I’m delighted to speak with Cath Bishop in this episode. Cath is a former Olympic rower, competing at Atlanta, Sydney and Athens. Cath now works in leadership development, working with teams and leaders to help organisations be more effective. She has also written the fantastic new book entitled ‘The Long Win: The Search for a Better Way to Succeed’ which explores “…our cultural obsession with winning and how it affects the way we approach work, sport, education and beyond.” In the book, Cath looks at some of the consequences of a win-at-all-costs approach and proposes a new way of redefining success. And it’s this book we mainly speak about, specifically focusing on the process rather than on winning; valuing athletes as people first; athletes having something more than just their sport; finding a balance between competition and cooperation.

I’m excited to speak with Dr Sergio Lara-Bercial in this episode. Sergio is a Reader in Sport Coaching at Leeds Beckett University and the International Council for Coaching Excellence (ICCE). He has also coached different sports for the past 25 years, primarily basketball, coaching in the English Women First Division and Team GB, going to five European Championships. Sergio, along with University of Queensland’s Associate Professor Cliff Mallet, led a fascinating study “The practices and developmental pathways of professional and Olympic serial winning coaches” in which they interviewed 14 serial winning coaches and 21 of their athletes from 9 countries and 11 sports. And it’s this study we mainly focus on, specifically “driven benevolence”; work/life balance and avoiding burnout; perfectionism; 20/20 vision; and emotional stability. 

Dr. Joe Dixon, a performance psychologist for Bath Rugby Club and Stoke City Football Club, dives into the world of soccer psychology. He discusses his new book, sharing insights on challenge versus threat states and their impact on athlete performance. Explore how different psychological conditions can affect an athlete's game and discover the importance of mindset in high-pressure situations. Joe also highlights the value of community support and how innovative coaching strategies can enhance player resilience and self-reflection.

I’m delighted to speak with professional ballet dancer and choreographer, Kit Holder in this episode. Kit is first soloist at the Birmingham Royal Ballet where he has danced for 20 years. He trained at The Royal Ballet School in London and is currently studying psychology. We speak about the psychology of ballet and its parallels with sport, specifically, skill acquisition; attentional cues, lost move syndrome; flow; the importance of having multiple identities; pre-performance routines; and the need for sport psychology in the demanding discipline of ballet.

I’m delighted to speak with mental performance coach Brian Levenson in this episode. Brian is founder of Strong Skills, which provides executive coaching and mental performance coaching, speaking and consulting to elite organisations, performers and leaders. He has worked with CEO’s, professional athletes and with teams in the NBA, NHL, and MLS, Division 1 athletic departments, the Federal Reserve, the Department of Homeland Security, Hilton, Young Presidents Organisation (YPO) and many other organisations. Brian has a new book coming out entitled ‘Shift Your Mind: 9 Mental Shifts to Thrive in Preparation and Performance’ which takes readers through nine mental shifts to elevate preparation and performance. And it’s this book that we focus on in this episode.

I’m delighted to speak with Amy Price in this episode. Amy has a football coaching background holding her UEFA A Licence and now works as women's national coach developer for the FA. Prior to this, Amy was a lecturer at St Mary’s University London in Physical and Sport Education and then programme director. Amy holds a Masters and DProf. We speak about a paper that Amy has just co-authored related to strategic understanding, which looks at soccer coaches’ interpretation, knowledge and application of game strategies. Specifically, game understanding; building meta- cognitive game skills; and the use of video games to improve learning transference onto the football pitch.

I’m honoured to be speaking with Prof Mark Williams in this episode. Mark is one of the world’s leading authorities in sports performance. He completed his PhD in Movement Science with a focus on perceptual cognitive expertise. Mark has worked at various academic institutions including Liverpool John Moores university, University of Sydney, Brunel University London, Florida State, and he is now Professor and Chair of the Department of Health, Kinesiology, and Recreation at the University of Utah.   Mark has authored 18 books and over 500 research papers and has just co-authored a book entitled The Best: How Elite Athletes are Made. And it’s this book we mainly focus on, specifically 10,000 hour rule; early specialisation; transference; choking; deliberate practice; and resilience.

I’m delighted to speak with former Olympic 100m sprinter and bobsleigher, Craig Pickering in this episode. After early success as a young athlete, Craig went on to win a number of medals at European and World Championship levels. After a career-ending injury Craig completed his doctorate and now works as athlete pathway manager at Athletics Australia. We speak in depth about Craig’s experiences as an athlete including attentional cues, dealing with injury, well-being and managing success and failure.

I speak with rugby league international coaching specialist, Stuart Wilkinson in this episode. Stuart started out playing the game, before moving on to coaching in the National pathway. He was Great Britain Academy Assistant Coach and a coach with the English national team for a number of years. In the late 90’s he became the first player performance manager in GB Rugby League where his brief was to build up a local pathway for players. Stuart moved on to work with the first team at Wigan Warriors and then became the RFL national performance coach. He has coached with the national teams of Wales, France, Russia and is now coaching in Serbia, as well as undertaking a PhD in talent development. We speak in depth about developing an integrated system around the player. 

I speak with Dr Amy Whitehead in this episode. Amy is a sport psychologist, coach developer and Programme Manager for the Sports Coaching and Sport Development programmes at Liverpool John Moores University. Amy specialises in ‘Think Aloud’ protocol in a sporting context which asks athletes and coaches to think aloud as they perform/coach. And it’s this protocol we focus on during the podcast. Specifically, how it works in practice; how it can help coaches and athletes analyse their performances; self reflection and flow.