I have the pleasure of being joined by Dr Mustafa Sarkar and Clara Swedlund. Mustafa is Senior Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Psychology at Nottingham Trent University. His background is in teaching and research with most of his research focusing on the psychology of sporting and performance excellence, specifically looking at resilience in high achievers in sport and business. Mustafa works with coaches and organisations helping them to develop resilience in athletes and teams. Clara is currently undertaking her Masters degree in Sport and Exercise Psychology at Loughborough University. Clara competes as a body builder and talks about how she applies the techniques she studies to her training and competitive mindset.  She also runs a blog that documents her journey to becoming a qualified sport psychologist and on it, she wrote a blog post that was based on an article Mustafa had co-written about resilience which is why they’ve come together on the Sport Psych Show. We look at what resilience is; personality characteristics; the significance of environment; high challenge, high support environments; Cognitive Behavioural Theory (CBT) and psychological safety.

I have the pleasure of being joined by sport and performance scientist Elliott Newell on this episode. Elliot is currently Senior Performance Pathway Scientist at the English Institute of Sport. Specialising in psychological support, Elliott works in high performance sport with an emphasis on talent development. His focus is on supporting sports in using psychological knowledge and strategies to maximise the effectiveness and efficiency of performance pathways. We speak about British canoeing; considering the performer, the athlete, and the person; balancing learning, well-being and performance; Psychologically Informed Environments (PIE); Formulation Analysis; and the importance of integrating sport psychology into the environment.

I speak with The Wall Street Journal’s leadership columnist Sam Walker on this episode. Sam founded the Journal’s prizewinning daily sports coverage in 2009 and is a former reporter, sports columnist, and sports editor. Sam also consults with companies and teams about building better leadership cultures and has authored the hugely popular book "The Captain Class" which looks at the link between the seventeen most dominant teams in sports history. And it’s this book that we mainly focus on during our chat. We speak about the relationship between a captain and the coach; the culture of winning; Sir Alex Ferguson; the role of a coach; the traits of highly successful captains; delegating leadership skills; and body language and projecting the right emotions.

In this episode I’m joined by professional basketball coach, consultant, and clinician Brian McCormick. Brian has coached professionally in Denmark, Ireland, and Sweden, taking a team to the finals in Denmark's 1st Division and being selected to coach in Sweden's Damligan All-Star Game. Brian completed his PhD in Exercise and Sports Science at the University of Utah, and has had peer-reviewed papers published in the International Journal of Exercise Science, International Journal of Sports Science and Coaching, and Strength & Conditioning Journal. He’s written several books including an enormously popular one called ‘The 21st Century Basketball Practice’. And it’s this book that we focus on mainly in this podcast. Specifically we talk about, flow vs deliberate practice; keeping the game fun and enjoyable at all levels; educative vs training environment; reducing mistakes vs improving skill; the importance of players practice handling mistakes in training and Brian’s greatest coaching influences.  

I have the pleasure of being joined by Shaun Larkin, Coordinator of Skill Development for the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team on this episode. Previously Shaun played professional baseball and then moved into coaching before completing a Master’s degree in Performance Psychology. In his current role Shaun oversees how practices are designed for players and how players are developed in terms of skill acquisition, motor learning and mental skills.  We speak about how baseball has realised the importance of mental skills; sport psychology for tough times as well as good times; player development; the strain on young baseball players; the pressure put onto very young players in the US; helping young players to make their own decisions; coaches and parents creating experiences for players; the advantage of doing reps and practice-based evidence.

I speak with Jason Severiano Lampkin and Alex Billington, two ex-professional soccer players who were both forced to stop playing due to career-ending injuries in this episode. Jason played at the Manchester United Academy and then completed his apprenticeship at Aston Villa, while Alex attended the Blackburn Academy and then earned a professional contract at Preston. After being released by their respective teams, both Jason and Alex decided to make the move to the US after receiving scholarships, and this is when they met each other. We speak about having the expectation from a young age of becoming a professional footballer; sport forming a player’s identity; having your identity taken away from you when you stop playing competitively; not having support to deal with a bad game; having a post-match routine; dealing with injury; the need for psychological support in sport; moving on from a career in football.

I’m lucky enough to be joined by Frank "The Legend" Shamrock in this episode. Frank is an American MMA fighter (retired), entrepreneur, motivational speaker and philanthropist. He was the 1st to hold the UFC Middleweight Championship and retired as the 4-time defending undefeated champion and the #1 ranked UFC fighter in the world. Frank is also CEO of the Shamrock Way organisation - a volunteer-powered charity committed to helping at-risk youth become leaders of sport, technology and social activism. We speak about Frank’s early fights and the unique approach he took to them; self-talk; using emotion and intelligence in sport; visualisation; the power of meditation and defining your dreams and taking action.

In this episode, I’m joined by Steve Sallis. Steve currently works with the England u15 National squad and supports several Premier League players with mental conditioning support. He is founder of solutionsmindset.com which specialises in professional athlete mentorship, sport psychology techniques, coach development, business leadership, teacher training, and school CPD. Steve was previously a deputy headteacher and was a local government advisor for behaviour. Prior to his teaching career, Steve was an Academy footballer for Brighton FC for 8 years. Steve has just released the fantastic book Educating Football - and that is what we primarily discuss. We also speak about changing attitudes and behaviours; helping people grow and develop; teaching and learning; growth mindset; self-awareness; maximising learning; resilience; showing and accepting vulnerability and the power of parents.  

In this episode I speak with Alan Stein Jr. Alan is a world-renowned coach, author and keynote speaker. He has spent 15+ years working with the highest performing basketball players on the planet and now teaches audiences how to utilise the same strategies that elite athletes use to perform at a world-class level. Alan has also just released a fantastic book called Raise Your Game: High-Performance Secrets from the Best of the Best which examines the top leaders in sport and business and suggests that success is a result of the little things we do all the time. Alan and I speak about high performance; the importance of having fun while playing; what the best players do in the ‘unseen’ hours; deliberate practice; Kevin Durant; Kobe Bryant; mastering the basics; being in the present moment; quality over quantity; mastery; giving players the opportunity to make decisions and putting the team first.  

I have the pleasure of being joined by James Claffey in this episode. James is a Sport Psychology consultant, professional lecturer and coach in both clinical, exercise, sport and performance psychology, who specialises in creating pathways for athletes to reach peak performance. James has over 10 years experience working in the sport, exercise and performance psychology industry. He is currently chief consultant for the Professional Footballers Association of Ireland alongside holding a variety of positions, such as a course director, lecturer in psychology, and consultant with teams and individuals in multiple sports. In this episode we speak about the stigma sometimes attached to Sport Psychology; putting the person before the athlete; Guided Discovery; the power of sleep; introspection; the importance of helping players develop skills outside of their sport; and P.R.I.D.E psychology.