In this episode, I’m joined by Bobby White. As National Performance Manager for England Handball, Bobby is responsible for creating and enhancing handball and personal development opportunities for players. A former player himself, Bobby captained Great Britain’s handball team at the London 2012 Olympics. Bobby holds his UEFA B license and has completed a Sports Science degree. We speak about Bobby’s playing days; what confidence feels like; gamification; self-determination theory and we drill down on specific examples of training sessions that help players create autonomy and improve decision making while improving technique. 

I’m so excited to have John O’Sullivan on this episode. John’s background as an athlete and coach led him to start the Changing the Game project with the mission to put the ‘play’ back into ‘play ball’ by providing parents and coaches with the information and resources they need to make sport a healthy, positive, and rewarding experience for their children. Changing the Game consults with organisations such as the US Olympic committee and many of the sport governing bodies in the US and in clubs and schools both internationally and in the US. John also has a fantastic podcast The Way of Champions and has written several books including his bestselling latest book Every Moment Matters: How the World's Best Coaches Inspire Their Athletes and Build Championship Teams. And it’s this book we mainly speak about during this conversation, specifically every moment counts when you coach; self-awareness as a coach; responding vs reacting; learning environments and the importance of making all team members feel valued.

I’m excited to be speaking with Dr Jamie Barker in this episode. Jamie is a senior lecturer in sport psychology at Loughborough University. He has worked in sport psychology for the past 20 years, mostly in elite sport and predominantly in professional cricket and the Paralympics. Jamie also coordinates sport psychology provision across all the FA disability squads. In addition, he works in other performance domains such as business, the military, law and medical, relating sport psychology concepts to areas such as well-being and stress in the workplace; organisational change and leadership. Jamie has co-authored a research paper that examines the relationship between challenge and threat states and performance. And it’s the fascinating findings of this paper we focus on during our conversation, specifically we take a deep dive into challenge and threat states and the impact these states have on performance.

I’m delighted to be speaking with Paula Reid in this episode. Paula is a trainer, facilitator, coach, author and adventurer. Her adventuring has led her to sail around the world, ski to the South Pole and paddle the Srepok and Mekong rivers. Drawing from her experiences adventuring, as well as from her knowledge of positive psychology having completed her Masters in the discipline, Paula developed Adventure Psychology which aims to help leaders and organisations cope, survive and thrive. We speak about adventuring; resilience; Anticipatory Thinking and self-exploration.

I am speaking with Dr Jonathan Fader in this episode. Fader was Director of Mental Performance for the New York Giants and served as the team psychologist for the New York Mets for nine seasons. He is a certified consultant by the Association for Applied Sport Psychology and a resource doctor for Major League Baseball’s Rookie Development Program. Through practical strategies Fader helps athletes and teams to achieve improved results. This episode follows on from last weeks’ episode when I spoke with Prof Stephen Rollnick. Fader and Stephen co-authored the fantastic book Coaching Athletes to be Their Best: Motivational Interviewing in Sports and in this episode we will speak about the concept of “I insist you resist”; guiding vs fixing; how to be an empathetic listener; affirmations; helping build a player self-efficacy and understanding people’s perspectives.

Prof Stephen Rollnick, a clinical psychologist specializing in motivation and change, discusses topics like relationship building, Motivational Interviewing, speaking to groups effectively, empathy in coaching, and practical examples of MI in sports.

I’m excited to be speaking with Dr Jennifer Fraser in this episode. Jennifer is an award-winning educator, researcher and best-selling author. Her online courses and workshops provide dynamic lessons in the impact neuroscientific knowledge has on personal development and culture-change. Jennifer set up Motion Press to help coaches, parents and those who work with children and youth learn about the practical applications of brain science via online courses, workshops and articles. She has also just finished her fourth book, The Bullied Brain: What Neuroscientists Know about Brain Scars and How to Heal Them. And it’s this book we mainly speak about, specifically, the impact of ‘aggressive coaching’ on athletes; the importance of coaches knowing about the brain; the adolescent brain; deliberate practice; changing mindsets; what is bullying?; mastery; the role of empathy; peer connectivity and coaches helping players to ‘grow’ their talent.

I’m delighted to speak with Jenny Williams in this episode. Jenny represented South Australia in six sports: lacrosse, indoor lacrosse, touch, soccer, cricket and Australian rules football (AFL). Throughout her sporting career Jenny has coached many different sports including tennis, basketball, volleyball as well as the sports she herself played in. Jenny has a Masters in psychology and has worked as team psychologist in various sports including golf and AFL. Jenny has also written the fantastic book Think Prepare Play like a Champion which aims to uncover how to get to the top as a player, coach or manager. And it’s this book we mainly speak about, specifically, caring for players; self-awareness; the role of luck in sport and in life; different thinking styles and patterns; flow and players preparing for all eventualities.

I’m speaking with Mark Bennett MBE in this episode. Mark is founder of Performance Development Systems (PDS) - a robust set of principles that facilitate world class learning and performance cultures and environments. PDS was designed for coaches, managers and teachers to better understand themselves and learn how to influence and get the best out of the people around them. Before establishing PDS, Mark was a British Commando and senior instructor within the Army Physical Training Corps.  PDS is being used in 30 different sports from grassroots to the Olympics and professional teams as well as in schools helping disengaged children by supporting the teachers and mentors.  We speak in detail about PDS and look at examples of Mark implementing it in different sporting environments. Specifically, we speak about coaches utilising their players to help them grow; helping players self-manage; building confidence in players; coaches being aware of their own coaching style - why they coach the way they do; accountability; being adaptable in the moment and the importance of reflection and review.

I’m excited to speak with Simon Williams in this episode. Simon has a football playing background, is a former football coach and is now Life Skills Manager for League Football Education (LFE).  LFE was established in 2004 by the Professional Footballers Association (PFA) and the English Football League (EFL) to be responsible for education and welfare across all EFL clubs. We speak about the role of LFE; supporting young players outside of football; player identity; helping athletes understand the importance of having interests outside of their sport; explaining the ‘why’ to players; transferable skills; how the psych-social side can help a player’s performance; self-awareness; grassroots coaching and Simon gives some fantastic examples of thinking outside the box to help players develop mental skill.