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Professor Tracey Devonport from the Univeristy of Wolverhampton joined Dr Paul Mansell in the studio to discuss her knowledge and experiences of performance under pressure.
Tracey is a HCPC registered sport psychologist and has had an extensive research career with over 100 publications to her name. In this episode, there is a focus on the role of mentoring in facilitating performance under pressure, and Tracey outlines the key characteristics of effective mentoring.
She also discusses the nature of coping and whist reflecting on her previous research as well as her current work, we discuss the need to prepare athletes for key transitions they are likely to encounter in their sporting career.
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Ryan Cockbill is a Paralympic shooter and has taken part in four Paralympic Games dating back to London 2012. In 2022, he won a silver medal the European Championships and a bronze at the World Championships.
In this episode, he describes to Dr Paul Mansell and Dr Katie Sparks about how he focuses to perform well in a sport that demands precision and control. This includes the need for automaticity from his training, attention towards the process rather than the outcome, and the need to reflect on performance in an adaptive way.
Ryan describes the purpose of planning in terms of your energy levels in and around the time of a Paralympic Games and how to deal with the challenges of moving on from the Games once they are over.
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Luther James-Wildin is a defender for League One Stevenage and has made over 250 appearances in his career. He joined Dr Paul Mansell and ex-Plymouth Argyle striker Jake Jervis in the studio to discuss several topics that relate to performance under pressure. Luther is also the Founder and CEO of Wildin Ventures Ltd and the Players Property Partners, and an important topic of conversation was the need to cultivate an identity beyond being a footballer. Luther speaks about the role of confidence and pre-match preparation in determining performance, and how you don't always need to be confident to perform well. The trio also speak about leadership, and Luther shares his views on effective leadership and the need for togetherness within a football club.
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Azeem Amir is a footballer for the England men's blind team. In this episode, he tells Dr Paul Mansell and Dr Joe Dixon about his journey into football, his business ventures that seek to help others learn more about disabilities, and his pride in representing his country at the European and World Championships.
Azeem utilises many strategies to facilitate performance under pressure such as choosing a helpful mindset, focusing on the process rather than the outcome, and dealing with mistakes through recognising that there is no pause or rewind button. He explains of the need to switch between 'drone view' and 'Go Pro view' to help him when he is out on the pitch.
For more information on Azeem's business, check out: https://www.learnwithess.com/.
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Josh Gordon is a forward for Walsall and has had a really interesting journey to becoming a professional footballer. Whilst completing his undergraduate degree at the University of Staffordshire, Josh was playing non-league football for clubs such as Stafford Rangers and Nantwich Town when current Premier League Champions Leicester City came calling.
He has since represented Barrow and Burton Albion, and in this episode, he reflects on numerous topics related to performing under pressure with host Dr Paul Mansell and special guest co-host Jamille Matt.
Jamille is Josh's teammate at Walsall and the two footballers discuss how confidence is formulated and maintained as a striker, the need for identity beyond being a footballer, and how togetherness can be enhanced within a football club.
Josh describes how he likes to be led, such as making individuals feel valued as part of the group, and describes his rational perspective towards taking penalties.
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Joe Ford is a former Premiership rugby player and has represented clubs such as Sale Sharks and Leicester Tigers.
He is now the head coach of Doncaster Knights, and in this episode, he tells Dr Paul Mansell and co-host Jason Wright about his approach to leadership in great detail. Joe really values the contribution that psychology makes to individual and collective performance, and he gives us some great insights into how to create an adaptive culture for performance and to how a senior leadership team can be utilised among the players.
He also describes how he used techniques such as imagery and breath work in his career as an elite rugby player, and how he continues to use breath work as one of strategies to support his wellbeing on a daily basis.
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Emma Biggin is a trainee sport psychologist, University of Staffordshire MSc graduate, and owner of the ‘Bigs’ Sport Psych psychology consultancy. In this episode with Dr Paul Mansell and Professor Matt Slater, Emma speaks about what it means to be a sport psychologist as well as gives an insight into the strategies and techniques she has used so far when working with athletes and their coaching staff.
In particular, Emma delves into the ways in which she aims to make sport psychology accessible, meaningful, and effective for the people with which she works. We discuss strategies that may be used pre- and post-performance, as well as those during, to help athletes to be successful.
Emma presents her approach to practice, explaining how she aims to translate psychology into the language of the recipient through designing games and drills with psychological underpinnings to not only help convey a message, but with the aim of having fun in the process.
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Paul McVeigh is a former Premier League and international footballer, and in this episode, he joins Dr Paul Mansell and Dr Andrew Wilkinson in the studio.
Paul began his career at Tottenham Hotspur, made over 200 appearances for Norwich City and also represented Burnley and Luton Town. Paul won 20 caps for Northern Ireland before turning his attention to the psychology of performing under pressure.
Combining the experiences from playing alongside and against some Premier League legends such as Jurgen Klinsmann, Gianfranco Zola and Thierry Henry, with a MSc in Sport and Exercise Psychology from the University of Staffordshire, Paul now works with multinational companies to enhance performance, wellbeing and leadership. In this episode, Paul reflects on the approaches he used in his career to aid his performance as well as detailing the strategies he finds effective when working with businesses now.
Paul has also written 'The Stupid Footballer is Dead' and has a website that showcases his applied work: https://paulmcveigh.com/.
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Lizzie Lewandowski is our guest in the studio in episode 40. A Sargent of the West Midlands Police Football Unit, Lizzie has had an extensive career in dealing with situations of high pressure. Lizzie has worked at the World Cup, the Euros, the Europa League and the Premier League and has a high level of responsibility on a match-day.
In this episode, we discuss how leadership styles change to match the demands of the context, such as how Lizzie dealt with the disturbances at the Black Country Derby between West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
We discuss the importance of planning and reviewing performance to facilitate subsequent performance and how Lizzie is able to get the best out of her team. Importantly, Lizzie explains the prevalence of misogyny in football and how she is able to deal with situations that are particularly unpleasant.
Finally, Lizzie reflects on the need to develop positive mental health in what can be considered sometimes as a 'macho' culture.
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In this special bonus episode, we introduce two local guests who have recently appeared on the ITV show 'My Mum, Your Dad'. Conducted just prior to the show, which is available now on ITVX, father Andy Pearce and daughter Izzy Pearce describe the challenges they face as members of the public who are catapulted onto national TV in front of watching millions.
Andy is a successful businessman in the property domain and has worked with numerous international footballers during his career, and we reflect on what he has learnt from those experiences. Izzy outlines the psychological support provided to contestants on shows like 'My Mum, Your Dad', and speaks about her coping mechanisms for appearing on national TV.
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Professor Marc Jones is an expert in stress on health, wellbeing and performance in individuals and organisations at Manchester Metropolitan University. Formerly a colleague of co-host Professor Matt Slater at the University of Staffordshire, Marc has been hugely influential in developing theories that explain the confluence of psychology and physiology in performing under pressure.
Indeed, the Theory of Challenge and Threat States in Athletes forms part of our conversation in this episode and we explore some of the factors that may influence challenge and threat responses, such as social support.
We ask Marc to explain the characteristics of effective practice in sport psychology and then move on to discussing how leaders and organisations can contribute to effective performance under pressure. On an individual level, Marc also explains the utility of imagery in facilitating performance under pressure.
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In this special international edition recorded in Porto, Dr Paul Mansell and Beatriz Gandra speak to Matilde Fidalgo about her perceptions of performing under pressure in the highest level of women's football.
Matilde announced her retirement from football this month and has had a stellar career representing teams such as Benfica, Sporting Lisbon, Braga, Manchester City, Real Betis and FC Famalicao. She also represented Portugal, winning 48 caps which included playing at Euro 2017.
We explore the feelings associated with retirement and career transitions and also delve into how Matilde prepared to perform well in her career. Nutrition is highly important to her, and Matilde explains how she used nutrition to fuel her performance. Matilde tells us about how she would support herself in situations of pressure, such as in reacting to mistakes in a helpful way, and she explains what effective leadership should like like in this context.
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Dave Lawrence is able to speak about performing under pressure from his myriad of experiences in football. In a career spanning 27 years to date, Dave has been Head of Sport for The Albion Foundation, the first ever Director of Women’s Football at WBA FC, Head of Football for University of Wolverhampton, Head Coach for University of Birmingham Women, an FA Mentor and former FA Coach Educator. Dave was also a FIFA registered agent and now works for the Football Association of Wales.
In this episode, we discuss the importance of being prepared to show vulnerability to demonstrate a human side, the importance of 'what - if' planning and asking yourself the question of 'what does this player need today?'. Dave also suggests the importance of being an inch wide but a mile deep when it comes to knowledge and also preparing for performance under pressure by allowing players the chance to develop this skill in ecologically valid settings.
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Chris Casper began his career in football at Manchester United under the watchful eye of Sir Alex Ferguson and made his debut for the first team in 1994. He has also represented England at U18 and U21 levels, AFC Bournemouth, Swindon Town and Reading before retiring due to a serious knee injury aged 24. He is now Director at Football at League Two Salford City having also experienced club management at Team Bath and Bury.
In this episode, Chris tells Dr Paul Mansell and Professor Matt Slater what he learned from his time at Manchester United, and he goes into detail as to how he used visualisation ahead of an important game away at Tottenham Hotspur. Indeed, preparation is a theme that crops up frequently during the conversation, and Chris explains how he now utilises this to help him perform in the pressurised role as a leader in football.
We discuss creating a culture in an organisation, and Chris reveals what he hopes people would say about the culture he has created at Salford City.
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Dr Amber Mosewich is an Associate Professor at the University of Alberta, Canada. In this exclusive interview with Dr Paul Mansell and Dr Katie Sparks, Amber explains the role of self-compassion in wellbeing and performance in sport. Amber is one of the world's leading experts in this growing and evidence-based field, and the content that she shares also shines a light on how we might utilise self-compassion theory and strategies as a part of our daily lives.
In particular, Amber describes the three pillars of self-compassion and offers an explanation as to how self-criticism can be detrimental to wellbeing and performance. Amber provides some thoughts as how quickly self-compassion skills can develop and on why scepticism may exist towards self-compassion. We also discuss how organisations can promote a self-compassionate culture.
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Karl Colley began his professional football career with his hometown club Sheffield Wednesday and subsequently signed for Newcastle United and Sheffield United before playing at Non-League level for teams including Halifax Town and Goole.
In this episode, Karl speaks at length about the need to offer psychological support to young players and how this needs to be much more than just a box-ticking exercise. In discussion with Dr Paul Mansell and guest co-host Jake Jervis, Karl describes how leaders can play a crucial role in fostering the positive development of young players.
Karl is very open and honest about the struggles he faced in his career, such as a gambling addiction and poor mental health, and now, Karl shares his desire to use his experiences to help others.
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Mark O'Brien made his debut for Derby County in the Championship aged 16 and went on to make nearly 200 career appearances for Motherwell, Luton Town, Southport and Newport County.
The former Republic of Ireland youth international retired aged 27 having had open heart surgery and in this episode, Mark tells Dr Paul Mansell and Dr Joe Dixon about how he dealt with this life-threatening situation.
Since retiring, Mark is now a member of staff at Newport County and is passionate about supporting the development of young players. Reflecting on his own playing career, Mark describes the importance of routine and the need for taking personal responsibility. Mark describes experiencing pre-match nerves in the form of vomiting prior to kick-off and the role of perspective in helping individuals perform under pressure.
This episode was recorded via Microsoft Teams.
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Current vice-captain of League Two Walsall FC, striker Jamille Matt has made over 400 appearances in his career and has represented clubs including Forest Green, Newport County, Fleetwood Town and Kidderminster Harriers. In this unique episode, Jamille joined regular host Dr Paul Mansell and guest co-hosts Jake Jervis and Sam Winnall in the studio to discuss performance under pressure. The added dynamic of two recently retired professional footballers made for a detailed and honest conversation, such as the best way to prepare for a Wembley final. A focus of this episode was on leadership given Jamille's experience and he provided some useful practical advice as to how a leader can get the best out of their players, such as through empowerment. The use of self-criticism was also discussed by the quartet.
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In this episode, Emma Quinn joined Dr Paul Mansell and Laura Jackson in the studio to discuss performing under pressure from the angle of female health. Emma is a PhD student at Loughborough University and has recently delivered psychological skills interventions with the England Amputee Football Association.
Speaking from her experiences in competing in karate to a high level as well as reflecting on her applied work, Emma spoke in detail about her perceptions of performing under pressure, and she shares some of the strategies that she has found to be impactful when working with athletes. However, the main focus of this conversation was to learn more about the role of menstruation in sport and exercise and how this might influence performing under pressure.
Coaches, teachers, leaders and practitioners alike will no doubt be able to learn from Emma's evidence-based approach to this topic as Emma provides some practical tips on how to aid female athletes' health, wellbeing and performance.
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In this episode, Wolves Women midfielder Merrick Will joined Dr Paul Mansell in the studio to share her reflections on performing under pressure. Merrick has previously spent four seasons in the Championship with London Bees and has also represented Coventry United, Oxford United, Millwall and Watford.
Merrick describes how she prepares for an important game by detailing her use of imagery. Having completed a Sport Psychology MSc herself, Merrick offers some detailed thoughts on the role of psychology in women's football such as the extent to which a sport psychologist should be embedded within a club.
Just prior to recording the episode, Merrick had experienced an ACL injury, and as a result, she provides some useful guidance as to the best way to support a player that is experiencing a serious injury. Merrick also explains to Paul about the importance of being a team rather than a group.
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