I’m delighted to speak with Prof Chris Harwood this week. Chris is the Director of the Sport, Health and Performance Enhancement (SHAPE) Research Centre at Nottingham Trent University (NTU). He is a Professor of Sport Psychology at NTU where his research focuses on the psychosocial aspects of athlete development, wellbeing and performance including the roles of the coach, parents, and the wider social and organisational environment. Chris is particularly focused on the integration of psychological principles into youth sport settings and his applied research is characterised by working with the support system around young people. Chris is also prominent in the area of professional development, supervision and training of sport psychologists in the UK and international systems.  We speak about Chris’s research over the past 30 years, focusing on Achievement Goal Theory, Reflection-in-Action, and the 5 C’s: Commitment, Communication, Concentration, Control, and Confidence.

I am delighted to welcome back Dr Ian Peek in this episode. Ian has been a golf coach for 35 years. He is currently consulting with the Swiss Golf Federation supporting the coaches at national and regional level and supporting parents at some of the leading juniors in the country.   Ian helps his clients achieve their goals whether that’s transitioning to a new level of achievement or maintaining their position at the top of their sport or industry. Ian is also a PGA Master Professional - the highest educational level in The PGA - which recognises PGA Members who make a significant effort to improve themselves as golf professionals and maintain the highest degree of excellence for themselves and their operations. In this episode Ian and I discuss the mental health challenges that professional sport competitors face when competing at the very highest level of their game. 

In this episode I’m delighted to welcome back Prof Mark Williams and Prof Nicola Hodges to speak about skill acquisition in sport. Mark Williams is a Senior Research Scientist at The Institute of Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC)- a not-for-profit research institute of the Florida University System and is affiliated with several Florida universities. Mark was previously at the University of Utah, where he was professor and chairman of the Department of Health, Kinesiology, and Recreation. Mark has held various senior leadership positions Liverpool John Moores University, University of Sydney and Brunel University, London. Mark’s research interests focus on the neural and psychological mechanisms underpinning the acquisition and development of expertise. He has published almost 300 journal articles in peer-reviewed outlets in numerous fields including exercise and sports science Nikki is a Professor at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Vancouver in the School of Kinesiology. It is at UBC that Nikki runs the Motor Skills Laboratory where she studies the mechanisms of motor skill learning. Her research focuses on processes involved in watching, learning and predicting from others and how practice should be best structured to bring about long-term enhancement of motor skills and high-level performance (particularly in sport). She has been involved in sport-consulting and she has published over 100 peer-reviewed articles and chapters.

Dr Daniel Fortin-Guichard, a psychologist specializing in talent identification research in sports, discusses the identification of 'sleeping' talent using psychological characteristics. They explore the role of self-regulation, attachment, and grit in talent identification, and the challenges of scouting young athletes. The concept of sleeping talent and the importance of psychological skills in talent development are also highlighted. The episode concludes with a discussion on current research projects and future episodes.

In this episode I’m joined by Dr Keith McShan and Dr Whitney Moore. We talk about coach-athlete relationships. Keith is Assistant Professor of Kinesiology at Missouri State University. Before joining MSU, Keith was an active high school basketball and football coach in Canada. Keith has worked for organisations such as Football Canada, Duke University Men’s Basketball Camp, and the Corporation of the City of Windsor. Keith is an active member of the North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity (NASPSPA) and The Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP). Keith is the current faculty advisor for the Kinesiology Research and Career (KRC) Club.  Whitney is Assistant Professor in the Department of Kinesiology at East Carolina University. Prior to this, Whitney was an Assistant Professor at the University of North Texas and an Associate Professor at Wayne State University. Whitney previously owned and was the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach for MOORE Training. Her company focused on providing high-quality training for youth and adults. In this episode we discuss a fascinating paper Keith and Whitney edited entitled “A systematic Review of the Coach-Athlete Relationship From the Coaches’ Perspective”.

Dr Mark Aoyagi, Co-Director of the Master's programme in Sport and Performance Psychology, talks about theories of performance excellence, developing curiosity as a skill, the power of curiosity in coaching and playing, developing a theoretical orientation in sports psychology, focus and attention in performance excellence, and the science of trust in sports performance.

In this episode I’m joined by Dr Alison Maitland and Jenna Ashford to talk about their new book “Drop the Struggle: A Transformative Approach to Achieving Your Potential in Sport and Life”. Alison is a widely recognised and experienced HCPC registered and BASES accredited Sport Psychologist. She has a PhD in elite sport and uses her expertise in human performance in a wide range of settings in sport and businesses around the world. Alison has helped elite athletes achieve World Championship titles and Olympic success. Jenna is a Chartered Sport and Exercise Psychologist and Performance Consultant, working with top athletes, CEO's at global companies and within sectors including education and healthcare. Jenna is also a passionate sportswoman and represented England Hockey and played in premier league teams all over the world. Their book, “Drop the Struggle” is based on scientifically proven techniques from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and takes a radically new look at the mental side of reaching your potential in sport. It has been written for athletes, coaches and anyone wanting to achieve more and provides a practical kitbag of ways to succeed. It will teach you a sustainable way of dealing with difficult thoughts, managing your emotions and harnessing them to help you perform to the best of your ability.

In this episode I’m joined by Dr James Munnik and Prof Leon Van Niekerk. James is a Counselling Psychology Lecturer at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. James has worked with a number of athletes in his own private practice as a high performance mental coach in psychotherapy and counselling. He has special interests in sport/exercise psychology research and Rational Emotive Behavioural Therapy (REBT) theory and practice. Leon is a Professor of Psychology at University of Fort Hare in South Africa. He is a registered Counselling Psychologist and has his own psychology consultancy practice where he focuses on the provision of sport psychological services to individual athletes and teams. Leon’s research interests are in the psychological well-being of athletes. This includes topics such as the development of mental toughness, sport identity and life roles, burnout, stress and anxiety among athletes, the effectiveness of mindfulness during competition, mental health in sport and the psychological health benefits of exercise. In this episode we discuss a paper entitled “Recommendations for Integrating Psychological Skills Training (PST) into Rational Emotive Behavioural Therapy (REBT)” which was led by James and co-written by Dr Martin Turner and Leon.

On this week’s episode I speak to Dr Chris Mesagno. Chris is a sport psychologist, a Senior Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Psychology at Victoria University, and a Research Fellow at the Institute for Health and Sport, Victoria University.  Chris has over 20 years of research expertise in stress, anxiety, attention and concentration skills and has successfully developed theory-matched interventions to improve performance for highly anxious and “choking-susceptible” athletes. Chris also worked, and continues to work, with numerous athletes from a range of team and individual sports to enhance mental skills for better performance and mental health outcomes. Chris maintains a robust academic research profile with more than 50 research articles and book chapters and has given various presentations at national and international conferences. This international research profile has been recognised with awards and keynote conference presentations within sport and exercise psychology. In this episode we focus on a paper led by Dr Peter Gröpel and co-written by Chris entitled “Choking interventions in sports: A systematic review”. The purpose of the paper is to provide an overview of studies that have tested interventions used to alleviate choking. The results of the paper may help athletes and coaches select and implement effective strategies and methods to improve performance under pressure.

In this episode I’m joined by Dr Ella McLoughlin and Dr Rachel Arnold. We discuss a paper that was led by Ella which examines how stressors influence sport performers’ health, well-being, and performance. Ella is a Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Psychology at Nottingham Trent University. Her research interests span the topics of lifetime stressor exposure, the enhancement of health, well-being, and performance, and psychophysiological responses to acute stressors among athletes. Ella is a member of the Sport, Health, and Performance Enhancement (SHAPE) Research Centre. She has published in peer-reviewed journals in the area of stress, health, and performance and has presented her work at national and international conferences. Rachel is the Academic Director (Doctoral) and a Reader in Sport and Performance Psychology at the University of Bath. Rachel is a Chartered Psychologist and Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society, registered Practitioner Psychologist with the Health and Care Professions Council, accredited Sport and Exercise Scientist with the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences, Chartered Scientist with The Science Council, and Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Rachel’s research looks at how individuals and organisations can optimally manage stress to enable thriving, predominantly in sport but also in high pressure domains. She has published widely in leading peer-reviewed journals on the area of stress, performance, and well-being.