The Sport Psych Show
Dan Abrahams
Join Sport Psychologist, Dan Abrahams, on The Sport Psych Show as he aims to demystify sport psychology for players, coaches and parents by speaking with some of the most influential people in sports performance today. Dan is on a mission to learn more about how sport psychology philosophies, tools and techniques positively impact participation, progression and performance in sport. He wants to learn more about how to drive participation – what motivational tools engage players and inspire people to play and stay in their sport. He wants to explore how players can progress quicker and more effectively – what is great practice and training? And how does learning in sport really happen? Finally, he wants to hear what his guests have to say about the psychology of performance – how do they think players can improve their ability to high perform consistently under pressure? Discover simple and practical tools and techniques by listening in to Dan’s conversations with elite competitors, sports coaches, sport scientists, and psychologists.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Jan 25, 2021 • 1h 22min
#126 Frances Houghton MBE & Dr Chris Shambrook - Learnings From Five Olympic Games
I’m delighted to welcome Dr Chris Shambrook back on the show. This time, Chris is joined by 5 x Olympian, 4 x World Champion and 3 x silver medallist, Frances Houghton MBE. Frances was the first British woman to be selected for five consecutive Olympic Games in rowing, and only the fifth woman in any sport to achieve this mark for Team GB. Chris was the team psychologist for the British rowing team from 1997 to 2019 attending 5 Olympic Games and supporting Frances for much of her career. These days Chris takes the lessons learned from Olympic Champions and applies them to help enhance corporate performance. Frances has written the fascinating new book “Learnings From Five Olympic Games” which is the accumulation of her notes and learnings from her 21 year career. Frances, Chris and I discuss the book in detail and break down the processes Frances utilised to compete at the very highest level.
Jan 18, 2021 • 1h 40min
#125 Fergus Connolly and Cody Royle - Royle and Connolly on High Performance Coaching
I’m delighted to welcome back on the show Author and Performance Expert, Fergus Connolly and Head Coach of Canada’s AFL (Australian Football League) programme Cody Royle. Fergus and Cody recorded a series of webinars over the summer of 2020 which spurred some brilliant conversation about coaching and performance. And so, I wanted to get them both on to talk about some of the key take-aways they had from the show. We also speak about their new books – Fergus’ book, The Happiness Handbook for High Achievers: Stoics, Circles & Sheepdogs, takes readers on a journey in search of the answers to our most pressing questions about happiness and contentment. And Cody’s latest book which is due for release 1st February is The Tough Stuff – a book that focuses entirely on the human experience of head coaching - the emotional toll, the identity issues, the loneliness.
Jan 11, 2021 • 57min
#124 Suze Burton-Wylie - Organisational Culture in Sport
I’m delighted to speak with Suze Burton-Wylie in this episode. Suze is a performance psychologist working at the English Institute of Sport (EIS) and with the British Sailing Team. Suze is currently working towards her Doctorate in Sport and Exercise Psychology focusing on Organisational Culture at the University of Portsmouth. And it’s this topic, organisational culture, that we focus on during our conversation: How do we define it? How do we build it? How do we keep it? And how do we accommodate individual differences while establishing a shared vision and set of values?
Jan 4, 2021 • 1h 4min
#123 Hannah Huesman - Mental Sweat: Mindset Techniques for Stretch and Support
I’m delighted to speak with Hannah Huesman in this episode. Hannah is the mental skills coach for the Philadelphia Phillies Major League Baseball organisation. Hannah received her Master’s degree in Sport Psychology and Motor Behaviour from the University of Tennessee. Hannah is also the host of Mental Sweat Monday – one minute videos containing tips and tricks to help viewers work on their mental game. We speak about using mental skills to help simplify performance; attentional cues; being comfortable with being uncomfortable; and optimism versus positivity.
Dec 28, 2020 • 31min
#122 Sian Beilock - Examining Choking Under Pressure
I’m delighted to speak with Sian Beilock in this episode. Sian is a cognitive scientist, with two PhD’s: one in Kinesiology and one in Cognitive Psychology. Sian is one of the world’s leading experts on the brain science behind ‘choking under pressure’ and the brain and body factors influencing all types of performance from public speaking to your golf swing. In this podcast, Sian and I take a detailed look at what ‘choking’ is and why it happens.
Dec 21, 2020 • 1h 29min
#121 Dr Len Zaichkowsky and Dan Peterson – The Science Behind Decision Making Under Pressure
I’m so excited to have Dr Len Zaichkowsky and Dan Peterson back on the show. Len and Dan have just published “The Playmaker's Decisions: The Science of Clutch Plays, Mental Mistakes and Athlete Cognition” which focuses on the split-second decision-making process that produces both clutch plays and mental mistakes. This book is for coaches needing to sharpen their team's decisions under pressure, a parent who is trying to understand their child’s mental game or even a fan who has yelled at the TV wondering why their team breaks your heart, "The Playmaker’s Decisions" combines science and stories to shed light on the black box of athlete cognition. The Playmaker’s Decisions: https://geni.us/theplaymakersdecisions The Playmaker’s Advantage: https://geni.us/ThePlaymakersAdvantage
35 snips
Dec 14, 2020 • 1h 22min
#120 Doug Lemov - The Coach’s Guide to Teaching
In this episode I’m delighted to have teacher, teaching mentor and bestselling author Doug Lemov back on the show. Doug studies high performing teachers and what it is they do that makes them so effective in the classroom. Following requests from people in the sports sector, Doug has taken his experiences from the classroom to help coaches optimise their teaching ability. And in his new book “The Coach’s Guide to Teaching” Doug brings his considerable knowledge about the science of classroom teaching to the sports coaching world to create championship calibre coaches on the court and field. What great classroom teachers do is relevant to coaches in profound ways. After all, coaches are at their core teachers.
Dec 7, 2020 • 1h 2min
#119 Dr Lisa Feldman Barrett - Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain (That Every Coach Should Know)
I’m honoured to speak with Dr Lisa Feldman Barrett in this episode. Lisa is a University Distinguished Professor at Northeastern University with appointments at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. She is among the top 1% most cited scientists in the world for her revolutionary research in psychology and neuroscience. Lisa is also author of several books including her latest "Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain" in which she demystifies that big grey blob between your ears. Lisa and I take an in depth look at this phenomenal book and how it relates to sports coaching, learning and performance.
Nov 30, 2020 • 1h 6min
#118 Tom Young - The Making of a Leader
I’m excited to speak with sport psychologist Tom Young in this episode. Tom completed his Master’s at Liverpool John Moores University and has subsequently worked as a chartered psychologist in both business and sport, predominantly golf and football (soccer). Tom has always had an interest in leadership and culture and has recently published the brilliant book “The Making of a Leader: What Elite Sport can Teach us About Leadership, Management and Performance” which shares the practical principles of sustained elite performance and shows how any individual can add value to their own business or organisation by applying these insights. During our conversation we explore the book chapter by chapter.
Nov 23, 2020 • 58min
#117 Dan Clements - Action Research: Coach Development Through Appreciative Inquiry
I’m delighted to speak with Dan Clements in this episode. Dan works in elite coach development, currently at The Welsh Rugby Union. Prior roles include Head of Performance at Wales Hockey and Performance Coach Manager at Wales Rugby League. Dan has co-written a fascinating paper entitled ‘Coach development through collaborative action research: enhancing the learning environment within a national talent development system’. We take an in depth look at this paper and discuss action research; appreciative inquiry; the positivity principle and the intriguingly named ‘provocative proposition’.
