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
Nov 16, 2020 • 1h 9min
#116 Dr Pippa Grange - How to Fear Less
I’m excited to speak with Dr Pippa Grange in this episode. Pippa is a sport psychologist and culture coach and has worked in the areas of culture, psychology, ethics and leadership, primarily in elite sport. She held the position of Head of People and Team Development at The Football Association, helping the England team reach the semi-final of the 2018 World Cup. She is currently head of cultural strategy at Right to Dream, which places emphasis on flipping the script on women’s football. And Pippa has written a book, Fear Less: How to Win at Life Without Losing Yourself which shows all of us how, by starting to live with less fear, we can find our real passions and deeper fulfilment. And it’s this book we mainly focus on during this conversation, specifically we speak about scarcity narrative; ‘in the moment fear’, ‘not good enough fear’; distorted fear; and ‘see it, face it, replace it’.
Nov 9, 2020 • 1h 5min
#115 Rebecca Symes - Beyond Sport: The Importance of Multiple Identities
I’m delighted to speak with sport psychologist Rebecca Symes in this episode. Rebecca works with elite and professional athletes to enhance performance and wellbeing. She is currently psychologist for GB women’s Hockey. Rebecca also runs her own consultancy, Sporting Success, which has seen her work with clients including Surrey County Cricket Club, Archery GB; England and Wales Cricket Board; and England Athletics. Her work with Archery GB has taken her to two Paralympics. She has also held roles at the FA across the men’s and women’s pathways. We speak about personal and athletic identity; the impact of language; identity foreclosure; psychological recovery; and career transitions.
Nov 2, 2020 • 1h 16min
#114 Prof Laurence Alison - Communication That Builds Rapport
I’m delighted to speak with Professor Laurence Alison in this episode. Laurence is Chair of Forensic and Investigative Psychology at Liverpool University. He is a leader in forensic psychology, and specialises in the most difficult interactions imaginable: criminal interrogations. He advises and trains the police, security agencies, the FBI and the CIA on how to deal with extremely dangerous suspects. After 30 years’ work Laurence, along with fellow Forensic Psychologist and wife, Emily Alison, has written the brilliant book Rapport: The Four Ways to Read People. And it’s the central premise of the book that we focus on in this episode, looking at what rapport is; how to develop it; how to have great conversations; the HEAR principles - Honesty; Empathy, Autonomy and Reflection; the role of power; self-awareness; and the 3 key components to building expertise in rapport.
Oct 26, 2020 • 1h 10min
#113 Cath Bishop - The Search for a Better Way to Succeed
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.
Oct 19, 2020 • 1h 9min
#112 Dr Sergio Lara-Bercial - Serial Winning Coaches
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.
Oct 12, 2020 • 1h 4min
#111 Dr Joe Dixon - The Psychology of Soccer
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.
Oct 5, 2020 • 1h 33min
#110 Kit Holder - Focus, Flow and Attentional Cues
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.
Sep 28, 2020 • 1h 15min
#109 Brian Levenson - Thriving in Preparation and Performance
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.
Sep 21, 2020 • 1h 10min
#108 Amy Price - Helping Players Improve Game Understanding
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.
Sep 14, 2020 • 1h 20min
#107 Prof Mark Williams - How Elite Athletes are Made
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.
