Building Psychosocial Characteristics Within an English Soccer Academy

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.