Episoder

  • Iā€™m delighted to speak with David Horrocks this week. David is a coach educator and formerly head of R and D and part of the senior management at Manchester United Football Club.

    Over the years, David has engaged with many organisations such as British Cycling, Borussia Dortmund, The DFB, Milwaukee Bucks, Cricket Australia, London School of Contemporary Dance, Red Bull, and Inter Miami among others.

    David is also a consultant to Findel Education, Veo Technologies, Carleton University Canada, and Inspire Sports and is currently running an employee health and wellbeing program for up to 6000 workers with Cadent Gas in conjunction with Whoop technologies.

    The early part of Davidā€™s career was spent in the corporate and government services world in technology.

    David has also led a paper ā€œPreparation, structured deliberate practice and decision making in elite level football. The case study of Gary Neville (Manchester United FC and England)ā€ and itā€™s this paper we discuss.

  • Iā€™m delighted to speak with Katie Crawford this week. Katie and I discuss how coaches can facilitate teamwork within their teams.

    Katie is a PhD student at the University of Bath. As part of Katieā€™s PhD research, she led a paper entitled ā€œCoaching teamwork: Team sport athletesā€™ and coachesā€™ perceptions of how coaches facilitate teamworkā€ along with Dr Rachel Arnold, Carly McKay and Dr Desmond McEwan. The study explored how team sport coaches might facilitate teamwork within their teams. The study was based on interviews with coaches and athletes and identified how coaches utilize the following factors to promote teamwork: team selection, roles, coach-athlete relationships, athlete-to-athlete support, favouritism, tactical systems, athlete leadership, and internal competition.

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  • Iā€™m delighted to speak with Josh Frost this week. Josh is a PhD research student at The University of Melbourne. His research is also affiliated with the Elite Sports and Mental Health Centre at Orygen, a not-for-profit Youth Mental Health Centre located in Melbourne. The centre conducts research with athletes, coaches and high-performance support staff to find ways to better support elite athletes.

    In this episode Josh and I discuss a paper he led entitled ā€œThe Mental Health of Elite-Level Coaches: A Systematic Scoping Reviewā€ which examined the current body of evidence to explore what is known about the mental health of elite-level coaches (i.e. wellbeing and mental ill-health), the risk and protective factors that influence coach mental health, and the relationship between mental health and coaching effectiveness.

  • Iā€™m delighted to speak with Karin HƤgglund this week. Karin is a Former Swedish National team coach and National team athlete in karate. She is a five-time Swedish champion and three-time Nordic karate champion. Karin now researches how we can maintain well-being and health while performing at a high level over time. She is a PhD-student in Sustainable High-performance Coaching at The Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences.

    Karin is former editor and writer for the magazine FLOW published by the Swedish Sports Psychology Association and was a board member of the Swedish Sports Psychology Association.

    Karin and I discuss a paper she led entitled ā€œStarting a Conversation about Vulnerability in Elite Sportā€. The paper provides practitioners with resources based on insights from high-performance coaches to enable conversations about vulnerability in sport. The aim is that practitioners will use these resources to stimulate reflection and dialogue about vulnerability, which may lower thresholds for help-seeking and foster sustainability in sport organisations.

  • Iā€™m delighted to speak with Jen Harris this week. Jen is an expert in the field of parenting in youth sport. As the mother of a child athlete Jen was struck how little help there is for parents and decided to help change this. She undertook a Masters degree in Sport Psychology, the focus of which was parenting in youth sport. For her dissertation she created the Super-P Approach; an easy to teach parental communication style which can significantly reduce worry levels in child athletes. Jen is now completing her PhD at The University of Edinburgh to extend the research into her Super-P Approach.

    Jen has also launched a business, Raising Happy Champs, which offers workshops and an extensive e-learning program to parents of children involved in competitive sport. Jen teaches parents sport psychology principals and how to apply them to improve their childā€™s experience of sport.

    In this episode we speak about Jenā€™s experiences as a sport parent and we discuss the results of a study Jen undertook along with Prof Dave Collins and Dr Christine Nash entitled ā€œLetā€™s Hear It From the Kids! Examining the Experiences, Views, and Needs of Highly Committed Children Involved in Youth Sportā€.

  • In this episode Iā€™m delighted to speak with Dr Paul Mansell and Dr Katie Sparks.

    Paul is a lecturer in Sport and Exercise Psychology at Staffordshire University. Paul completed his PhD in 2023 at the University of Birmingham which investigated the role of trait beliefs in determining stress appraisals, performance and well-being. Paul continues to research in this area, with a specific focus on stress mindset and irrational beliefs. Specifically, Paul has constructed an intervention informed by the REBT framework to enhance well-being and performance under pressure.

    Katie is a Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Psychology at Staffordshire University and is currently undertaking her PhD at University of Birmingham. Katie is also a mindfulness practitioner. She previously worked with British Rowing as a Performance Lifestyle Advisor and ran psychology educational workshops within their talent development pathway.

    Paul and Katie discuss the findings of a study that investigated whether a multimodal cognitive-behavioural intervention could enhance young athletesā€™ psychological well-being and performance. The intervention employed a combination of education and reappraisal delivered in 6ā€‰Ć—ā€‰1-hour group workshops. Content included stress mindset, irrational beliefs, self-compassion, and imagery. They found that teaching athletes simple cognitive behavioural techniques can change their ā€˜stress mindsetā€™ and, in turn, enhance their wellbeing and performance.

  • Iā€™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 menā€™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 masterā€™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.

  • Iā€™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

  • Iā€™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. Samā€™s research in these areas has been published in a range of leading international journals including: ā€˜Psychology of Sport & Exerciseā€™, ā€˜Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise & Healthā€™, ā€˜Sport, Exercise & Performance Psychologyā€™, ā€˜Journal of Applied Sport Psychologyā€™ 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.

  • Iā€™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.

    Shakibaā€™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 Scienceā€™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 Societyā€™s Human Rights Advisory Group.

  • This week Iā€™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 ā€˜Aā€™ Licence coaching qualification. Alongside his academic responsibilities, Charlie is the Head Coach for Cardiff Met FC BUCS1 programme.ā€‹ The focus of Charlieā€™s research relate to the everyday complexities and affairs of coaches, particularly relating to ā€˜influenceā€™ and ā€˜controlā€™ within the coaching context.

    Robyn is Professor of Sport and Social Theory and a former Associate Dean of Research at Cardiff Metropolitan University, UK. Robynā€™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 ā€œContending with vulnerability and uncertainty: what coaches say about coachingā€.

  • Iā€™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 Chrisā€™s research over the past 30 years, focusing on Achievement Goal Theory, Reflection-in-Action, and the 5 Cā€™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 thatā€™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 Iā€™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.

    Markā€™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.

  • Iā€™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 UniversitƩ 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 ā€œsleepingā€ talent using psychological characteristics.

  • In this episode Iā€™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 Menā€™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 ā€œA systematic Review of the Coach-Athlete Relationship From the Coachesā€™ Perspectiveā€.

  • Iā€™m excited to speak with Dr Mark Aoyagi this week. Mark is the Co-Director of the Masterā€™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.

    Markā€™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 Iā€™m joined by Dr Alison Maitland and Jenna Ashford to talk about their new book ā€œDrop the Struggle: A Transformative Approach to Achieving Your Potential in Sport and Lifeā€.

    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, ā€œDrop the Struggleā€ 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 Iā€™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.

    Leonā€™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 ā€œRecommendations for Integrating Psychological Skills Training (PST) into Rational Emotive Behavioural Therapy (REBT)ā€ which was led by James and co-written by Dr Martin Turner and Leon.

  • On this weekā€™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 ā€œchoking-susceptibleā€ 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 Grƶpel and co-written by Chris entitled ā€œChoking interventions in sports: A systematic reviewā€. 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.