The Raymond Wood Podcast

In this ep, we talk to Sammy Lee about the importance of rising to a challenge—whether that’s overcoming being ‘vertically challenged’ at just 5"3, facing supporters after a loss, or the difficulty of winning the European Cup in the era of straight knockouts. Lee is a big believer in letting kids do the work. Of parents needing to let go a bit and let the coach, coach. The importance of facing fai...

We bring you the legendary Phil Thompson, and what an episode it is. Growing up in Liverpool in the era of the Beatles, Phil spent his childhood playing football between the lampposts on the streets of Kirkby, before being scouted and ultimately picked up by Liverpool. We talk about what it was like growing up in a town where so much football talent emerged from, his truly extraordinary career, an...

Join us for a great chat with Anthony Klarica, as we discuss the rise of sports psychology and athlete wellbeing and the importance of getting your mindset right to become a champion. We cover treating failures like hurdles, getting off the emotional rollercoaster of wins and losses, and mindset being the difference between maintaining your motivation at different phases of life. What makes one te...

Welcome to an absolute belter of an episode with Leicester and Liverpool legend Emile Heskey. We chat about Emile’s childhood love of athletics, and how his life took a different track when a football scout came to watch him play at school. We also get his views on Australia’s untapped talent, and how we need to stop holding the kids back in an outdoors nation where everyone could grow up with a b...

If you’re not wearing a GPS tracker, you’re not keeping up with the most basic expectation of any academy in Europe. In this episode, we explain our decision to give every member of Euro Football Star their own Statsport tracker. Find out how your GPS stats can integrate right into your objectives in our portal and keep you accountable, as well as how you can use them to compare yourself to player...

In this ep recorded in the UK at the home of the Bolton Wanderers, we talk to Neil Pointon, former left-back for Man City and Everton and now a coach at Bolton Wanderers Academy. We talk about his young start, the huge importance of game time as a junior, —and how, as a coach, it only takes a session to spot it: that rare level of motivation and game sense that will make a kid a pro. See omnystudi...

In this mini episode, we talk about the football plan that we use in our professional player pathway. We’re thrilled to announce that our players will be able to access their data at a touch of a button via our Football Plan Portal — including their GPS tracker data, match analysis, objectives, and nutrition results — plus a whole lot more. Listen to find out more about how this great bit of tech...

At Euro Football Pathways, we believe that Mums and Dads shouldn’t be doing the heavy lifting for their kids to succeed on the field. Sure, parents are there to support, but in our system, we use better technology and practices to build personal responsibility in the players themselves and develop their game. Find out what we do differently in this ep. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy infor...

Inflammation in the body is the enemy of performance. In this mini-ep, we talk about how intolerance testing can help players identify the foods and products that are causing inflammation, leading to injuries and stopping them from reaching their potential. The Player League has been using this tool to individualise player nutrition for years, now our players can get this advantage too. See omnyst...

We’re all about player pathways here at Euro Football Star, so we thought it was time to introduce one of the young players who have experienced a free trip to Europe thanks to our program. We speak to 11-year-old Charlotte Ainsworth, who has already gotten to play at Liverpool, Manchester United and The Bolton Wanderers after she blitzed our objective testing program and won the trip of a lifetim...

We talk to former Newcastle Jets goalkeeper Robert Kolak about his young start in Western Sydney, the advantages of playing up an age bracket, and the ‘lucky’ and ‘unlucky’ breaks that would shape his career. After an incredible start that led to him getting offers from European clubs, a collapsed contract sent him on a different path. These experiences showed Rob the importance of giving young pl...

World Cup and Champions League player Kew Jaliens delivers a storm of insight from his 20 years as a professional footballer in Holland and around the world — and how the way things are done in Europe might hold some lessons for developing players here in Australia. Now a mindset coach for athletes and entrepreneurs in Australia, Kew chats about the value of playing on the streets growing up, and...

What happens when you realise the pro track might not work out for you as a player, but you know that no matter what, your career is still going to be in football? Our special guest today is coach Stuart McClarty, who made a back-up plan as a 14 year old and put his efforts into training as a coach. He’s proved that instinct right, with an illustrious youth development coaching career including at...

In this ep we talk to success mindset coach and motivational speaker, Pamela Millican, about some of the most common obstacles she sees to success, both on and off the pitch. From helicopter parents affecting their kids’ confidence to challenging your deepest fears, Pamela offers us her mindset-changing wisdom, alongside personal stories about her drive to never be homeless again. What’s the quali...

During this episode, we explore the 6 x elements of the Pro Player Pathway and one of the benefits of Match Analysis which is one of the 6 x sections of the Pro Player Pathway. We take a deep dive into the benefits of Match Analysis, key findings, driving out objectives and how to identify the key elements of Objectives. We assist players and family members to become accountable for their own jour...

This ep is about mental health in high-pressure situations and escaping the shackles that are holding you back from being the best person, performer, and player you can be. We’re thrilled to welcome Dane Christenson, founder and CEO of Survive to Thrive, a program designed for veterans that’s now also being launched in the corporate world. Dane talks about his journey to overcome his own mental he...

We speak to sports naturopath and lymphatic specialist Chelsey Jean about how to get that lymph moving to beat lactic acid buildup and give you those valuable last few minutes out on the pitch when everyone else is cramping or fading away. We talk through all the latest in this field — the benefits of lymphatic gloves and compression suits for recovery, why you should be ditching ice packs for inj...

We bring this podcast to you from the home of the Bolton Wanderers, where we’re speaking with the Head Coach of Bolton Wanderers International Football Programme, Danny Clarke. We talk to Danny about his work travelling the globe showcasing their Academy programs, and some of the differences between coaching in Australia and the UK that might be holding some of our young players back. We answer qu...

Join us on the Raymond Wood podcast as we discuss a secret weapon every aspiring footballer should know: the power of performance breathing. Our guest, Andrea Bulow, a breath performance coach, Andrea unveils how optimized breathing techniques can boost on-pitch stamina, focus, and overall athletic performance. Learn about the benefits of increasing lung capacity, red blood cell saturation, and ho...

Born or made? How does talent get derailed? How can we stop other kids from missing out on opportunities to go pro? And what’s it like to coach the Matildas? We talk about this and more with our first guest, ex-Socceroo and Matildas coach Greg Brown, as we hear about his career highlights and the ‘could-a-beens’ — like if only he’d had the right advice around him as a young’un at Man United. We al...