The Sports Initiative Podcast

Richard Cheetham MBE is a coach and lecturer at the University of Winchester focusing on coach development. He has also worked as a consultant for a variety of NGB's and professional sporting organisations assisting their coach development programme and environmental demands. Show notes: 1:35 - Richard provides an overview of his credentials 2:15 - How he got into coaching whilst in NZ 3:40 - The...

Alan Murdoch is a owner and coach at Speed Works Bath. Formally of Bath Rugby, Alan now works in a consultancy capacity and looks to support players and team with there aim to improve speed and agility. He also specialises in rehabilitation and has worked with International players, such as Anthony Watson, in their return to peak physical fitness Show notes 02:25 - An overview of Alan's career as...

Dr Zoe Wimshurst is a former hockey player turned Doctor of Sport Vision. Director of Performance Vision, Zoe looks to help athletes develop better visionary skill and awareness of their surroundings. Through a variety of practical and academic training techniques, Zoe is able to develop athletes ability to 'scan' pitches and player locations more effectively. She also assist coaches in their deve...

Dr Zoe Wimshurst is a former hockey player turned Doctor of Sport Vision. Director of Performance Vision, Zoe looks to help athletes develop better visionary skill and awareness of their surroundings. Through a variety of practical and academic training techniques, Zoe is able to develop athletes ability to 'scan' pitches and player locations more effectively. She also assist coaches in their deve...

Jorge Couto Ruis is a football coach who has worked for European powerhouses FC Porto and FC Barcelona. He also wrote a book around tactical periodisation called 'The Pattern Morphocycle’s Sustainability'. Show notes: 01:00 - Jorge introduces his coaching story 02:00 - How he started his journey at FC Porto 04:00- How he started his journey at FC Barcelona 08:00- The FC methodology and how he lear...

Farbizio Piccareta is a Italian football coach who has worked at a variety of football clubs including Inter Milan, Roma and Sampodoria. He is also worked as a member of Paulo Di Canio's backroom staff at Sunderland and Swindon. Show notes below: 1:25 - Overview of Fabrizio and his career 9:30 - The differences in working in academy football from Inter Milan to Sanremese 15:00 - The differences of...

Alex Porter is a former GB athlete and captain now turned coach of volleyball. He works at the University of Essex trying to help athletes progress their dreams of becoming professional volleyball athletes. Show notes: 0:50 - Alex provides is sporting credentials 3:20 - Overview of the UK and European Volleyball pathway 7:00- Explaining the differences in professionalism across European leagues 10...

Jim Haverstrom is a Youth Hockey Director and Coach Developer for USA Hockey. With multiple decades of experience, he focuses on supporting young players and coaches in developing skills and techniques ready for the future game Show notes 1:40 - The introduction to Jim and his Hockey background 3:45 - The Ice Hockey pathway within the US 7:30 - The coaching culture within Ice Hockey 10:00 - The di...

Jamie Tayler is a associate professor at Dublin City University and Senior Coach Developer at Grey's Matters. From these roles he is able to take academic work and theory and use it within practical coaching environment. Specifically, Jamie has work for the Leicester Tiger and Wasps academies set ups, helping produce some of the house hold names who play for club and country. Hosted on Acast. See...

Trystan Bevan is the Head of Performance at Cardiff Rugby and former Head of Rugby and Wasps. Previously an NCAA athlete, Trystan has also written a book called our race focusing on the stories of the GB 4x100 Gold medal team made up of Jason Gardner, Darren Campbell, Marlon Devonish and Mark Lewis Francis. Show notes 1:30 - Introduction to Trystan Bevan and credentials in sport 5:10 - Why the lat...

Fraser Stewart is the first team goalkeeper coach and Head of Goalkeeping at Kilmarnock FC. Previous to this he worked in the Scottish F.A as part of their coach education programme and national goalkeeping coaching pathway 1:00 - Introduction to Fraser Stewart 3:40 - Grasping the environment when entering a new performance environment 7:00 - Connecting with the players in small groups 9:10 - Esta...

Damian McGrath is a rugby coach with a wealth of knowledge and experiences from all around the world. Starting as a teacher, he has gone on to coach some of the powerhouses of English Rugby including Leeds Rhinos and Leicester Tigers. He was also part of the backroom staff under Sir Clive Woodward. Currently he is the Head Coach of the Kenyan National Rugby 7's team. Show notes: 00:50 - Introducti...

Joe Baker is a professor at York University in Canada. He has recently focused his research on Talent Identification and this has culminated in his latest book release 'The Tyranny of talent'. Show notes 1:30 - The background of Joe and his work into talent identification 3:40 - Why did Talent Identification resonate with Joe as a research area 4:45 - The process of research creation 7:40 - Findin...

Charles Ruiz is a specialist in leadership and team development. Formally a baseball player within the the Colorado Rockies set up, Charles was drafted in round 10 of the 2009 MLB draft. Fast forward 5 years and Charles if having to retire due to injury and forge himself new career and life. Show notes: 1:30 - The whistle stop tour of Charles Ruiz 3:00 - Why Baseball 6:30 - The power of Charles co...

Amy Price is a coach and coach developer in football. She works for the English Football Association and Premier League side Fulham. She is also well know for her work around video game design and how it could be an effective tool when coaching. Show notes: 1:30 - Amy discusses her current roles within F.A and at Fulham FC. 3:30 - The environment of at Fulham encouraging individualisation. 4:45 -...

Chris Pike is a goalkeeping and set piece coach in the England U23's women's programme. Formally of Tottenham Hotspur Women's 1st team, Arsenal academy and Watford, Chris has a wealth of experience of supporting goalkeeping development in every age of their journey. Show notes: 01:10 - Chris's grounding as a professional goalkeeper coach 03:40 - Planning sessions suitable for every age group withi...

Lauren Ammon is a former NCCA athlete turned founder of Performance reimagined which is service provided to athletes to help them develop their mental skills in preparation for performance sport. Show Notes 1:30 - Lauren and her experiences in the sporting world 4:00 - Why does performance sport resonate with Lauren 6:00- The challenges of collegiate sport in the US 9:00 - The campus pressures in...

Dr Anna Stodter is a senior lecturer at Leeds Beckett in sports coaching. Alongside her lecturing role, Anna is also completing a PHD into coaches and how they develop as practitioners through formal pathways and how they learnt on and around the course. She then went on to work at Cambridge University and GB Archery. Shows notes 2:00 - Anna's role as a sport professional 3:00 - What does good coa...

Richard Shorter is the founder of Non-perfect Dad an organisation which looks to provide organisations and parents with critical insight into creating a collaborative and evidence based approach in supporting young people participating in performance sport. Show notes 02:30 - Richard role as non perfect Dad 05:30 - Why is support needed in performance sport 08:30 - The key characteristics of posit...

Phil Relf is the Director of Sport at Canterbury Academy. Formally working in professional cricket, Phil worked as the academy director and first team assistant at Kent and also went on to work of the England Cricket Board (ECB). Show notes 01:20 - Previous experiences as a practitioner 06:30 - Groundings as a practitioner in the grassroots settings 09:00 - How Phil allows 'flow' within his sessio...

Tadhg Leader is a former professional rugby player in Ireland and Italy and for the American National Team. At aged 29 he transitioned to American Football and played as a Kicker for the Aviators in the CFL, the step below the NFL. Show Notes: 1:30- Tadhg athletic journey 3:30 - Why is there a transition into American Football 6:00 - The culture of 'kickabouts' around the globe 7:30 - The technica...

Aaron Gershenfeld is a defensive co-ordinator for the MLB powerhouse New York Yankee's. Part of the Player Development Pathway, Aaron aims to helps players progress into the Major league team having acquired the necessary skills to perform consistently at the highest level. Show notes: 1:00 - Introduction to Aaron and his roles within baseball 2:46 - History of baseball and watching LA dodgers cam...

Karl Marius Askum is the U19's coach at Odds Ballklubb. Alongside this role he has also completed a PHD in Visual Perception in football. More frequently called 'scanning', visual perception is becoming increasingly focused on within academic literature with emphasis on the importance it plays in top players taking in and analysing the game around them. Show notes: 1:00 – Who is Karl Marius Aksum...

Michal Pujdak is the U23's coach at Leeds United. Formally of Grimsby Town and Manchester City, Michal is the last stop for players looking to transition into Jesse Marsch's first team and looks to equip players with necessary tools to prepare them for the first team environment. Show notes: 0:45 - Introduction and current role with Leeds United 05:00 - Influence of playing on his coaching skills...

Tony Casella is the National Talent Identification Coordinator at Australian Basketball. With over 20 years experience working in basketball within Australia, Tony has seen some of the best and most high profile Australian basketball players transition into the professional ranks including the NBA. Show notes 01:00 - Introduction to Tony Casella basketball experience 04:00 - Australian basketball...