I speak with sport psychologist Gareth J Mole in this episode. Gareth spent his younger days in South Africa and credits this for his love of sport. He then moved to the UK and went on to undertake his psychology undergraduate at the University of Leeds after which he moved to Australia to complete his Masters in sport psychology at the University of Western Sydney. In 2005 Gareth set up Condor Performance, a (now) 10 strong team of Australian sport and performance psychologists. Condor Performance has grown to become the largest independent sport and performance psychology practice in Australia. We speak about what the future of sport psychology might look like, specifically greater role clarity; stronger regulations in the field; cohesion between coaches and psychologists; the landscape of sport psychology across the world and hopes for the future.

I’m delighted to have award-winning journalist and author, Joan Ryan on this episode. Joan was a pioneer in sports journalism, becoming one of the first female sports columnists in the country. Since 2008, Joan has been senior media advisor for the San Francisco Giants baseball team. Joan spends most of her time in the company of the players in the clubhouse, and the experiences she has had from this time prompted her to write her latest book, “Intangibles: Unlocking the Science and Soul of Team Chemistry” which asks does team chemistry really exist or is it a myth? If it exists, what is it exactly? And it’s this book we mainly speak about. We discuss the dynamics of team chemistry, what hinders and what helps, and its effect on performance.  

In this episode, I speak with Dr Natalie Campbell. Natalie is senior lecturer at the University of Gloucestershire in the Department of Sport and Exercise sciences. She completed her PhD in Social Psychology. Natalie is also a research and education associate of a charity called Switch the Play Foundation which helps to transition athletes into life outside of their sport.   We speak about pop psychology; authenticity; acknowledging that success looks different for different people; experiential versus empirical knowledge.

To mark the 100th episode of The Sport Psych Show, Dr Scott Goldman has come back on to interview me. Scott and I speak about my experiences as a sport psychologist over the last 15 or so years. We explore the role of a sport psychologist and the importance of integrating sport psychology into sporting organisations. We also discuss what I feel coaches can do to get the very most from their players.

In this episode, I’m joined by Rory Mack and Andrew Wood. Andrew is a Sport and Exercise Psychology Lecturer teaching at multiple universities. He also works as lead sport psychologist to the B1 football squad. Rory has been based at Sheffield Hallam University for the past 12 years. He is a post Viva PhD candidate. His PhD is in Motivational Interviewing in applied sport psychology. Rory and Andrew have written a fascinating research paper which discusses combining Motivational Interviewing (MI) with Rational Emotive Behavioural Therapy (REBT) in a series of sessions with an athlete and this is the focus of our conversation. Over the course of 6 sessions, the paper retraces how the frameworks were used to help the athlete think more effectively.

In this episode, I speak with leadership coach and team architect, Donna Fishter. Donna is owner of a consulting business working with teams, training leaders, developing culture and coaching coaches and individual athletes. Prior to this, Donna was a soccer coach for over 20 years. 13 of those years were at the University of Central Florida. We speak about the importance of introspection as a coach and leader: how can coaches be more self-aware with their communication, their tone, their demeanour? We also discuss how coaches can continue to self-monitor - asking themselves why do they do things the way they do?

I am honoured to be joined by Justine Siegal in this episode. Justine was the first woman ever to coach professional baseball. Her experiences in the pro leagues motivated her to change the landscape of gender inequality in baseball. She has a PhD in Sport Psychology and is founder of Baseball For All, which is a national non-profit organisation empowering girls to coach, play and lead. We speak about Justine’s experiences growing up playing a very male dominated sport and how they shaped her to become the coach she is today.

I am honoured to be joined by Dr Christian Zepp in this episode. Christian splits his time between lecturing at The German Sport University in Cologne and consulting as an applied sport psychologist. Christian obtained his PhD in sport sciences with a focus on sport psychology at the Institute of Psychology at The German Sport University. Christian has more than 20 years’ experience in high-performance sport and has worked in multiple sports including being sport psychologist for the German National Table Tennis team and the National Team Coach for the disabled standing volleyball team in Cambodia. We speak in depth about the role of sport psychology – what it is and what it isn’t; common objections to using it; how it can help coaches and the possibilities it can open up for them and their athletes; and the importance of investing time with athletes to create trust.

Dr. Andrew Abraham, Head of Sport Coaching at Leeds Beckett University, is a renowned global coach developer. He discusses integrating psychological principles into coaching science, emphasizing the role of mental approaches in talent development. The conversation dives into the biopsychosocial model, highlighting the interplay of biological, psychological, and social factors in coaching. Abraham also explores various learning theories, stressing the importance of adapting methods to enhance athlete engagement and performance.

I am honoured to be joined by Lisa Alexander in this episode. Lisa is one of the most successful coaches in Australian sport. Formerly a maths and physical education teacher, Lisa worked her way up from coaching under 10’s netball to become the Australian Diamonds Head Coach.   We speak about Lisa’s long career as Head Coach of the Diamonds. How she went about establishing a true person-centred environment; the parallels between teaching and coaching; getting to know your team and directive vs non-directive coaching.