The Sports Initiative Podcast

Kevin Mulcahy is a sports practitioner with a wide range of experiences and roles within the sector. Working predominantly in GAA, Kevin uses a Constraint Led Approach to help players develop, and more importantly, create a long-term love for the game. With the support of sporting governing bodies, Kevin would like to see a shift away from the current 'academy' model toward an environment that allows players to develop locally until their late teens when they would be more psychologically reedy for the challenges of high-performance sport.Show notes:17:00 - How to create a technical base without coaching drills22:00 - The implementation of constraints-based coaching so players can emulate their hero's25:00 - Why games over drills?27:00 - Task simplification in game scenarios31:00 - The effect of relative age effect on competition and participant retention35:30 - The individualised approach to player support in coaching38:30 - The role of NGB's in competition design42:00 - How we can put players in challenging environments55:00 - How can we create appropriate academies?57:45 - Do coaches really have all the answers? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Stuart Wilkinson is a former player turned coach in Rugby League. He has worked for a variety of clubs and teams including Leeds Rhino's and the England National side. Alongside these roles, he is also a lecturer at the University of central Lancashire and has over 20 years of experience in a variety of roles in the sports industry.Show notes1:00 - Experience as a practitioner in sport10:00 - The importance of a moral compass when working with young people in sport12:00 - Opportunities to challenge unwanted behaviours in the team13:45 - The role of cultural architects and cultural assassins to make good working environments17:00 - The role of a toy in team building23:00 - How individuals in the group can challenge unwanted behaviours26:00 - The foundations that can be laid at younger ages group for team cultures31:00 - How elite performance is task orientated35:00 - Player protecting the group identity at the elite level28:30 - 12 years of catastrophe to create the All-Black culture Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jasmine Baba is a freelance technical researcher; talent identify and editor of football in Europe. This is particular prudent in the German market. From unconventional roots within the betting industry, Jasmine has worked her way into professional football and now works as a consultant as part of agency available for hire on the continent. This unique way of working allows her to experience a variety of areas within the industry and provide value to clubs in a multitude of ways.Show notes1:20 - View of Fifa and the 2022 World Cup4:40 - Freelance role and what football market she works within10:00 - Use of statistics in football better and transfer into football18:00 - The creation of statistical models in football clubs - EG Brentford22:25 - What type of work is commissioned by football clubs and related media markets32:00 - Using stats as an identifier for player recruitment and Key Performance Indicators34:00 - Finding diamonds in the rough in lower-level football 47:00 - How she upskills herself with modern trends or tactical ideas58:31 - The difference in football trends from each nation within her market60:00 - The Redbull football model and its effect on German football64:00 - The legacy of Ralf Rangnick on German football and why he struggled at Manchester United Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

David Sharkey is an English teacher turned consultant who helps business develop a sense of purpose through theming/ story telling. A large proportion of his work in now in the sports industry where he helps creative narratives and identities for high performing teams. An example of this is with Ronan O'Gara's, La Rochelle.Show notes:03:00 - The origin of storytelling15:00 - How to relate storytelling into the performance sport area19:00 - The definition of theming 25:00 - Theming in a sporting context31:50 - How South Africa's 'bomb squad' is the gold standard when setting a narrative35:00 - How Arteta is changing attitude toward the grind37:30 - The key principles of theming 49:00 - Who is the best practitioner David has worked with and why? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jenny Coe is the Head of Performance and Well Being at West Ham Football Club. She focuses on providing players and staff with a support network to allow them to perform on a consistent basis whilst also supporting them as individuals away from the field. Previously she held roles within Olympic sports to assist coaches and players with their preparation during Olympic cycles.Show notes:2:10 - Current role with West Ham Football Club has Head of Performance and Wellbeing.9:00 - The importance and understanding of an athlete centered approach 25:00: - The formal process of providing support for staff and players28:50 - The skill of noticing when working with athletes which may pre-empt a deep in performance29:30 - Challenging unhelpful behaviours of a player or staff member that impacts performance36:30 - How West Ham create and environment which is team focused rather than individual athlete focused to aid performance45:00 - Who is Jenny's inspiration practitioner and why? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alex Auerbach is the Director of Wellness and development at NBA team Toronto Raptors. In this role he focuses on supporting the team in developing their psychological performance both on and off the court. Timestamp's02:00 - Introduction to previous roles in cur college sports and current role with Toronto Raptors04:00 - The difference between clinical psychology and performance-based psychology06:12: - 7 strands of wellness and elite performance22:57 - The role of sports leaders in creating a performance culture/environment36:10 - Optimal psychological profile for elite team performance39:10 - Use Michael Jordan as an example for elite performance and team culture43:10 - The future of performance psychology and how it effects how we think, feel and live.If you have interests in sports psychology, elite performance or basketball please see below some additional episodes that may be of interest:113 - Tony Miller - Coaching basketball via a constraints led approach112 - Kris Goodman - Psychology in the MLB101 - Alex Sarama - Coaching basketball across the globe84 - Dr Rob Bell - Managing self-talk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Adam Commens is the Director of Performance at Belgium Hockey. He oversees all performance related aspects of hockey in the country and focuses on improving talent pathways for both coaches and players. Formally a player in his own right, he went to multiple Olympic games with the Australian national team. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tom Brown is a former professional cricketer now turned academic. In his recently completed PHD he focused on the under representation of South Asian English players in the English game. This research should hopefully lead to some actionable strategies to improve player pathways across a variety of sports. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Oliver Gage is the Director of Football for the Canadian Premier League. In this role he supports the clubs to develop their infrastructure and use league central resources with the overall all aim of seeing more young Canadian players playing professional football. Prior to this role he worked with the Houston Dynamos in thei r analysis department. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Duane Allen is the Lead Youth Development Phase coach at Walsall academy. Formerly of Premiership side Wolverhampton Wanderers, Duane now oversees the development of Youth phase players at the League 2 which has just gone through a philosophy change in the early part of 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.