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
Jun 29, 2020 • 1h 2min
#96 Dr Christian Zepp - How Sport Psychology can Help Coaches
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.
Jun 22, 2020 • 1h 12min
#95 Dr Andrew Abraham - Coach Development
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.
Jun 15, 2020 • 49min
#94 Lisa Alexander - Reflections on Developing a World-Class Winning Coaching Programme
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.
Jun 8, 2020 • 49min
#93 Stephen Renwick - Exploring Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
I’m excited to be joined by Stephen Renwick in this episode. Stephen is a sport psychology consultant, training through BASES as a probationary sport & exercise scientist specialising in psychology. He works with athletes in multiple sports and uses a framework called Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). Stephen also holds a senior world ranking for tennis. In this episode we speak in depth about Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Stephen takes us through how this framework is used can be used practice.
Jun 1, 2020 • 54min
#92 Jennifer Lace - Integrating Sport Psychology into Your Coaching Process
I have the pleasure of being joined by Jennifer Lace in this episode. Jennifer is Head of Sport Psychology and Personal Development at Nottingham Forest FC. Prior to her role at Forest, Jennifer worked at Burnley FC as Sport Psychology Practitioner and Lecturer. Jennifer has an MSc from Stafford University and is accredited by BASES (Bristish Association of Sport and Exercise Science). We talk about the road to becoming a sport psychologist and the path options that are available; how to get coaches on board with sport psychology; aiding a coach’s delivery and specific psychological approaches and models.
May 25, 2020 • 1h 21min
#91 Keith and David Mayer - How to Become a More Effective Coach
I am delighted to be joined by father and son, Keith and David Mayer in this episode. Both Keith and David are both coaches and ex-professional players. Keith has coached soccer for 37 years on 6 continents and is currently coaching Liverpool Football Academy. David also started coaching after his playing days and has coached on 4 continents and is currently Global Head of Foundation Phase at 7Elite Academy in Salt Lake City. Keith and David have written a fantastic book entitled Gold Dust: How to Become a More Effective Coach, Quickly. And it’s this book we mainly speak about discussing the significance of interpersonal skills; coaching with intention; coaches monitoring the language they use and being aware of their communication.
May 18, 2020 • 1h 12min
#90 Prof Brendan Cropley - Being Psychologically Prepared to Perform
I have the pleasure of being joined by Prof Brendan Cropley in this episode. Brendan is Professor of Sport Coaching at the University of South Wales. He is also Head of the Centre for Football Research in Wales. Brendan has made a significant contribution to the Sport & Exercise Sciences, particularly in the area of sport psychology and sport coach education. He has provided a range of consultancy services to athletes, coaches, and NGBs as well as having an emerging research profile that has helped to shape training and development programmes in the sport sciences and sport coaching. This contribution was recognised by the British Association of Sport & Exercise Science (BASES) who awarded Brendan Fellowship status in 2014. We speak about the importance of integrating sport psychology into coaching curriculums and what that can look like in practice.
May 11, 2020 • 1h 4min
#89 Morgan Lewis - Developing a Skilful Mindset
I’m excited to be joined by Morgan Lewis in this episode. Morgan is an ex-professional footballer, having played for AFC Bournemouth in the 1980’s. Since his playing days, Morgan has worked as a teacher for 15 years as well as in healthcare communications, using behaviour change theories to create interventions that help people to make better decisions. Morgan is also a keen table tennis player and coach, coaching elite junior players. An ongoing student of sport psychology and a facilitator of mental skills in sport, Morgan and I speak about behaviour change; coaches and players co-creating solutions; psychological safety and acceptance.
May 4, 2020 • 54min
#88 Stuart Lancaster - Coaching at the Elite Level
I’m excited to speak with Stuart Lancaster in this episode. Having held various leadership, management and coaching positions at different levels of the game, Stuart became head coach of the English national rugby union team in 2011. Stuart now coaches Leinster Rugby in Ireland. He currently sits on the Technical Advisory board for the Football Association and has worked with many other sports and businesses in delivering leadership lessons and ideas on how to create long term high performing teams. A former PE teacher, Stuart talks about learning from his experiences during his teaching days. We also speak about the importance of sport psychology; mental skills being learnable skills; coaching styles and moving between the scale of coaching; developing players’ resilience in training; and what great leadership looks like.
Apr 27, 2020 • 50min
#87 Skye Eddy Bruce - The Role of Parent Engagement in Youth Sport
I’m delighted to speak with Skye Eddy Bruce in this episode. Skye is the founder of Soccer Parenting Association which aims to inspire players by empowering parents. Skye is also a soccer coach and holds her USSF “B” license. She is a grassroots instructor for US soccer and a goalkeeping instructor for United Soccer Coaches. The work that Skye does is geared toward shifting cultures and awareness and helps coaches and clubs rethink the role that parents play in the sporting experience of their child. Skye is a former soccer player, having played collegiately and professionally and she is a soccer parent herself.
