#308 Fireside Chat with Stuart Armstrong, Host of The Talent Equation Podcast, on Skill Acquisition, Over the Top Parents, and Protecting the Rights of the Children in Sports

This is a special episode of the podcast as Stuart and John got to record in person in Bend, Oregon after a 2 day work visit with a little ski adventure on the thrown in. He has been traveling the US speaking at the United Soccer Coaches Convention and working with the coaching staff of the Columbus Blue Jackets of the NHL, and had a few days to spend in Bend before keynoting the Oregon Youth Soccer AGM. For those who do not know, Stuart has worked in sports development for the past 20 years. He has held positions in coach development, performance and talent development at England Golf, UK Coaching and the Rugby Football Union. Stuart is currently the Strategic Lead for Workforce Transformation at Sport England. He has been responsible for writing and publishing two national strategy documents, ‘Coaching in an Active Nation: The Coaching Plan for England’ and ‘Working in an Active Nation: The Professional Workforce Strategy for England’.

Stuart is a highly regarded public speaker, having delivered keynote presentations across the globe for a range of organizations both in and out of sport. He is an expert facilitator who leads workshops for organizations striving to support people to be the best they can be. Stuart also owns the website www.thetalentequation.co.uk and is host of the 5 star rated podcast ‘The Talent Equation’ which is dedicated to providing advice, guidance and support to people at the cutting edge of coaching and performance development.

SAVE THE DATE: The 2023 Way of Champions Conference will be held August 4-6, 2023 at Colorado Academy in Denver, CO. Click here to learn more, registration will open January 1, and we will be announcing guest speakers and other conference related events soon. Its going to be amazing to be back in person in 2023! 

This week’s podcast is brought to you by our friends at Sprocket Sports.  Sprocket Sports is a new software platform for youth sports clubs.  There are a lot of these systems out there, but Sprocket provides the full enchilada. They give you all the cool front-end stuff to make your club look good– like websites and marketing tools – AND all the back-end transactions and services to run your business better so you can focus on what really matters – your players and your teams. 

Sprocket is built for those clubs looking to thrive, not just survive, in the competitive world of youth sports clubs.  So if you’ve been looking for a true business partner – not just another app – check them out today at https://sprocketsports.me/CTG.

Become a Podcast Champion! This weeks podcast is also sponsored by our Patreon Podcast Champions. Help Support the Podcast and get FREE access to our most popular online courses, a $300 value. If you love the podcast, we would love for you to become a Podcast Champion, (https://www.patreon.com/wayofchampions) for as little as a cup of coffee per month (OK, its a Venti Mocha), to help us up the ante and provide even better interviews, better sound, and an overall enhanced experience. Plus, as a $10 per month Podcast Super-Champion, you will have access to never before released and bonus material, including:

• Downloadable transcripts of our best podcasts, so you don’t have to crash your car trying to take notes!
• A code to get free access to our online course called “Coaching Mastery,” usually a $97 course, plus four other courses worth over $100, all yours for free for becoming a patron.
• Other special bonus opportunities that come up time to time
• Access to an online community of coaches like you who are dedicated listeners of the podcast, and will be able to answer your questions and share their coaching experiences.

Thank you for all your support these past four years, and a special big thank you to all of you who become part of our inner circle, our patrons, who will enable us to take our podcast to the next level. https://www.patreon.com/wayofchampions