The Coach Doctor Podcast

On this episode I talk to Associate Professor Kate Pumpa. Kate is a lecturer and researcher in the fields of exercise physiology and sports nutrition at the University of Canberra. She is an Accredited Exercise Physiologist and Advanced Accredited Sports Dietitian. Kate completed her PhD at the Australian Institute of Sport in 2008 and has been working as a sports dietician practitioner for almost 15 years. Like many of us in the sports industry, she began by volunteering as a sports dietician for local AFL club. Following this, she was given a role with Leinster Rugby Club in Dublin, Ireland before returning home to work with the Australia’s most successful Super Rugby Franchise the ACT Brumbies. Kate is now the performance dietitian for the Australian Rugby Union working across all teams from Junior Wallabies, Wallaroos and Rugby Sevens. Kate's primary research interests include utilising technology to monitor energy expenditure during exercise, nutrition interventions to enhance performance, and physiological performance preparation and recovery. She is a Fellow of Exercise & Sports Science Australia, an Associate Editor for the Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, and on the editorial board for the journal Nutrients.If you would like to find more out about Kate you can find her on LinkedIn under her name Kate PumpaBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-coach-doctor-podcast--5032805/support.

This week I speak with Dave Reynolds who is in charge of Coach Development in the South Australian National Football League. Dave was recommended to me from Professor Shane Pill as an absolutely brilliant coach development practitioner and he has not let me down. Dave is a passionate coach developer aiming to implement and improve coaching on a number of levels in his beloved sport of Australian Rules Football. He has a passion for developing female coaching talent in the state and is also a part of the newly formed AFLW Port Adelaide coaching staff. Dave talks about how he provides feedback to coaches in a constructive and effective manner and we discuss the three P’s of coaching – Pedagogy, playing and the people. We discuss the 6 big rocks Dave feels need to be improved in community coaching and chat about the differences in the developmental needs of beginner, intermediate and advanced coaches. For me the conversation about the need for junior AFL coaches to move their mindset from winning only and using tactics for success that do not necessarily develop players to one that is more focused on player development is a pertinent one that I believe a lot of sports are dealing with. The end goal for development coaches should be just that development. It’s an interesting topic that I am sure would create a lot of debate. I love Dave’s idea about developing communities of coaches where you can bounce ideas off other coaches & share thoughts, views and opinions on trends in coaching. As we say to the kids sharing is caring and if we really care about the future of our sports we need to embrace sharing. We can also learn a lot from other coaches in other sports and having mentors outside of your own sport is something that could help you grow as a coach. If you’d like to contact Dave he is active on LinkedIn under his name Dave Reynolds or via Twitter under @Dave_Reno516.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-coach-doctor-podcast--5032805/support.

Professor Chris Cushion is currently the head of coaching at England Netball and a professor of coaching and pedagogy at the famous Loughborough university in England. When it comes to the coaching environment, practice and coach behaviours Chris is one of the most prominent researchers in this space with over 100 publications and over 8000 citations from other authors and researchers. One of the things that sets Chris apart from a lot of his peers is that he has also had an exceptional coaching practitioner career in football as well as his distinguished career in academia and this ability to have what is effectively a foot in both camps helps with bringing research to life in practical settings. In this episode I want to talk to Chris about both his practical experiences and his research and how he and other coaches can effectively combine research in their practice. I felt like there was some really valuable coaching advice from Professor Chris Cushion in this episode. For me the use of questioning and how to apply it was gold for me. I know as coaches we often discuss the importance of questioning, however applying it and following it up with further practice to initiate a change in behaviour is vital. As coaches its also really important to schedule questions and into your coaching program – you can prepare these before the session to pre-empt learning situations rather than make things up as you go. Secondly I really learnt a lot around Chris’s discussion on feedback – knowing the best times to use feedback, how to apply it effectively and what you are trying to achieve. Finally thinking outside the square and using other teaching and learning strategies from educational research can enhance your coaching. As learning theories can certainly be applied to coaching to enhance athlete learning. Rosenshine’s principles of instruction could be a great place to start if this is of any interest and can be accessed by a google search. I hope you enjoyed the discussion with Professor Chris Cushion, he is an absolute legend of coaching research. If you would like to follow Chris he is active on: Twitter: @Coachc1 LinkedIn: Chris CushionBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-coach-doctor-podcast--5032805/support.

In this episode I speak with one of the masters of sports development and coach research Professor Jean Côté. Professor Côté is a member of the School of Kinesiology and Health Studies at Queen’s University in Kingston (Canada). His research interests are in the areas of children in sport, coaching, positive youth development, and sport expertise. Professor Côté has published more than 130 research articles on a variety of sport psychology and coaching topics as well as publishing 50 book chapters. His work is among the most widely cited in academic sports literature. Throughout the podcast we discussed some areas of his research that applied specifically to coaching. These included:-The role of deliberate play vs deliberate practice-Why sampling and diversification in sport may be necessary in the developmental years-The role of parents in sport -Transformational coaching -And Professor Côté's very own Developmental model of sports participation Jean’s discussion about transformational coaching really highlighted what some other guests have also said in terms of coaching the person first. The amount of research Jean and his colleagues have performed in the area definitely supports this idea and for a coach at any level I think it is such an important part of your coaching to develop. As a believer of games based learning I really liked the way Jean compared deliberate practice with deliberate play and how deliberate play can be so rewarding and effective for young athletes. We as coaches tend to overcoach and over drill through deliberate practice – as jean said we need to remember kids sport is for kids don’t try coaching them like adults. And finally the ideas Jean discussed around sampling and diversification in sport not just sampling a variety of sports but also having a diversity of experiences within one sort of sport can be so important for developing athletes skills.To follow Professor Jean Côté on twitter search for @JeanCote46 For 20% off at Elite Performance Journal's use the code "coachdoctor"Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-coach-doctor-podcast--5032805/support.

In this episode I talk with Dave Diggle. Dave is a veteran of the sporting arena with over 40 years of competitive and hands-on experience at the top level.He represented Great Britain as a Gymnast and now works with the next generation of elite performers across a range of both team sports and individual sports, ranging from rugby union to car racing.With a background as a high-performance coach, Dave turned his attention to the mental performance and psychological battles that coaches, athletes and their support networks face in the competitive environment. These days Dave plys his trade with the Wallabies, Australia’s national rugby team and I was lucky enough to catch up with him before they face his native England in a three-test series down under. To connect with Dave or find out more about what he offers you can find all of his contact details on his business website: https://www.smartmind.com/Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-coach-doctor-podcast--5032805/support.

In this weeks episode of the coach doctor podcast I speak with Dave Ellis. Dave is a New Zealand based rugby coach who has had experience coaching with the Blues in Super Rugby, Connacht in the PRO 14 Competition, the Bristal Bears in the English Premiership as well as many other clubs throughout the world. Dave is a coach who loves to share and presents his coaching ideas via webinars on his website EllisRugby.co.nz and is also a coach educator with IRANZ – International Rugby Academy of New Zealand. Traditionally a skills coach I talk to Dave about how the skills coach works with the head coach and how we prioritise skill development in a game like rugby. We also discuss some of Dave’s exciting left field coaching strategies and how he has adapted ideas from other sports and put them into his rugby coaching. Dave's resources and contactsEllis Rugby Website: https://www.ellisrugby.co.nz/LinkedIn: @Dave EllisFacebook: @Ellis RugbyYouTube: Dave Ellis RugbyBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-coach-doctor-podcast--5032805/support.

In this episode I speak with David Shillington. Dave played Rugby League in the amazing Queensland era alongside the likes of Greg Inglis, Cameron Smith, Billy Slater and Jonathan Thurston to name a few and was coached by Mal Meninga one of Queensland’s greats. He also had a distinguished NRL career with the Sydney Roosters, Canberra Raiders and Gold Coast Titans. Dave discusses the anxiety he dealt with as an up and coming player in the NRL and some of the coaches who led him on his path to being an Australian Representative. In retirement Shillo is now working in Mental Health and has set up his own business called Prime Effect and one of Shillo’s goals off the field is shifting the paradigm of mental health to being something all members of society can openly discuss and improve through programs such as what he is now doing with Prime effect. Some of the key take aways for me in this episode were:1) Turning your weaknesses into your strengths.2) The importance of being able to talk to other people.3) Developing the idea of mental fitness.4) Promoting mental health first aid.Website: https://www.primeeffect.com.au/LinkedIn: @David ShillingtonBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-coach-doctor-podcast--5032805/support.

In this episode of the coach doctor podcast, I speak to Associate Professor Andrew Bennie. Andrew’s PhD research investigated effective coaching in professional sport contexts. From the research, he developed an effective coaching model which includes three core components: (1) the coach and their personal characteristics and philosophy; (2) coaching skills such as leadership, communication, planning and people management, and (3) the environment which should be positive and have a strong sense of team culture. More recently, Andrew’s research has focused on collaborating with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander sport coaches from a variety of team and individual sports - in community and high-performance settings from all over Australia to share their stories about pathways into, and experiences when in, coaching roles. These stories formed the basis for the recently published book called Aboriginal Sports Coaches, Community and Culture. Andrew was also part of a team of researchers, Aboriginal coaches, and national sport organization representatives that co-created the Coaching Unlimited program - a national coach education program designed to provide specific coach accreditation pathways for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander coaches in a variety of sports. Some of the key take aways for me were that first and foremost, coaches at the professional level focus far more on player management and developing a positive team culture than the techniques, tactics, and strategies of the sport. While tactics and wins and losses were considered important, effective professional coaches prioritised athletes’ needs. This connected with a person-centred leadership style that focuses on a ‘people rather than player first’ mentality to cultivate a positive learning environment and manage the ups and downs that occur throughout a season. And while professional sports coaches do have more time to get to know their athletes, community coaches can still prioritise time in their one-to-two training sessions per week to learn about their playing group on an individual level and to get to know what types of activities they like practicing so they can to understand what makes them tick and set the athletes up to really enjoy their sport participation.As we changed the topic and began discussing Andrew’s collaborative work with Aboriginal Australian sports coaches, it was interesting to hear that within this community, there was an inherent belief of coaching the person first before the athlete across all levels – regardless of whether the coaches were working with U6s or elite athletes in professional contexts. Interestingly, this culturally driven approach to coaching also tied in very closely with what he discovered years earlier when researching effective coaching in professional sport contexts. Andrew co-authored the book titled Aboriginal Sports Coaches, Community and Culture which shares the stories of coaches in many sports. It elaborates on the strengths, the philosophes, the pathways into coaching and the challenges along the way. Links to purchase or find more out about this book: https://www.amazon.com.au/Aboriginal-Community-Indigenous-Settler-Relations-Australia-ebook/dp/B08MD4TVHT or https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-981-15-8481-7Andrew, with his First Nations colleagues and national sport organization contacts, are creating opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander coaches to gain formal coach accreditation in a culturally safe format through the Coaching Unlimited program. Link below:https://www.coachingunlimitedaustralia.com/ Donations are welcome to help fund Coaching Unlimited – A sport coaching program designed with, and for, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. See link below:https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/give/coaching-unlimited To contact Andrew Bennie for further questions about any of his work:email: A.Bennie@westernsydney.edu.auLinkedIn: @Andrew BennieBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-coach-doctor-podcast--5032805/support.

In this episode I talk with Tom Carter the current head of physical performance with the Australian Women’s Rugby 7’s team. In this episode we discuss Toms transition from a professional rugby player into his current role in 7’s. We discuss the way Tom was perceived as a player for the NSW Waratahs and how that has shaped his professional career after rugby and we also look into Tom’s association with other sports such as Cricket and how we as coaches can learn from other sports. Despite the persona we saw in Super Rugby Tom is an incredibly humble and relatively quiet spoken guy, he is hesitant to talk himself up and talk about some of his amazing accomplishments in sport and he is extremely open-minded about learning from other sports such as cricket. He understands that is very easy as a coach to try and make large changes in small amounts of time, but its important to focus on the marginal gains when measuring success. Tom has a growth mindset and uses education to continually get better and improve – despite his background as an elite athlete he remains very humble and he knows he doesn’t have all the answers and can learn from his peers in sport. Tom’s ability to question his processes and ask himself if he started and finished the year with the same ideas and philosophies and if not why not, again shows the traits of a growth mindset and an aspect that is often very important in coaching, the ability to self-reflect. I hope you enjoy this conversation with one of rugby’s great characters.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-coach-doctor-podcast--5032805/support.

In Part 2 we discuss Super VUCA coaches, discuss one of Brian’s inspirational heroes and talk about the road to the World Cup final with England in 2007 and hear about Brian’s forays into other sports such as cricket Netball and Premier League Football.Brian has a had a wealth of experiences in sport, especially rugby union but one of the key aspects to Brian’s development was the transformation into a player centred coach and the ability to keep learning throughout his career as a coach.Despite all of Brian’s experience he has remained very humble and loves to give back to the sport at all levels. I hope you feel as though you have learnt something from one of the all-time Super VUCA coaches.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-coach-doctor-podcast--5032805/support.