I’m delighted to speak with Ben Ashdown this week. Ben is joined by return guest, Dr Mustafa Sarkar.

Ben is a senior lecturer in Sport and Exercise Psychology at Nottingham Trent University. He is part of the Sport Performance Research Group in the Sport, Health and Performance Enhancement (SHAPE) Research Centre and is a PhD researcher focusing on resilience in youth football. Ben’s research interests are observational methods and assessment in sport psychology, resilience behaviours in youth football and resilience development practices.

Before moving into lecturing, Ben was a research associate at The University of Nottingham on the Steps to Active Kids (STAK) project that sought to evaluate the impact of a school-based physical activity programme on outcomes including self-efficacy and obesity risk factors. Ben is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and has a Postgraduate diploma in teaching in the lifelong learning sector. After graduating from York St John University on a BA (Honours) degree in Sport Studies and Psychology, Ben completed an MSc in Sport Psychology at the same institution.

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 led by Ben and co-authored by Mustafa and Dr Chris Saward and Dr Julie Johnston entitled “Exploring the behavioral indicators of resilience in professional academy youth soccer”.

The study offers insight into the observable behaviours characterising resilience in youth soccer. Participants identified 36 resilience behaviours, highlighting the multifaceted nature of the concept in this specific context. The results provide a platform to support practitioners in observing resilience behaviours and structuring practices for resilience assessment and development.

The findings of this study can support youth soccer players in reflecting on their behavioural responses to in-game stressors, and thus better understand how and when they demonstrate resilience.

Chris Richardson