The Sports Initiative Podcast

Damian McGrath is a rugby coach with a wealth of knowledge and experiences from all around the world. Starting as a teacher, he has gone on to coach some of the powerhouses of English Rugby including Leeds Rhinos and Leicester Tigers. He was also part of the backroom staff under Sir Clive Woodward. Currently he is the Head Coach of the Kenyan National Rugby 7's team.Show notes:00:50 - Introduction to Damian McGrath02:00 - The format of Rugby 7's13:30 - The foundations he puts in place with the groups he is coaching17:30 - The techniques Damian likes to emphasise when coaching 'along with the why' 22:00 - How is the coached on a consistent basis 23:45 - How to pressurise the skill ready for 'in battle' execution25:30 - Mike McDaniel and his use of footage to emphasise 27:30 - Challenging himself as an introvert to talk Infront of teams and inspire them30:30 - Building and developing relationships when performance is paramount32:00 - Providing a way back33:00 - Talent identification in Kenyan Rugby 'and it's challenges'36:00 - How Damian upskills himself with knowledge when transferring between unfamiliar codes41:00 - Engaging the team leaders to get others on board45:00 - The trend of Rugby League coaches switching to union and why its becoming more common47:30 - The challenge of having principles to allowing creative freedom48:30 - Zigging when others zagged when coaching the German national team51:30 - How would Damian liked to be described in 3 words and why Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joe Baker is a professor at York University in Canada. He has recently focused his research on Talent Identification and this has culminated in his latest book release 'The Tyranny of talent'.Show notes1:30 - The background of Joe and his work into talent identification3:40 - Why did Talent Identification resonate with Joe as a research area4:45 - The process of research creation7:40 - Finding research in a scarce field10:00 - Challenging confirmation bias in talent identification12:40 - The definition of talent15:15 - The effect the environment can have on 'high potential individuals'19:10 - Do we know what a positive develop environment is?21:40 - How do we assess progression?23:30 - Early specialisation vs multi sport approach26:00 - The importance of nuance in this field32:15 - Potential characteristics in future high performers37:15 - The differences between high end performance projection to developmental pathway assessment39:30 - How to support coaches in identification and long term development of high potential players43:30 - The statistical challenges of the draft process43:30 - The optimal talent identification process48:30 - Next target in this field for Joe and his team51:00- How would Joe like to be described in 3 words Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Charles Ruiz is a specialist in leadership and team development. Formally a baseball player within the the Colorado Rockies set up, Charles was drafted in round 10 of the 2009 MLB draft. Fast forward 5 years and Charles if having to retire due to injury and forge himself new career and life. Show notes:1:30 - The whistle stop tour of Charles Ruiz3:00 - Why Baseball6:30 - The power of Charles coaching staff and how they supported him (the anti last chance U)8:30 - How did the coaching staff create comfort in the uncomfortable10:30 - His skillset as an athlete12:00- Juco to D! transition14:30 - The power of Manchester United's Cliff model18:00 - The process of being scouted by MLB scouts21:00 - The importance of staying grounded during high success periods25:00 - What does the transition from colligate to pro athlete look like?32:00 - The origin of his injury36:00 - The final throw38:00 - Transitioning away from being an athlete41:00 - Understanding what you enjoy about sport44;30 - Sale or no sale45:30 - The threads of high performing teams47:00- Creating healthy challenge49:00 - Creating trust in a group56:00 - The core or starting 559:00 - How would Charles like to be described in 3 words and why Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Amy Price is a coach and coach developer in football. She works for the English Football Association and Premier League side Fulham. She is also well know for her work around video game design and how it could be an effective tool when coaching.Show notes:1:30 - Amy discusses her current roles within F.A and at Fulham FC.3:30 - The environment of at Fulham encouraging individualisation. 4:45 - The identity of Fulham maximising an individuals potential. 7:30 - The importance of understanding where the athletes have come through to support them in the future8:35 - Strategies to understand how the athlete has been coaches previously10:30 - Key challenges of working within the Professional game18:30 - The difference between gamification and video game design26:30 - Application tips of video game design and the importance of missions32:00 - How would Amy liked to be described in 3 words and why? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Chris Pike is a goalkeeping and set piece coach in the England U23's women's programme. Formally of Tottenham Hotspur Women's 1st team, Arsenal academy and Watford, Chris has a wealth of experience of supporting goalkeeping development in every age of their journey. Show notes:01:10 - Chris's grounding as a professional goalkeeper coach03:40 - Planning sessions suitable for every age group within an academy07:00 - Helping goalkeepers develop their technical ability with their feet09:00- Helping players identify the risk and reward of play out from the back.13:30 - How do you challenge players to develop skills they don't get easy access to15:50 - Developing player buy in to skill development20:00 - Managing training repetition load23:15 - The challenges of growth and maturation in goalkeeper coordination30:42 - The use of individual development plans in coaching across the age groups36:40 - Managing confirmation bias once developing such close working relationships39:00 - Gaining validity as a coach43:00 - Managing game specific challenges/research47:00 - The squad selection process50:00 - How would Chris like to be described in 3 words Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lauren Ammon is a former NCCA athlete turned founder of Performance reimagined which is service provided to athletes to help them develop their mental skills in preparation for performance sport.Show Notes1:30 - Lauren and her experiences in the sporting world4:00 - Why does performance sport resonate with Lauren6:00- The challenges of collegiate sport in the US9:00 - The campus pressures in collegiate sport11:00- The effect NIL will have on athletes16:00 - The Olympic 'Face of' cycle19:30 - Michael Phelps challenges between Olympic cycles23:00 - The gravity of the US sporting landscape26:00 - The role of performance reimagined28:00 - What does success look like?43:00 - The challenges of athletes receiving critical feedback34:00 - The barriers faced when implementing this type of work37:30 - How they develop co-dependent athletes who can work with coaches51:00 - Key identifiers of for high performing athletes54:00 - How would Lauren like to be described in 3 words and why? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr Anna Stodter is a senior lecturer at Leeds Beckett in sports coaching. Alongside her lecturing role, Anna is also completing a PHD into coaches and how they develop as practitioners through formal pathways and how they learnt on and around the course. She then went on to work at Cambridge University and GB Archery. Shows notes2:00 - Anna's role as a sport professional3:00 - What does good coaching look like?5:00 - What do successful coaches do to progress and become successful9:30 - The use of formal to informal feedback13:00- What is the assessment criteria in coaching and coach development14:45 - Theoretical models that focus coaching criteria18:00 - The use of formal coaching education22:30 - Filtering the appropriate information from coaching qualifications25:00 - The importance of supporting coaching contexts28:00 - Maverick coaches in more traditional environments30:00- The effect of Anna's research on her own coaching40:00 - The importance of hierarchy in enabling creative coaches44:00 - Analysing the environment before coaching45:00- Preparing the team for Cambridge vs Oxford48:00 - The challenges of a review process51:00 - How would Anna like to be described in 3 words? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Richard Shorter is the founder of Non-perfect Dad an organisation which looks to provide organisations and parents with critical insight into creating a collaborative and evidence based approach in supporting young people participating in performance sport.Show notes02:30 - Richard role as non perfect Dad05:30 - Why is support needed in performance sport08:30 - The key characteristics of positive player support14:00 - The necessity of player feedback in the development pathway19:00 - Scaffolding the preparation of bad news or 'being released?'28:00 - The importance of no surprises for an upcoming decision33:00 - Understanding how the experiences of being in pressurised sport can be beneficial 37:00- Staying connected to the organisation long term.38:30 - Creating collaborative parent, player and coaching environments Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Phil Relf is the Director of Sport at Canterbury Academy. Formally working in professional cricket, Phil worked as the academy director and first team assistant at Kent and also went on to work of the England Cricket Board (ECB). Show notes01:20 - Previous experiences as a practitioner06:30 - Groundings as a practitioner in the grassroots settings09:00 - How Phil allows 'flow' within his sessions11:45 - The role of academy director in Cricket16:00 - Periodisation in the cricket season19:30 - Preparing plays to play across formats during a short season28:00 - How do you manage players obsession to score runs33:30 - The balance of practice in a progression pathway35:30 - The role of social architects in a group development38:00 - The need for hostility in the training environment 40:00 - How New Zealand were ahead of the curve in their player development42:00 - How did the Red Sox manage difference in pitching action to the benefit of batters50:00 - The use of ball type in effecting coaching outcomes54:45 - Managing meetings with high numbers of staff57:30 - How to engrain players in culture setting 1:02:00- Gaining player feedback for a practitioner.1:04:00 - Describing Phil in 3 words Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tadhg Leader is a former professional rugby player in Ireland and Italy and for the American National Team. At aged 29 he transitioned to American Football and played as a Kicker for the Aviators in the CFL, the step below the NFL.Show Notes:1:30- Tadhg athletic journey3:30 - Why is there a transition into American Football6:00 - The culture of 'kickabouts' around the globe7:30 - The technical detail around ball striking in the American Football10:00 - Negating the pre conceived ideas within 'industry knowledge'13:00 - The challenge of outcome over process15:00 - What does an NFL team want from it special teams kicking unit21:00 - Managing load during training24:00- How coaches pressurise training sessions to replicate games for better performance29:00 - Roberto Aguayo and the yips in kicking within American Football35:00 - How can you utilise different ball striking techniques in American Football40:00 - Freelancing within game plans44:00 - How would Tadhg like to be described in 3 words? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.