The Sport Psych Show

In this episode I'm delighted to have teacher, teaching mentor and bestselling author Doug Lemov back on the show.   Doug studies high performing teachers and what it is they do that makes them so effective in the classroom. Following requests from people in the sports sector, Doug has taken his experiences from the classroom to help coaches optimise their teaching ability. And in his new book "Th...

I'm honoured to speak with Dr Lisa Feldman Barrett in this episode. Lisa is a University Distinguished Professor at Northeastern University with appointments at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. She is among the top 1% most cited scientists in the world for her revolutionary research in psychology and neuroscience. Lisa is also author of several books including her lat...

I'm excited to speak with sport psychologist Tom Young in this episode. Tom completed his Master's at Liverpool John Moores University and has subsequently worked as a chartered psychologist in both business and sport, predominantly golf and football (soccer). Tom has always had an interest in leadership and culture and has recently published the brilliant book "The Making of a Leader: What Elite...

I'm delighted to speak with Dan Clements in this episode. Dan works in elite coach development, currently at The Welsh Rugby Union. Prior roles include Head of Performance at Wales Hockey and Performance Coach Manager at Wales Rugby League. Dan has co-written a fascinating paper entitled 'Coach development through collaborative action research: enhancing the learning environment within a national...

I'm excited to speak with Dr Pippa Grange in this episode. Pippa is a sport psychologist and culture coach and has worked in the areas of culture, psychology, ethics and leadership, primarily in elite sport. She held the position of Head of People and Team Development at The Football Association, helping the England team reach the semi-final of the 2018 World Cup. She is currently head of cultural...

I'm delighted to speak with sport psychologist Rebecca Symes in this episode. Rebecca works with elite and professional athletes to enhance performance and wellbeing. She is currently psychologist for GB women's Hockey. Rebecca also runs her own consultancy, Sporting Success, which has seen her work with clients including Surrey County Cricket Club, Archery GB; England and Wales Cricket Board; and...

I'm delighted to speak with Professor Laurence Alison in this episode. Laurence is Chair of Forensic and Investigative Psychology at Liverpool University. He is a leader in forensic psychology, and specialises in the most difficult interactions imaginable: criminal interrogations. He advises and trains the police, security agencies, the FBI and the CIA on how to deal with extremely dangerous suspe...

I'm delighted to speak with Cath Bishop in this episode. Cath is a former Olympic rower, competing at Atlanta, Sydney and Athens. Cath now works in leadership development, working with teams and leaders to help organisations be more effective. She has also written the fantastic new book entitled 'The Long Win: The Search for a Better Way to Succeed' which explores "…our cultural obsession with win...

I'm excited to speak with Dr Sergio Lara-Bercial in this episode. Sergio is a Reader in Sport Coaching at Leeds Beckett University and the International Council for Coaching Excellence (ICCE). He has also coached different sports for the past 25 years, primarily basketball, coaching in the English Women First Division and Team GB, going to five European Championships. Sergio, along with University...

I speak with Dr Joe Dixon in this episode. Joe is performance psychologist for Bath Rugby Club and also for Stoke City Football Club.   Joe has co-edited and also contributed a chapter to a new book entitled The Psychology of Soccer which seeks to present the detailed understanding of the theories underpinning the psychological issues relating to soccer, along with practical insights into effectiv...

I'm delighted to speak with professional ballet dancer and choreographer, Kit Holder in this episode. Kit is first soloist at the Birmingham Royal Ballet where he has danced for 20 years. He trained at The Royal Ballet School in London and is currently studying psychology. We speak about the psychology of ballet and its parallels with sport, specifically, skill acquisition; attentional cues, lost...

I'm delighted to speak with mental performance coach Brian Levenson in this episode. Brian is founder of Strong Skills, which provides executive coaching and mental performance coaching, speaking and consulting to elite organisations, performers and leaders. He has worked with CEO's, professional athletes and with teams in the NBA, NHL, and MLS, Division 1 athletic departments, the Federal Reserve...

I'm delighted to speak with Amy Price in this episode. Amy has a football coaching background holding her UEFA A Licence and now works as women's national coach developer for the FA. Prior to this, Amy was a lecturer at St Mary's University London in Physical and Sport Education and then programme director. Amy holds a Masters and DProf. We speak about a paper that Amy has just co-authored related...

I'm honoured to be speaking with Prof Mark Williams in this episode. Mark is one of the world's leading authorities in sports performance. He completed his PhD in Movement Science with a focus on perceptual cognitive expertise. Mark has worked at various academic institutions including Liverpool John Moores university, University of Sydney, Brunel University London, Florida State, and he is now Pr...

I'm delighted to speak with former Olympic 100m sprinter and bobsleigher, Craig Pickering in this episode. After early success as a young athlete, Craig went on to win a number of medals at European and World Championship levels. After a career-ending injury Craig completed his doctorate and now works as athlete pathway manager at Athletics Australia. We speak in depth about Craig's experiences as...

I speak with rugby league international coaching specialist, Stuart Wilkinson in this episode. Stuart started out playing the game, before moving on to coaching in the National pathway. He was Great Britain Academy Assistant Coach and a coach with the English national team for a number of years. In the late 90's he became the first player performance manager in GB Rugby League where his brief was...

I speak with Dr Amy Whitehead in this episode. Amy is a sport psychologist, coach developer and Programme Manager for the Sports Coaching and Sport Development programmes at Liverpool John Moores University. Amy specialises in 'Think Aloud' protocol in a sporting context which asks athletes and coaches to think aloud as they perform/coach. And it's this protocol we focus on during the podcast. Spe...

I speak with sport psychologist Gareth J Mole in this episode. Gareth spent his younger days in South Africa and credits this for his love of sport. He then moved to the UK and went on to undertake his psychology undergraduate at the University of Leeds after which he moved to Australia to complete his Masters in sport psychology at the University of Western Sydney. In 2005 Gareth set up Condor Pe...

I'm delighted to have award-winning journalist and author, Joan Ryan on this episode. Joan was a pioneer in sports journalism, becoming one of the first female sports columnists in the country. Since 2008, Joan has been senior media advisor for the San Francisco Giants baseball team. Joan spends most of her time in the company of the players in the clubhouse, and the experiences she has had from t...

In this episode, I speak with Dr Natalie Campbell. Natalie is senior lecturer at the University of Gloucestershire in the Department of Sport and Exercise sciences. She completed her PhD in Social Psychology. Natalie is also a research and education associate of a charity called Switch the Play Foundation which helps to transition athletes into life outside of their sport.   We speak about pop psy...

To mark the 100th episode of The Sport Psych Show, Dr Scott Goldman has come back on to interview me. Scott and I speak about my experiences as a sport psychologist over the last 15 or so years. We explore the role of a sport psychologist and the importance of integrating sport psychology into sporting organisations. We also discuss what I feel coaches can do to get the very most from their player...

In this episode, I'm joined by Rory Mack and Andrew Wood. Andrew is a Sport and Exercise Psychology Lecturer teaching at multiple universities. He also works as lead sport psychologist to the B1 football squad. Rory has been based at Sheffield Hallam University for the past 12 years. He is a post Viva PhD candidate. His PhD is in Motivational Interviewing in applied sport psychology. Rory and Andr...

In this episode, I speak with leadership coach and team architect, Donna Fishter. Donna is owner of a consulting business working with teams, training leaders, developing culture and coaching coaches and individual athletes. Prior to this, Donna was a soccer coach for over 20 years. 13 of those years were at the University of Central Florida. We speak about the importance of introspection as a coa...

I am honoured to be joined by Justine Siegal in this episode. Justine was the first woman ever to coach professional baseball. Her experiences in the pro leagues motivated her to change the landscape of gender inequality in baseball. She has a PhD in Sport Psychology and is founder of Baseball For All, which is a national non-profit organisation empowering girls to coach, play and lead. We speak a...

I am honoured to be joined by Dr Christian Zepp in this episode. Christian splits his time between lecturing at The German Sport University in Cologne and consulting as an applied sport psychologist. Christian obtained his PhD in sport sciences with a focus on sport psychology at the Institute of Psychology at The German Sport University. Christian has more than 20 years' experience in high-perfor...