Sport psychologist Michael Caulfield discusses the champion jockey's mindset, authentic communication, and building trust in professional sports. He emphasizes the value of personal interactions, simplicity, and canine connections in developing strong relationships with athletes and coaches.

Allan Steele, experienced in Premier League coaching, discusses contrasting coaching cultures in the UK, Spain, and the US. He shares insights on maximizing talent development, empowering players, and building connections beyond athletic abilities. Steele reflects on his journey to Premier League success and highlights the importance of player autonomy and guided learning in elite sports environments.

Dr. Noel Dempsey, a coach educator with experience in football coaching, shares insights on coaching philosophy, player development, and psychosocial support. He emphasizes personal growth, vulnerability, and the balance between structure and freedom in coaching. The podcast explores the impact of sports beyond the field and the importance of creating a supportive environment for athletes.

Olivia Bramley & Dr Laura Healy discuss mental health in sub-elite women's sports, tackling stigma, competition pressures, and the need for supportive environments. They delve into balancing multiple careers in women's football, emphasizing the importance of nurturing well-being in sports and creating psychologically informed environments for personal growth.

Sarah Green, UEFA A Licence Coach, discusses transitioning from football to netball coaching, expanding coaching skills through academic exploration, using bandwidth feedback in coaching sessions, and building a structured coaching environment to enhance player performance and mindset coaching strategies.

Jon Mackey, High Performance Director for Canoeing Ireland, discusses coaching for learning and skill development. Topics include contrasting research approaches, evolving coaching styles in combat sports, psychological insights through movement patterns, deliberate practice, scaling in coaching, and coaching athletes for performance and learning.

Explore how elite athletes like Gary Neville and Lionel Messi approach mental preparation and decision-making in sports. Discover the importance of deliberate practice, team dynamics, and strategic decision-making in achieving excellence. Learn about cross-sport learning, innovative coaching methods, and individual differences in elite competitors. Join the engaging conversation with David Horrocks on the mindset of an elite competitor.

Katie Crawford discusses how coaches can promote teamwork, exploring factors like team selection, roles, coach-athlete relationships, and athlete leadership. The podcast delves into optimizing teamwork in sports through psychological insights and the importance of building genuine connections in team sports. It also highlights empowering athlete-led teamwork and enhancing team dynamics for successful team performance.

I’m delighted to speak with Josh Frost this week. Josh is a PhD research student at The University of Melbourne. His research is also affiliated with the Elite Sports and Mental Health Centre at Orygen, a not-for-profit Youth Mental Health Centre located in Melbourne. The centre conducts research with athletes, coaches and high-performance support staff to find ways to better support elite athletes. In this episode Josh and I discuss a paper he led entitled “The Mental Health of Elite-Level Coaches: A Systematic Scoping Review” which examined the current body of evidence to explore what is known about the mental health of elite-level coaches (i.e. wellbeing and mental ill-health), the risk and protective factors that influence coach mental health, and the relationship between mental health and coaching effectiveness.

I’m delighted to speak with Karin Hägglund this week. Karin is a Former Swedish National team coach and National team athlete in karate. She is a five-time Swedish champion and three-time Nordic karate champion. Karin now researches how we can maintain well-being and health while performing at a high level over time. She is a PhD-student in Sustainable High-performance Coaching at The Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences. Karin is former editor and writer for the magazine FLOW published by the Swedish Sports Psychology Association and was a board member of the Swedish Sports Psychology Association. Karin and I discuss a paper she led entitled “Starting a Conversation about Vulnerability in Elite Sport”. The paper provides practitioners with resources based on insights from high-performance coaches to enable conversations about vulnerability in sport. The aim is that practitioners will use these resources to stimulate reflection and dialogue about vulnerability, which may lower thresholds for help-seeking and foster sustainability in sport organisations.