The Sports Initiative Podcast

Tom Smith is the current forwards coach at Cardiff Blues. Formally a player, Tom had a distinguished career with the Ospreys, culminating in 91 total appearances and honours such as 3 U21 Wales caps and the Pro12 league championship. Tom has played alongside some of the Britain's best players including James Hook, Tommy Bowe and Alun Wyn Jones. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more infor...

Mark Wilson is one of the founders of soccer diagnostics tool, Beyond Pulse. A former professional football, Mark graduated through the Manchester United academy and made 10 first team appearances under Sir Alex Ferguson. Post Manchester United he went on to have spells with Middlesbrough, Doncaster Rovers and Cambridge United. Mark now spends his time focusing on player and coach development in t...

Sam Dejonghe is a professional racing driver who currently drives in the formula E series. With many success such as his TCE series championship win in 2019, Sam has over a decade of driver experience all over the world but specialises at the Circuit de Spa Franchorcamps, in Belgium. Also a trainer, Sam works with up and coming drivers to help them on their journey's in this notoriously challengin...

Marc Mclaren is a Foundation phase coach at Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers. Working mainly with U11's age group, Marc has in depth experience of academy football and how to support players with their development journey. He has also seen mass development at club, both in it's infrastructure and it's on pitch performance and culture under Portuguese manager Nuno Espirito Santo. Hosted...

Larry Sunderland is the Director of Player Development at MLS franchise FC Cincinnati. Formally the U17's coach for the US national team, Larry has a wealth of experience in creating and harnessing youth development environments across the US. In previous roles he also helped establish the academies at Chicago Fire and Portland Timbers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Steve Guinan is a former professional footballer with over 450 apperances at a selection of clubs including Nottingham Forest, Plymouth Argyle and Cheltenham Town. Now working for the F.A as the player to coach lead, Steve focuses on aiding players with their transition away from playing and into the coaching domain. Working with such individuals as John Terry, Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard, St...

Alex Ball is the Lead Professional Development Phase coach at Bristol City FC. Working mainly with the U23 age group, he focuses on aiding players in their transition into the first team environment. Formally the Lead Foundation phase coach at Southampton FC, Alex has over 20 years experience of working with player across a variety of age groups. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more inf...

Josh Bednash is a Youth Development Phase coach at Crystal Palace. Focused mainly with the U15's, Josh provides support to players as they transition into their scholarship decision making year. Alongside his coaching role he also works as a technical analyst for Spielverlagerung. This in-depth analytical work, in which he breaks down intricate parts of the game such as showing inside during count...

Ian Hughes is the Vice President of player, coach and curriculum development at Steel Sports. Formally a tutor for FAW, Ian has worked with some of the most well respected coaches and coach educators in the game such as Osian Roberts, Roberto Martinez and Patrick Vieira. He also worked for the FAW as a analyst in the lead up to the historic Euro 2016 tournament and world cup qualifiers. Hosted on...

Dan Wright is a Youth Development Phase coach at a Cat 1 Premier League academy. A Uefa A licensed coach who is well known for his work around constraint based coaching, Dan has also recently published a book focusing on the delivery of Small Sided Game in Youth football. Also a coach mentor for the Player Development Project, Dan works internationally supporting coaches in their delivery to playe...

Rod Underwood is a former professional footballer who now coaches in professional football across the globe. A club advisor, Rod spends much of his year travelling globally to help clubs set up infrastructures for long term player development at both the first team and youth levels. Also a coach in his own right, Rod has experience working for such clubs as Portland Timbers and Montego Bay United....

Leanne Skarratt is the founder of Manchester Futsal club's women's team and has experience of playing in the top futsal leagues nationally in the UK. Richard Ward is an England international futsal player who has represented his country on over 50 occasions. Both are currently trying to raise awareness of the English F.A decisions to cut the futsal funding by a reported £900,000 in light of the Co...

Darren Higgins is the Head of Youth performance at Castleford Tigers RLFC. Part of the Betfred Super League, Castleford Tigers are known for their expansive style of play and player which is also exhibited further down their pathway in the development teams. Darren's role is to oversee players holistic development from initiation into the club right the way through to the first team environment. H...

Joel Moody is the Lead Foundation phase coach at Coventry City Fc. A Uefa A licensed coach, Joel has experience of working in some of the top clubs across the country including Southampton, Swansea City and Newcastle United. He also spent time over in North America working for Vancouver Whitecaps. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Megan Hill is a PHD student out of the University of Bath. Her research project for her thesis focused on 'growth and maturation in talent identification in an elite football academy'. During this period, she studied how growth and maturation affects players within a Cat 1 academy and how using processes such as Bio banding and growth related individualisation can support players in their long ter...

Brian Rzeppa is the author of 'You're Hired, a guide to working in sports'. Aiming to provide clarity and great depth of knowledge behind the hiring process in sports; Brian interviewed some of the top personal in both college and professional sports in the US. This includes such individuals as; John Cohen from Mississippi State University, Phillip Fulmer from the University of Tennessee and Lance...

Steve Devereux is the Commercial Manager for the Bristol Flyers. He focuses on the engagement and growth of Bristol Flyers basketball both locally and nationally. The club is also part of the 'Bristol Sport' group which entails Bristol City Fc and Bristol Bears Rugby in a collaborative working environment. Most notably from a marketing stand point, the group created the goal 'GIF' campaign which i...

Dr Richard Elliott is Head of the Football Performance and Participation programmes at Southampton Solent University. He has experience of working with a variety of leading organisation such as the Football Association, Premier League and League Managers Association, In a research setting, he has published worked investigating the challenges and difficulties in player migration; as well as mental...

Lee Conroy is a coach and player developer within cricket. An ECB master coach, he has experience of working with some of the best up and coming players and coaches in the English game. In particular, his work at the Bunbury festival provided him with access to current England internationals at senior and junior levels. He also holds a masters degree in elite coaching. Hosted on Acast. See acast.c...

Steve Lilley is the founder of Ecan passNsupport, a coach development company for grassroots clubs and coaches. Formally a County Coach Developer for the Gloucestershire F.A, Steve spent the last 5 years delivering the level 1/2 and Uefa B to variety of course participants. Also a coach in his own right, Steve has worked for clubs such as Peterborough United, Cambridge United and Bristol City. Hos...

Lee Collier is the Lead Professional Development Phase coach at MK Dons. Working with the U18's and 23's age groups, Lee's main role is to aid the players with their final transition into first team football. A coach with a wealth of knowledge, Lee has also worked for clubs such as Yeovil Town, Reading and Bournemouth. He has also worked for the FAW in a coach developer capacity. Hosted on Acast....

Ebun Thomas is the Lead Foundation phase coach at Portsmouth Football Club. Formally working at Charlton Athletic and Barnet, Ebun has vast experience of working in youth development. In particular, Ebun has an in depth knowledge of the London 'Cage culture' and how to engage with players from differing cultures and backgrounds. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Graham Mills is a Cat 1 academy coach in the Youth Development Phase. Also a lecturer at Southampton Solent University on their Football studies course, Graham combines academic theory with practical application in performance environments. Formally the Lead YDP at Bournemouth FC, Graham has an in depth knowledge of player development and has recently created 'Fifa' style IDP frameworks for multip...

Nathan Loader is the Pre-Academy lead for a Cat 1 academy. A specialist in Talent ID and skill development Nathan spends a large amount of his times developing young people both on and off the pitch. A keen self developer, he has also committed to self development in a variety of ways including ECAS and learning Mandarin. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tom Donati is a academy coach for a CAT 3 academy.. Formally working in the PDP, YDP and Head of coaching role at a variety of academies across the country, Tom has a wealth of experience of player development. The clubs he has worked at include Watford, Barnet, Charlton Athletic and Peterborough United. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.