The Sports Initiative Podcast

Nick Scott is the Director of Rugby of Seria A Pesaro. Formally working for the RFU in England, Nick has helped sculpture the rugby system in England helping it produce some of the modern day internationals such as Maro Itoje, Anthony Watson and Marcus Smith.Show notes:1:30 - Nick provides his story and overview of his credentials5:30 - What drew him to Rugby8:00 - Biggest challenges transitioning into rugby full time11:30 - The transition from amateur to professional15:00 - Providing coach specific support as part of the RFU20:00 - Challenging poor practice within a pathway22:00 - The importance of informal contact points25:00 - Learning the skills of critical thinking27:00 - The decision to leave the RFU30:00 - The biggest change to becoming a Director of Rugby36;:00 - The use of professional coaches in Italy40:00 - Game zone and skill zone43:30 - Player identification throughout the pathway46:00 - The importance of trusting personal feeling49:00 - Being a maverick 24/750:00 - The importance of self reflection in elite performers Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Richard Cheetham MBE is a coach and lecturer at the University of Winchester focusing on coach development. He has also worked as a consultant for a variety of NGB's and professional sporting organisations assisting their coach development programme and environmental demands.Show notes:1:35 - Richard provides an overview of his credentials2:15 - How he got into coaching whilst in NZ3:40 - The key principles of good coaching5:00 - Why to focus on interpersonal skills rather than technical and tactical7:20 - Challenging of watching as a Dad10:30 - Challenging behaviours which may not help children's long term development12:50 - The skills of differentiation17:00 - Some tips games for getting to know people/players22:00- How to encourage brave practitioners to carry on 'new ides' in working environments26:00- The shift to child led environments31:00 - How to manage group dynamics to secure equity35:00 - Understanding the context of groups dynamics/presentation38:00 - The challenges of more sedentary lifestyle and no ball game signs40:00 - Formal to informal learning environments47:00 - How would Richard like to be described in 3 words? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alan Murdoch is a owner and coach at Speed Works Bath. Formally of Bath Rugby, Alan now works in a consultancy capacity and looks to support players and team with there aim to improve speed and agility. He also specialises in rehabilitation and has worked with International players, such as Anthony Watson, in their return to peak physical fitness Show notes02:25 - An overview of Alan's career as a practitioner05:00 - Why is speed and agility so imperative to elite sport09:00 - How to train elasticity10:30 - How much effect can training have on speed14:00- Understanding a players relative ceiling and how speed can be improve by 4.6% (on average)18:00 - The hardware and software principle21:00 - The differences between reality and the ideal scenario of speed work27:30 - How schedules are managed in relation to in competition load32:00 - Description of the most common ACL injuries37:00 - The challenges of traditional recover time lines38:00- Why coaching speed early in the cycle may help players return to full speed quicker41:00 - Working collaboratively with club staff44:00 - How would Alan liked to be described in 3 words Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr Zoe Wimshurst is a former hockey player turned Doctor of Sport Vision. Director of Performance Vision, Zoe looks to help athletes develop better visionary skill and awareness of their surroundings. Through a variety of practical and academic training techniques, Zoe is able to develop athletes ability to 'scan' pitches and player locations more effectively. She also assist coaches in their development of this skill in sessions and why shouting 'scan' may not be the most effective measure. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr Zoe Wimshurst is a former hockey player turned Doctor of Sport Vision. Director of Performance Vision, Zoe looks to help athletes develop better visionary skill and awareness of their surroundings. Through a variety of practical and academic training techniques, Zoe is able to develop athletes ability to 'scan' pitches and player locations more effectively. She also assist coaches in their development of this skill in sessions and why shouting 'scan' may not be the most effective measure. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jorge Couto Ruis is a football coach who has worked for European powerhouses FC Porto and FC Barcelona. He also wrote a book around tactical periodisation called 'The Pattern Morphocycle’s Sustainability'.Show notes:01:00 - Jorge introduces his coaching story02:00 - How he started his journey at FC Porto04:00- How he started his journey at FC Barcelona 08:00- The FC methodology and how he learnt this at the start of his career.10:30 - The coaching pathway and principles at FC Porto13:30 - The importance of competition to FC Porto in training environments19:00 - Enjoyment to competition mentality in academy philosophy23:00 - The differences between FC Barcelona and FC Porto27:00 - Recognising the Barcelona way from a playing methodology33:00 - Why having a recognisable first team helps to contextualise players entering the academy system38:00 - What does good tactical periodisation look like in a programme?44:00 - The importance of meeting the group where they are in their development journey50:00- How to allow flexibility within a game model57:00- Allowing creativity within constrained environment1:02:00 - How would Jorge like to be described in 3 words. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Farbizio Piccareta is a Italian football coach who has worked at a variety of football clubs including Inter Milan, Roma and Sampodoria. He is also worked as a member of Paulo Di Canio's backroom staff at Sunderland and Swindon.Show notes below:1:25 - Overview of Fabrizio and his career9:30 - The differences in working in academy football from Inter Milan to Sanremese15:00 - The differences of working with players within their teenage year and the YDP17:00 - How working in a foreign country which is drill orientated change Fabrizio's belief around coaching20:30 - How experiencing different cultures changes your view of the game27:00- Changing coaching methodology in relation to the environment and players you are working with29:00 - How players upbringing effects there first team experience and problem solving at the top level34:00 - Meeting Paolo Di Canio and other famous Italian players on a course and how this changed his career36:00- Their time at Swindon Town before moving Sunderland39:00- Why the opportunity at Sunderland may have come to early in their managerial career42:00- The challenge of player ID at Sunderland after staying up the season before47:20 - The feeling coaches get when players begin to disengage with the process55:30 - How did he prepare the young players at Roma for the first team environment1:00:00- The challenges of re creating pressure for younger players1:03:00 - Connecting with his players through books1:04:00 - How would Fabrizio like to be described in 3 words and why? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alex Porter is a former GB athlete and captain now turned coach of volleyball. He works at the University of Essex trying to help athletes progress their dreams of becoming professional volleyball athletes.Show notes:0:50 - Alex provides is sporting credentials3:20 - Overview of the UK and European Volleyball pathway7:00- Explaining the differences in professionalism across European leagues10:00 - The success of the Essex programme in creating pros13:30 - The NCAA volleyball marketing success18:00 - How the UK could have great success20:10 - The differences between gifted and talented and how you recruit it23:50 - Addressing challenging conversation around a players inadequate physical profile27:00 - Supporting the players in developing skill through growth30:00- The use traditional session format36:00 - How do volleyball teams decide strategy in game42:00- How the teams encourages a check and challenge culture for the better of in game decisions48:30 - The differences in player cultures over the generations50:30 - The power of player culture setters56:00- How would Alex like to be described in 3 words Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jim Haverstrom is a Youth Hockey Director and Coach Developer for USA Hockey. With multiple decades of experience, he focuses on supporting young players and coaches in developing skills and techniques ready for the future gameShow notes 1:40 - The introduction to Jim and his Hockey background3:45 - The Ice Hockey pathway within the US7:30 - The coaching culture within Ice Hockey10:00 - The difference of coaching methodology from US to International14:00- The traditional practice within the US16:30 - Transition to more nuanced coaching methodology23:00 - Players getting exposure across multiple positions24:30 - The more fluid notion of modern day hockey26:45 - Preparing players for the physical contact within hockey33:00 - Coping with the discrepancy in physical abilities35:00 - The use of constrained competition to prepare players for contact and there next steps40:00 - The involvement of NHL teams is supporting grassroot hockey44:00 - The use of the transfer portal in player development44:30 - The future of hockey and how to prepare future players for it48:00 - How to support coaches in preparing players for the future game56:00 - How would Jim like to be described in 3 words Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jamie Tayler is a associate professor at Dublin City University and Senior Coach Developer at Grey's Matters. From these roles he is able to take academic work and theory and use it within practical coaching environment. Specifically, Jamie has work for the Leicester Tiger and Wasps academies set ups, helping produce some of the house hold names who play for club and country. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.