth book, The Bullied Brain: What Neuroscientists Know about Brain Scars and How to Heal Them. And it’s this book we mainly speak about, specifically, the impact of ‘aggressive coaching’ on athletes; the importance of coaches knowing about the brain; the adolescent brain; deliberate practice; changing mindsets; what is bullying?; mastery; the role of empathy; peer connectivity and coaches helping players to ‘grow’ their talent.

I’m delighted to speak with Jenny Williams in this episode. Jenny represented South Australia in six sports: lacrosse, indoor lacrosse, touch, soccer, cricket and Australian rules football (AFL). Throughout her sporting career Jenny has coached many different sports including tennis, basketball, volleyball as well as the sports she herself played in. Jenny has a Masters in psychology and has worked as team psychologist in various sports including golf and AFL. Jenny has also written the fantastic book Think Prepare Play like a Champion which aims to uncover how to get to the top as a player, coach or manager. And it’s this book we mainly speak about, specifically, caring for players; self-awareness; the role of luck in sport and in life; different thinking styles and patterns; flow and players preparing for all eventualities.

I’m speaking with Mark Bennett MBE in this episode. Mark is founder of Performance Development Systems (PDS) - a robust set of principles that facilitate world class learning and performance cultures and environments. PDS was designed for coaches, managers and teachers to better understand themselves and learn how to influence and get the best out of the people around them. Before establishing PDS, Mark was a British Commando and senior instructor within the Army Physical Training Corps.  PDS is being used in 30 different sports from grassroots to the Olympics and professional teams as well as in schools helping disengaged children by supporting the teachers and mentors.  We speak in detail about PDS and look at examples of Mark implementing it in different sporting environments. Specifically, we speak about coaches utilising their players to help them grow; helping players self-manage; building confidence in players; coaches being aware of their own coaching style - why they coach the way they do; accountability; being adaptable in the moment and the importance of reflection and review.

I’m excited to speak with Simon Williams in this episode. Simon has a football playing background, is a former football coach and is now Life Skills Manager for League Football Education (LFE).  LFE was established in 2004 by the Professional Footballers Association (PFA) and the English Football League (EFL) to be responsible for education and welfare across all EFL clubs. We speak about the role of LFE; supporting young players outside of football; player identity; helping athletes understand the importance of having interests outside of their sport; explaining the ‘why’ to players; transferable skills; how the psych-social side can help a player’s performance; self-awareness; grassroots coaching and Simon gives some fantastic examples of thinking outside the box to help players develop mental skill.

I’m delighted to speak with Jamie Taylor in this episode. Jamie is a former a coach and PE Teacher with a keen interest in human performance. He was head academy coach at Leicester Tigers and now works in the Pathways Team at the English Institute of Sport supporting Olympic and Para-Olympic talent pathways to develop their practice in talent development.  We speak about motivation and commitment; the importance of self-regulation in sport; understanding your athletes; missing windows of developmental opportunity; parents nurturing their children’s sport and allowing children to have a range of experiences.

I speak with Dr Carla Meijen in this episode. Carla is an HCPC registered sport and exercise psychologist and a senior lecturer in Applied Psychology at St Mary’s University, London. She graduated with an MSc in Social Psychology from the University of Amsterdam, followed by an MSc in Performance Psychology from the University of Edinburgh. Carla then completed her PhD at Staffordshire University, where she focused on challenge and threat states, examining athletes’ cognitive, affective, and cardiovascular responses to demanding situations. Carla has also edited the fantastic book ‘Endurance Performance in Sport’. And it’s this book we mainly focus, specifically we speak about challenge and threat states in athletes; endurance performance; motivation; ‘if-then’ planning; automatic association; attentional focus; process-driven goals; flexible goals and the importance of reflection.

I have the pleasure of speaking with Ian Peek in this episode. Ian is a transition & performance coach, helping his clients achieve their goals whether that’s transitioning to a new level of achievement or maintaining their position at the top of their sport or industry. Ian holds a Master’s degree in Sports Coaching and is a PhD researcher. He is also a PGA Master Professional - the highest educational level in The PGA - which recognises PGA Members who make a significant effort to improve themselves as golf professionals and maintain the highest degree of excellence for themselves and their operations. We speak about the biopsychosocial model; the importance of looking at all aspects of a person’s life as a coach; coaches being great actors; being the best version of yourself and the importance of adaptability as a coach.

I’m delighted to speak with throw-in coach, motivational speaker and author, Thomas Gronnemark in this episode. Thomas is the throw-in coach for Liverpool FC as well as for other European clubs. Thomas has himself had a very varied sporting background having played soccer for over 18 years and moving into athletics in his late teens. He was on the Danish National team for both athletics and bobsleigh and he holds the Guinness World Record for the longest throw-in. After having not been able to find any information on coaching throw-ins, Thomas decided to create his own course on the subject which then led to him specialise in coaching throw-ins. We speak about athletes speaking up about nerves and anxiety; evaluating performances; asking for help; experiences not perfection; the importance of having a throw-in strategy and maximising energy.

I’m delighted to speak with football writer and consultant, Ben Lyttleton in this episode. Ben has always been interested in the psychology of performance. After writing his first book, Twelve Yards: The Art and Psychology of the Perfect Penalty he started working with clubs to help them improve their penalty taking strategies and record. Ben has also written the fantastic book EDGE in which he discovers the innovative methods some of the world's top football clubs use to develop talent. And it’s this book we mainly focus on, specifically we speak about team cohesion; teams taking a holistic approach to developing players; what makes teams successful; retaining players; the transfer window and buying players at the elite level; types of motivation; decision making (Cruyff Football); resilience and creativity.

In this episode, I speak with pain physiotherapist and pain coach Richmond Stace. Richmond became interested in the area of pain while working as a nurse in his younger years. He went on to obtain a rehabilitation and science degree, a physiotherapy degree and a Masters in pain science at King's College London. He then jointly set up Understand Pain – a social enterprise that aims to help society have a greater understanding of pain and what can be done to improve our lives. We speak about how our perceptions inform our reality; understanding why people react differently to the same experiences; narrative influencing pain (and life); acceptance is not giving up and focusing on what you can do (not what you can’t).

I’m delighted to speak with author and journalist Jonathan Harding in this episode. Jonathan has just released the brilliant book Mensch: Beyond the Cones, which takes a detailed look at the German football coaching system and what sets it apart. In the book, Jonathan outlines attributes that modern German coaching embraces to succeed. From the practical aspects on the training ground to why the German coaching system produces so many talented players.  We speak about the German Lehrer coaching course; situational development; today’s players needing to be told the ‘why’; creating ‘safe’ environments for players; the importance of coaches being ‘people managers’; personality characteristics and styles of coaching; coaches having a connection with their players; self-skills for coaches and what is next for German coaching.

I speak with Blaine McKenna in this episode. Blaine is a UEFA A soccer coach, former academy director and founder of Life Sports Performance Coaching which provides a range of education and sessions to coaches and players enabling them to get better faster. Having completed his Masters is Sport Psychology, Blaine started to incorporate mental skills into his coaching curriculum and has taken his brand of coaching all over the globe from Kuwait to Thailand.   We speak about culture impacting style of play; game-based training; autonomy-supportive coaching; establishing a leadership group within teams; creating a motivational environment; teaching transferable life skills to players; self-determination theory; focusing on strengths and planning sessions with sport psychology in mind.

I have the pleasure of speaking with Aaron O'Connell in this episode. Aaron has been coaching basketball for over 30 years.  Formerly a business entrepreneur, Aaron describes himself as a continuous learner having completed a Masters in Applied Sport Psychology and currently undertaking a Masters in Applied Coaching. We speak about having a coaching philosophy of putting the individual first; building self-awareness as a coach in order to help players; asking players for feedback; reflection; growth mindset; taking the pressure off younger players; team identity and Aaron gives some fantastic ideas to help players develop as people and as players.

I’m delighted to have Nick Coley on this episode. Nick is Head of Learning and Development at Evans Cycles and is currently undertaking his Masters degree in Sport Psychology. Nick has competed in cycling from a young age, including mountain biking and cross country, he is now an endurance mountain bike racer. We speak about the importance of training the body as well as the mind, ‘trying out’ different psychology strategies to find what works, self-awareness, self-reflection and self-talk and utilising sports psychology in a business setting.

In this episode I speak with Stuart Carrington. Stuart is a lecturer of Sports Coaching Science at St Mary's University, London. He has a background in soccer as a coach - having worked at two Premier League football clubs. Stuart also holds a Masters degree in Sport Psychology and is a REBT primary certificate holder. Stuart is also author of the soon to be released Blowing the Whistle: The Psychology Behind Football Refereeing. And it’s this book we mostly speak about specifically VAR; psychological influences on referees; the impact of the crowd; intrinsic motivation; managing emotions on the pitch; fans educating themselves and psychologically preparing to play.

In this episode I speak with senior lecturer in sport and exercise psychology at Staffordshire University, Dr Matt Slater. Matt is an Expert on the psychology of leadership and high performing teams. He is also author of the fantastic book TOGETHERNESS: How to Build a Winning Team in which he shares with readers how to develop team identity through practical ideas and examples. We speak about team sports; social identity; Reflect, Represent & Realise; shared leadership and the difference between leaders and leadership.

I have the pleasure of being joined by Dr Kathy Adcock in this episode. Kathy is a clinical psychologist, boxer and England Boxing Level 1 coach. Kathy works as a NHS Clinical Manager, working with parents and young people with a broad range of emotional and relational difficulties. She is also founder and managing director of social enterprise In Your Corner which combines non-contact boxing with evidence-based ideas from psychological intervention within community settings. And it’s mostly this fantastic enterprise that we speak about, specifically finding ways to engage with young people; boxing metaphors for life; the narratives people have about their lives and using sport as a way to become open to being psychologically flexible.  

I’m speaking with Chris Bryan in this episode. Chris is an Irish International Open Water swimmer, having finished 8th at the world championships. He was the first Irish Open Water swimmer to compete at the European championships. Chris has also completed his PhD in Psychological Resilience and regularly contributes scholarly articles to psychological journals. Chris now manages a swimming academy in Dubai. We speak about hard work vs talent; intrinsic motivation; getting the most out of athletes; the importance of athletes asking ‘why’; building resilience; sustainable success; proactive effort; positive psychology; predictable and unpredictable adversity; and bouncebackability.

I have the pleasure of being joined by Martin Bingisser in this episode. Martin holds several positions including National Hammer Throw coach for Swiss Athletics, Throws coach for LC Zürich and Fitness coach for GC Zürich Rugby. He has also worked with USATF, UK Athletics, Scottish Athletics, European Athletics Coaches Association. As an athlete, Martin reached 21st place at the 2014 European Championships and is a 9-time Swiss national champion for hammer throw. Martin is also founder of HMMR Media, a fantastic coaching resource covering a variety of sports and he has written a book called Training Talk: Conversations with a Dozen Master Coaches - a fantastic read in which Martin sits down with twelve top coaches from track and field, soccer, football, and rugby to share best practices and synthesise what the best do to be so successful. And it’s this book we mainly focus, discussing Martin’s experiences as a coach and an athlete. We speak about having a work-life balance; the role of confidence in sport psychology; getting feedback from athletes; helping athletes reflect; flow state and the importance of self-improvement as a coach.

I’m delighted to be speaking with Richard Shorter in this episode. Richard goes into schools and sporting institutions to help them with a parent engagement strategy. He also delivers parent engagement sessions to sporting organisations such as England Rugby, England Hockey and England Cricket helping parents to be reflective of their parenting approach. These engagement sessions are also fantastic for coaches to think about the way in which they engage with their players. Richard has also written the brilliant book ‘Conversations for the Journey - 40 Ways for you to Build Sporting Character’ that offers parents and coaches 40 ways to have conversations around mental skills that move away from “Did you win?”, “Did you score?”, “Were you player of the match?”. And it's this book we mainly focus on, specifically we speak about child development; asking players questions; getting the best out of character traits; enhancing sideline support and managing behaviours.

I’m excited to speak with Rugby Sevens coach, Warren Abrahams in this episode. Warren started out playing rugby in South Africa before moving to the UK where he began to focus on coaching. He has since held a series of coaching roles including with London Irish, Harlequins, Lithuania Sevens and England Sevens. He is now coaching the German National Sevens team. We speak about being a student of the game; developing resilience; multi-sports; the importance of ‘play’; ‘chaotic’ training sessions and the role of psychology in sport.

I have the pleasure of being joined by Author and Performance Expert, Fergus Connolly in this episode. Fergus started out in the world of sport playing Gaelic football in Ireland and, after having developed an interest in speed, strength, and psychology, was offered a role at Bolton Wanderers. Over the next 15 years he went on to work with Bolton Wanderers, Welsh Rugby, San Francisco 49ers, Michigan Football, Blackburn FC, Liverpool FC and many more teams globally. Fergus has also written two fantastic books 'Game Changer' and his latest book '59 Lessons: Working with the World's Greatest Coaches, Athletes, & Special Forces'. And it’s this new book that we focus on in this episode. Specifically, we speak about compassionate ruthlessness; interpersonal skills; self-awareness; empowering players, and focusing on what you can control.

I’m delighted to speak with sport psychologist at Benfica Football Club, Dr Pedro L Almeida in this episode. Pedro has been a sport psychologist at Benfica FC for coming up to 25 years. During this time he has accumulated a wealth of experience working with players of all ages from youth team players through to some of the best players in the world. Pedro is also Assistant Professor at Instituto Universitário in Lisbon. We speak about the holistic approach to player development that Benfica takes; the importance of helping players have a structure to their thinking; helping players with career transitioning; helping players manage the fame that comes with a first-team contract; having a support team around players from a young age, not just at first team level; and the successful traits of Portuguese managers.

In this episode I speak with performance psychologist for Blackburn Rovers FC and GB Para Table Tennis, Dr Andy Hill. Andy completed his undergraduate and master degrees in coaching and then went on to do his PhD looking at ‘What makes the elite, elite?’. He works with competitors to help them get the very best out of their ability and with coaches to help increase their understanding of the Psychological Characteristics of Developing Excellence (PCDEs). We speak about players putting in the effort; psychology underpinning the physical; Psychological Characteristics of Developing Excellence (PCDEs) and helping coaches help players develop skill.  

I’m excited to have assistant coach for the Chicago Red Stars, Gary Curneen on this episode. Gary has held various coaching positions over the years and played collegiate soccer at Wingate University, helping lead the men’s soccer team to their first-ever NCAA Division II playoff berth.   Gary is also founder of the Modern Soccer Coach which aims to create and help develop elite coaches through books, coaching clinics, mentorship programmes, podcasts and webinars. Inspired by players, coaches, and leaders who want to get out of their comfort zone and make an impact, their goal is to give back to the players and coaches who love soccer as much as they do. We speak about the impact of playing college soccer in the US; overcoming insecurities as a player; learning that there’s more to coaching than x’s and o’s; learning from experience; having a mentor and coming up with innovative ideas to engage players.

I have the pleasure of being joined by Lauren Abarca - Mental Conditioning Coordinator with the New York Yankees. Lauren is an experienced soccer player who competed for the University of San Francisco and Point Loma Nazarene University. In this time, she completed her B.A. in Kinesiology with a Minor in Psychology. As a former collegiate athlete Lauren acquired a passion for improving sports performance through mental strengthening. Lauren went on to receive her Master's in Performance Psychology from National University. Lauren continues her passion for improving performance by working with elite level athletes including professional and Olympic. We speak about psychology in baseball; knowing the individual; personality; the importance of observation; self-awareness; asking the right questions; giving too much feedback and identity.

In this episode I speak with former Olympic rower, Annie Vernon. Annie is an Olympic silver medallist and two-time World Champion. She is now a respected sports journalist and has just written a fantastic book entitled Mind Games - Determination, Doubt and Lucky Socks: An Insider's Guide to the Psychology of Elite Athletes. Through interviews with leading sports stars and the latest scientific research, Mind Games looks at how elite sports performers harness the power of their mind in pursuit of physical perfection. We speak about the experience of seeing a sport psychologist; nature vs nurture; ‘talent needs trauma’; conscientiousness; the importance of experience; competitiveness; motivation and mental qualities of elite athletes.

I have the pleasure of being joined by basketball coach Carly Clarke in this episode. Carly has been the Head Coach of Ryerson Women's Basketball since 2012 and is the Canadian Women's National Team Assistant Coach. Prior to coaching, Carly had a successful college playing career, playing 5 seasons at Bishop’s University. This led to an assistant coaching role at Dalhousie. She then took up her first head coaching role at University of Prince Edward Island. We speak about champion’s behaviours; coaching through questioning; communication between coach and athlete; athlete ownership; team cohesion; key terms to help manage distraction; learning from a loss and post-training and post-game reflection.

This week is Clean Sport Week in the UK. Clean Sport week is an initiative run by UKAD (UK Anti-Doping) and is an opportunity to come together and celebrate the important values of clean sport and support the hard work that sport in the UK is doing in the fight against doping. This year the main focus of the week is on Image and Performance Enhancing Drugs (IPEDs), and in particular the use of IPEDs within the gym environment. I am joined by sport psychology consultant Dr Claire-Marie Roberts to discuss all things psychology and drug use in sport. Claire-Marie holds an academic position at the University of the West of England and works for the Premier League in coach and football manager development. She also sits of the board of UKAD. We speak about the motivations behind IPED use; normalising the use of IPEDs; the prevalence of IPEDs; social identity and breaking the cycle of IPED use.

In this episode I speak with chartered occupational psychologist, Sarah Broadhead. Sarah is currently the GB Taekwondo team psychologist and has worked with a range of sports – British Swimming, GB Canoeing, Archery GB, UK Athletics, GB Triathlon, Formula 3 motor racing, European Tour golfers, a world champion 800m runner and CG gold medal winning mountain biker. Sarah was part of the Director team that created Chimp Management with Prof Steve Peters in 2013, shaping the vision of the company. She now has her own company which gives individuals and organisations in sport and business the insight, skills and support they need to perform and thrive. We speak about Compassion Focused Therapy; the complexities of the brain; understanding why the brain does what it does; the differences between the adult and adolescent brain; understanding why someone is doing what they’re doing; ownership; normalising feelings; role modelling; motivation; developing a positive inner voice; and threat, drive and compassion.

I’m delighted to be joined by one of the world’s leading sport and performance psychologists in this episode - Dr Andrea Furst. Andrea currently works with Surrey cricket and GB and England Hockey as well as having her own consultancy. She has been involved in 4 Olympic and para-Olympic games, specifically in Australian sprint canoe-kayak, 100m hurdles, long jump, triathlon, as well as sailing and swimming for Singapore. Andrea was psychologist to the gold medal winning Great Britain women’s hockey team in Rio 2016. We speak about cultural differences in sport and in athletes; working with Olympic teams as a sport psychologist; the importance of not being results focused; talking about failure as well as success; identity; vulnerability and the characteristics of great coaches.

I have the pleasure of being joined by David White in this episode. David is a public speaker, national learning facilitator, consultant and performance coach. He has recently released a fascinating book called Superstitionism - The Psychology of Sport which looks at the role superstition plays for athletes in all sports the world over. And it’s this book we focus on during our discussion, specifically: superstition as a belief system; the impact of ‘lucky’ boots; why athletes have superstitions; the ‘actual truth’ vs the ‘awful truth’; luck vs chance and probability; self-talk; law of attraction and superstitions as a source of comfort. 

I'm joined by coaching expert, speaker, educator and author Coach Reed Maltbie in this episode. Reed is the founder of Raising Excellence, a company working with educators, coaches, parents, athletes, and sports leaders to develop more effective sports participation models. Previously Chief Content Officer and Lead Presenter for the Changing the Game Project, Reed has been coaching excellence beyond the game for 26 years and has become an internationally respected expert on youth sports. He has also authored articles and presented webinars on communication, culture, bullying, competitive mindset, skill acquisition. We speak about peak performances; removing fear; competency; the importance of feeling valued; the significance of significance; allowing players to explore and coaches being afraid of change.

In this episode I’m speaking with inspirational consultant, coach and facilitator Paul Z Jackson. Paul devises and runs training courses and development programmes in change, strategy, leadership, teamwork, performance improvement and innovation and he’s actually been a big influence on my career since I attended one of his courses back in 2005. Paul’s Solutions Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) courses have led hundreds of people and organisations through positive processes of change. And in this podcast, we focus on SFBT, specifically we speak about focusing on solutions not problems; what confidence looks like; scaling; learning from success; drawing attention to the things that players are doing well and using clear not complicated language.  

  I have the pleasure of being joined by Dr Mustafa Sarkar and Clara Swedlund. Mustafa is Senior Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Psychology at Nottingham Trent University. His background is in teaching and research with most of his research focusing on the psychology of sporting and performance excellence, specifically looking at resilience in high achievers in sport and business. Mustafa works with coaches and organisations helping them to develop resilience in athletes and teams. Clara is currently undertaking her Masters degree in Sport and Exercise Psychology at Loughborough University. Clara competes as a body builder and talks about how she applies the techniques she studies to her training and competitive mindset.  She also runs a blog that documents her journey to becoming a qualified sport psychologist and on it, she wrote a blog post that was based on an article Mustafa had co-written about resilience which is why they’ve come together on the Sport Psych Show. We look at what resilience is; personality characteristics; the significance of environment; high challenge, high support environments; Cognitive Behavioural Theory (CBT) and psychological safety.

I have the pleasure of being joined by sport and performance scientist Elliott Newell on this episode. Elliot is currently Senior Performance Pathway Scientist at the English Institute of Sport. Specialising in psychological support, Elliott works in high performance sport with an emphasis on talent development. His focus is on supporting sports in using psychological knowledge and strategies to maximise the effectiveness and efficiency of performance pathways. We speak about British canoeing; considering the performer, the athlete, and the person; balancing learning, well-being and performance; Psychologically Informed Environments (PIE); Formulation Analysis; and the importance of integrating sport psychology into the environment.

I speak with The Wall Street Journal’s leadership columnist Sam Walker on this episode. Sam founded the Journal’s prizewinning daily sports coverage in 2009 and is a former reporter, sports columnist, and sports editor. Sam also consults with companies and teams about building better leadership cultures and has authored the hugely popular book "The Captain Class" which looks at the link between the seventeen most dominant teams in sports history. And it’s this book that we mainly focus on during our chat. We speak about the relationship between a captain and the coach; the culture of winning; Sir Alex Ferguson; the role of a coach; the traits of highly successful captains; delegating leadership skills; and body language and projecting the right emotions.

In this episode I’m joined by professional basketball coach, consultant, and clinician Brian McCormick. Brian has coached professionally in Denmark, Ireland, and Sweden, taking a team to the finals in Denmark's 1st Division and being selected to coach in Sweden's Damligan All-Star Game. Brian completed his PhD in Exercise and Sports Science at the University of Utah, and has had peer-reviewed papers published in the International Journal of Exercise Science, International Journal of Sports Science and Coaching, and Strength & Conditioning Journal. He’s written several books including an enormously popular one called ‘The 21st Century Basketball Practice’. And it’s this book that we focus on mainly in this podcast. Specifically we talk about, flow vs deliberate practice; keeping the game fun and enjoyable at all levels; educative vs training environment; reducing mistakes vs improving skill; the importance of players practice handling mistakes in training and Brian’s greatest coaching influences.  

I have the pleasure of being joined by Shaun Larkin, Coordinator of Skill Development for the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team on this episode. Previously Shaun played professional baseball and then moved into coaching before completing a Master’s degree in Performance Psychology. In his current role Shaun oversees how practices are designed for players and how players are developed in terms of skill acquisition, motor learning and mental skills.  We speak about how baseball has realised the importance of mental skills; sport psychology for tough times as well as good times; player development; the strain on young baseball players; the pressure put onto very young players in the US; helping young players to make their own decisions; coaches and parents creating experiences for players; the advantage of doing reps and practice-based evidence.

I speak with Jason Severiano Lampkin and Alex Billington, two ex-professional soccer players who were both forced to stop playing due to career-ending injuries in this episode. Jason played at the Manchester United Academy and then completed his apprenticeship at Aston Villa, while Alex attended the Blackburn Academy and then earned a professional contract at Preston. After being released by their respective teams, both Jason and Alex decided to make the move to the US after receiving scholarships, and this is when they met each other. We speak about having the expectation from a young age of becoming a professional footballer; sport forming a player’s identity; having your identity taken away from you when you stop playing competitively; not having support to deal with a bad game; having a post-match routine; dealing with injury; the need for psychological support in sport; moving on from a career in football.

I’m lucky enough to be joined by Frank "The Legend" Shamrock in this episode. Frank is an American MMA fighter (retired), entrepreneur, motivational speaker and philanthropist. He was the 1st to hold the UFC Middleweight Championship and retired as the 4-time defending undefeated champion and the #1 ranked UFC fighter in the world. Frank is also CEO of the Shamrock Way organisation - a volunteer-powered charity committed to helping at-risk youth become leaders of sport, technology and social activism. We speak about Frank’s early fights and the unique approach he took to them; self-talk; using emotion and intelligence in sport; visualisation; the power of meditation and defining your dreams and taking action.

In this episode, I’m joined by Steve Sallis. Steve currently works with the England u15 National squad and supports several Premier League players with mental conditioning support. He is founder of solutionsmindset.com which specialises in professional athlete mentorship, sport psychology techniques, coach development, business leadership, teacher training, and school CPD. Steve was previously a deputy headteacher and was a local government advisor for behaviour. Prior to his teaching career, Steve was an Academy footballer for Brighton FC for 8 years. Steve has just released the fantastic book Educating Football - and that is what we primarily discuss. We also speak about changing attitudes and behaviours; helping people grow and develop; teaching and learning; growth mindset; self-awareness; maximising learning; resilience; showing and accepting vulnerability and the power of parents.  

In this episode I speak with Alan Stein Jr. Alan is a world-renowned coach, author and keynote speaker. He has spent 15+ years working with the highest performing basketball players on the planet and now teaches audiences how to utilise the same strategies that elite athletes use to perform at a world-class level. Alan has also just released a fantastic book called Raise Your Game: High-Performance Secrets from the Best of the Best which examines the top leaders in sport and business and suggests that success is a result of the little things we do all the time. Alan and I speak about high performance; the importance of having fun while playing; what the best players do in the ‘unseen’ hours; deliberate practice; Kevin Durant; Kobe Bryant; mastering the basics; being in the present moment; quality over quantity; mastery; giving players the opportunity to make decisions and putting the team first.  

I have the pleasure of being joined by James Claffey in this episode. James is a Sport Psychology consultant, professional lecturer and coach in both clinical, exercise, sport and performance psychology, who specialises in creating pathways for athletes to reach peak performance. James has over 10 years experience working in the sport, exercise and performance psychology industry. He is currently chief consultant for the Professional Footballers Association of Ireland alongside holding a variety of positions, such as a course director, lecturer in psychology, and consultant with teams and individuals in multiple sports. In this episode we speak about the stigma sometimes attached to Sport Psychology; putting the person before the athlete; Guided Discovery; the power of sleep; introspection; the importance of helping players develop skills outside of their sport; and P.R.I.D.E psychology.

I’m delighted to be joined by Dr Len Zaichkowsky and Dan Peterson in this episode. Len and Dan have written the ground-breaking book The Playmakers Advantage: How to Raise Your Mental Game to the Next Level which uses cognitive science research to reveal the elusive qualities playmakers possess - that winning combination of anticipation, perception, and decision-making skills.   We mainly speak about this fantastic book, specifically: what makes a playmaker; the disadvantage of early specialisation in sport; athlete cognition; search, decide, execute; physical fatigue leading to mental fatigue; growth mindset; the importance of mental flexibility; choking under pressure and automaticity.

In this episode, I’m joined by Nick Levett, Head of Talent and Performance at UK Coaching. Nick and his team help develop coaches who work in the Olympic pathway. Nick previously worked in a variety of roles at the FA for 14 years and has coached from grassroots all the way through to Category 1 teams. He has worked with a multitude of coaches and managers and has a wealth of insight into the development of players. We speak about the changes in coaching over the years; involving players in decision making; developing leaders and the importance of coaches focusing on developing people not just soccer players.

In this episode, I speak with professional golfer and Sky Sports commentator Andrew Coltart. Andrew turned professional in 1991 and was a member of the European Tour from 1993 to 2012. He had two wins on the European Tour and his best finishes in the Order of Merit were 7th place in 1996 and 8th place in 1998. Andrew was a member of the European 1999 Ryder Cup team playing in the singles against Tiger Woods. Andrew now commentates golf for Sky Sports and is the perfect person to talk about the current golfing landscape. We speak about the 2018 Ryder Cup, social facilitation, adaptability, accepting failure, vulnerability and the failings of modern-day golf coaching.

I have the pleasure of being joined by Shameema Yousuf in this episode. Shameema is a certified mental performance consultant of the Association for Applied Sport Psychology, registered counsellor in psychotherapy, member of the American Psychological Society Division 47 and the British Psychological Society within the Division of Sport and Exercise Psychology. She also has a private practice working with youth athletes all the way up to elite athletes. Shameema is also lead of the women and girls psychology programme and delivery at Brighton and Hove Albion FC. We speak about the similarities between sport and the corporate world; anxiety; applying mindfulness in a fast-paced environment; language and narrative; integrating sport psychology and mental skills into a sports club; different communication styles between genders; driving focus of attention; the importance of players reflecting on what went well; coping mechanisms; having a routine in place; identity and relationship building.

I’m delighted to have Nick Winkelman on this episode. Nick is Head of Athletic Performance and Science for Irish Rugby. Previously, Nick worked as a Strength and Conditioning Coach for 10 years working with elite military and NFL athletes and running coach education at Exos. We speak about the power of language; helping athletes learn better; internal and external cueing; what shapes movement; direct and indirect coaching; heuristics; opportunities for improvement and feedback loops.

I have the pleasure of being joined by Cody Royle in this episode. Cody is Head Coach of Canada’s AFL (Australian Football League) programme. He has also written “Where Others Won’t” a fantastic book about high performance in sport and in the corporate world. During our discussion, we break down Cody’s book chapter by chapter. We speak about coaching elite players; language; the importance of good communication; creating emotional bonds with individuals; leadership groups; experience not equalling leadership; Cognitive Entrenchment; cultural alignment and fighting for your culture.

I’m joined by Jeremy Holt and Dr Will Thomas from the Centre for Team Excellence in this episode. Jeremy and Will’s pioneering research has shown that people in great teams think, feel and behave differently to those in ordinary teams. Jeremy and Will have worked in a range of sports, with the Royal Marines and with a number of organisations. We speak about social identity; the reasons people are more likely to identify with a team; Individual distinctiveness; TRIBE – Traditions, Relevance, Identity, Belonging and Effectiveness; and co-creating team values.

In this episode, I speak with Professor Sophia Jowett. Sophia is a Sport Psychologist who lectures and researches at Loughborough University in the UK. She is an Associate Fellow and Chartered Psychologist of the British Psychological Society and she consults with athletes and coaches in a range of sports. Her research work mainly revolves around interpersonal relationships in sport with an emphasis on coaching relationships. And this is what this conversation is all about – managing and improving relationships between coaches and participants. We speak about the definition of coaching; the unique relationship between coaches and athletes; what is leadership; the 4 C’s - closeness, commitment, cooperation and coorientation; the role of power; managing conflict; and the COMPASS model.

I have the pleasure of having my former mentor Rob Robson on this week’s episode. Rob is a People and Change Consultant and Psychologist working mainly within organisations to help them achieve their transformation and growth objectives. Rob trained as a Sport Psychologist and has worked in high change environments for over 20 years. He is also a competitive Masters swimmer and holds several British records.   We speak about finding the balance in sport; quality vs quantity; body awareness; high energy; Reversal Theory; and the 8 motivational states within Reversal Theory.

I’m delighted to be joined by Dr Alice Boyes on this episode. Alice is a former clinical psychologist and researcher turned writer. She has a PhD in the Psychology of Relationships and is author of two bestselling books: The Anxiety Toolkit and The Healthy Mind Toolkit. In this episode Alice and I talk about Self-sabotaging; looking for patterns; Prepare and Plan mindset; having the skills to dealing with rumination; Labelling; what to do with emotions; self-compassion; taking responsibility vs blaming others and being understanding with yourself.  

I’m joined by Sydney based Performance Psychologist Steve Johnson in this episode. Steve was a Sport Psychology and Sport Coaching lecturer at Sydney University, Western Sydney University and University of Wollongong for 7 years. He’s worked with elite players and teams including from tennis, rugby league, super rugby, swimming, football, and cricket. Several years ago he started The Wellbeing Science Institute born out of a desire to help create more flourishing cities, communities, organisations and individuals. He takes a holistic, positive and developmental wellbeing perspective supported by evidence-based science. He has designed the world’s first nationally recognised training programme for elite athlete wellbeing management, and he’s authored the first undergraduate sport psychology degree in the Southern Hemisphere. Our conversation starts with a critique of the history of psychology…it’s entrenchment in solving problems, rather than promoting strategies for flourishing; we then go on to talking about the benefits of positive psychology; developing a wellbeing programme in the National Rugby League of Australia; The importance of wellbeing to the injured player and to the career transition of elite athletes; the importance of understanding personal values and character strengths; ways to implement wellbeing strategies into your club.

In this episode, I speak with former professional cricketer and now yoga instructor Lewis Hatchett about his journey to becoming an elite sports competitor. Lewis experienced a slightly different development pathway in his sport. He was born with Poland Syndrome, a rare condition that means he’s missing his right pectoral muscle and two ribs. When he was born the doctors said that he wouldn’t be able to play any sport. He defied all odds and eventually became a professional sportsman. After having played professional cricket for 6 years he became a yoga teacher and mentor to a range of sports competitors. This is his story. We talk about dealing with his condition to become a professional sportsman; talent vs hard work; the advertising campaigns that inspired him to model incredible achievers in sport; using visualising success and developing skill despite physical disability.  

I’m lucky enough to be joined by Todd Beane on this episode. Todd is a soccer coach and Founder of TOVO Training and TOVO Academy Barcelona. In TOVO Training, Beane has combined proven pedagogical practices of experts in the field of education with the visionary components of a total football legend into a dynamic and practical training methodology. Todd worked with Johan Cruyff for 14 years to create the Cruyff Institute for Sport Studies and to deliver total football training programs to professional clubs worldwide. In this episode, Todd and I talk about putting managing self at the forefront of coaching; educating young players to make good life decisions; the importance of understanding the ‘why’; creativity coming from structure; having processes of health; front loading cognition and self-regulation; the challenge of coaching on the run; the relationship between intention, attention and mental intensity; dealing with bad days as a coach; and the art of co-coaching.  

In this episode, I had the opportunity to sit down with former Spurs, Sunderland and now Bournemouth and England footballer Jermain Defoe and ask him about the psychology of being a striker in the English Premier League. Jermain and I spoke about the toughest defender he ever played against and what made him so tough. We discuss the specific preparation he’s always used to prepare for matchday and highlighted his use of visualisation as a mental tool to prepare for a game.  We then drilled down on how he developed his game as a young player and Jermain talked in detail about how an obsession to score helped him make his debut for West Ham. Finally, Jermain reveals his top tip for young players who aspire to play in the Premier League.

I have the pleasure of having Iain Highfield on this week’s episode. Iain is a performance coach specialising in helping golfers develop their mental skills. He has implemented psychological conditioning programmes at two leading Junior Golf Academies and he was voted one of the best young golf teachers by Golf Digest Magazine in 2017. He is co-founder of Game Like Training Golf, where he introduces cutting-edge research to coaches.  In this episode we discuss the importance of taking a holistic approach to developing performance; building a collaborative model of progression; the importance of spaced and variable practice; tools to promote deeper learning; using gamification within practice; building a generalised motor pattern; and creating a chaotic set of activities.

In this episode, I’m joined by 2-time Olympian Laurence Halsted. Laurence competed in the London and Rio Olympics for the British Fencing team. He won a silver and bronze medal in the European Championships and finished 6th in the World Championships. He now works as performance director for the Danish Fencing Federation. As a coach, he has developed a passion for the mental side of sport. He works as a mentor for a not-for-profit organisation called The True Athlete Project.  In this episode Laurence and I discuss the psychological demands of fencing as a martial art; taking control of yourself when competing; using visualisation before competing; developing a mental system of effort & attitude; common distractions and how to deal with them; Recognise, respond, re-focus; what it takes to be world number one; the importance of character development, broadening identity and self-compassion in sport; revolutionising the culture of sport.

I’m delighted to have Vern Gambetta join me on this episode. Vern has been a sports coach for over fifty years and he’s worked with some of the greatest sporting teams and athletes of all time. His CV reads like a who’s who of sporting royalty having worked with the Mets, the Chicago Bulls, the 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs. Vern is an athletic development coach using functional training to build foundations in movement skills and physical literacy.

I’m delighted to speak with Lara Mossman in this episode. Lara is currently studying a PhD in Positive Psychology and Sport at La Trobe University. Her interests are in Autonomy Support, Achievement Goal Theory and Positive Psychology in football. She is the co-founder of The Strengths Exchange, a strength-based positive parenting website. During this conversation, we chat about a range of Positive Psychology topics including promoting player wellbeing and player motivation.

In this episode, I’m joined by Dr. Martin Turner. Martin is Senior Lecturer in Sport Psychology at Staffordshire University. He’s worked in a wide range of sports and is currently Lead Psychologist for the English futsal team. Martin is interested in using a counselling framework called Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT) to improve the performance and enhance the mental health of competitors from all sports. In this episode Martin and I talk about how coaches can use REBT, the relationship between thoughts, feelings and performance; the problem with extreme language; developing flexible thinking and embracing helpful negatives.

I’m lucky enough to be joined by international speaker and best-selling author Professor Damian Hughes on today’s podcast. Damian is the trusted adviser to the business, education and sporting elite, specialising in the creation of high performing cultures. Damian and I look in detail at this latest book The Barcelona Way honing in on the ‘culture of commitment’ that Barcelona have instilled. We discuss how Barcelona have put people at the forefront of their culture and how they’ve sustained success.

In this episode, I chat with teacher, teaching mentor and bestselling author Doug Lemov. Doug believes that teaching is a performance profession and spends his time learning what the very best teachers do. During our conversation, Doug introduces practical methodologies that coaches can use to improve their ability to teach, including the craft of coaching on the run, the difference between teaching and learning, how to data collect as you coach and thoughts on using ecological dynamics as a coach.

I'm joined by Great Britain Rowing Psychologist Dr Chris Shambrook. Chris is a veteran of 5 Olympic Games. He’s worked with elite athletes in the most pressure-filled environments and so is the perfect person to tell the Sport Psych Show how the brain impacts learning and performance. In this episode Chris and I share notes on all things sport psychology including experiencing failure to increase success, using key words to change behaviours, and strength & conditioning for the mind.

Dr Ed Coughlan is a skills coach with a PhD in skill acquisition. He is a university lecturer and has worked with a wide range of competitors and coaches including from the EIS, GB Shooting, UEFA, Chelsea FC, St Helen’s Rugby League, Scottish Curling and with a number of golfers on the European Tour. In this podcast, Ed and I discuss a range of topics including the importance of psychology within skill acquisition, passion Vs knowledge, co-creating solutions with players, and the PEAQ Model of Coaching.