The Talent Equation Podcast

Joe Baker is a professor at the school of kinesiology and life sciences at York University in Toronto, Canada. He is one of the most respected and well published researchers in the field of expertise, talent development and lifelong physical activity. In 2013 Joe was a key player in contributing to a the creation of a consensus statement on talent for English Rugby. This document went on to become...

Nick Hill is probably one of the most committed coaches to his personal development that I have ever met. His quest for continuous improvement has taken him to all corners of the globe from Brisbane, to Canterbury to Chile and the US. If coaching expertise was measured in air miles then this guy has to be in the premier league! Nick's career has seen him working in talent environments for most of...

This is the first in a series of 7 mini podcasts that I will be rolling out over the next few weeks 'in between' the main feature episodes. This episode looks at the role that compteition plays in stifling teh development of talent. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-talent-equation-podcast--2186775/support . Ready to explore these ideas further? Join The Guil...

Ric Shuttleworth is a unique individual with an unparalleled wealth of knowledge and insight into skill acquisition and coaching. While Ric has a strong academic background and has worked within the sports science domain for a good part of his career, he is very much a practitioner and has spent most of his life on the sidelines working directly with athletes and coaches. Ric is currently working...

Mark Bennett is someone that has had the most profound effect on my coaching, my parenting, my management style and my life. Mark is an expert people developer and has worked with people from all walks of life from elite sports coaches to teachers working in primary schools. His approach to helping people to follow a path of excellence is extremely powerful and I was really keen to make sure that...

Reed Maltbie is a coach that takes his craft seriously. Alongside a lifetime of experience and ongoing learning he also has 2 masters degrees in Psychology and Child Development so when it comes to developing children in sport....he knows a thing or two! His passion for coaching and for the impact that a coach can have have on children led him to deliver a TED talk on the subject of communication...

Dennis Hortin is the academy manager at AIK, one of Sweden's oldest and most respective professional football clubs. Mark O'Sullivan is a friend of the podcast and needs no introduction except to say that he has now joined AIK and is working within their coaching set up. In this brilliant discussion we learn more about why AIK has taken the brave step to back out of the crazy situation that has be...

This conversation with Stuart Wilkinson challenged some of my thinking about optimal talent development approaches and made me consider if we can sometimes become too dogmatic in our thinking about a specific way to approach the development of young people in sport. Stuart has a rich background in talent development having worked in several professional club academies in Rugby League as well as wo...

Stuart Morgan from www.stuartmorgangolf.com was the Director of Instruction at the International Junior Golf Academy in the USA. Stuart has spent his life helping young golfers to develop and has a wealth of knowledge to share with the talent community. We focus on the experiences he went through with developing a young female golfer called Emily Price and her journey of success towards several am...

Doug Lemov has dedicated his life to helping young people to strive for the exceptional. His work within Uncommon Schools has helped some of the most disadvantaged young people to achieve things within their lives that few thought would be possible. He understands a thing or two about unleashing potential. His quest to help students succeed led him to discover that the major factor in helping youn...

Loren Anderson is the head coach at Rise Volleyball (@risevolleyball www.risevolleyball.net ). In this enthralling conversation Loren and I discuss our respective coaching journeys and share some of the challenges and joys of working in a non linear way with young people. In the episode we discuss: - Why coaches should be like gardeners and not like carpenters - A better use for timeouts - Why mat...

Shawn Myszka aka @movementmiyagi on Twitter is a human movement specialist that has been using the ecological approach to the development of elite NFL players for the past 5 years. In this honest and illuminating discussion Shawn shares his journey from being a "biomechanics junkie", largely driven by physiology and technique towards an approach that develops athletic abilities through the creatio...

Danny Newcombe is Senior Lecturer in Sport Coaching and Physical Education at Oxford Brookes University as well as being Assistant Coach to the Wales Men's Hockey Team and coach to Southgate Hockey Club Men's first team in the England National Hockey League. He is a genuine 'pracademic' in that he has the theory and he puts it into practice as well. In this epidode we discuss... - The evolution of...

Dr Richard Bailey is one of the most widely respected researchers and academics in the world of sport. He currently works at the global policy making body the International Council for Sports Science and Physical Education (ICSSPE) where he gives talks all around the world on matters related to the development of sport and physical activity. In this episode Richard pulls no punches in exposing the...

In this great conversatiom with Marc Bourhill, A career talent coach that has coached elite national age group teams in Hockey we cover a range of issues stimulated by Marcs own coaching journey. - How Marc has been transformed since adopting a dynamical systems approach to coaching. - The way he uses the approach with elite players and recreational youngsters - Why he doesn't let his young player...

In this episode Nick and I go off piste and reflect on our learning journeys as coaches. We both explore the process we went through to move from being technically driven to being person driven. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-talent-equation-podcast--2186775/support . Ready to explore these ideas further? Join The Guild of Ecological Explorers – a communit...

In this episode I answer a question that came in from a parent who wanted to know how much of a role luck played in the talent world. How much was a persons development just down to the opportunities that are afforded to them by their circumstances and how much the NFL hence can we have over luck? Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-talent-equation-podcast--218...

Joey Peters is an ex international soccer player from Australia who has represented her country 110 times. She talks about her fascinating learning journey from international athlete to working with U9s and the transformation that she needed to go through. In the episode we discuss: - How she had to cure herself of the 'ex player desease' - How knowledge can be a strength and a weakness - Taking t...

In part 2 of my conversation with Kendal McWade we go into more detail about the approach that Kendal uses and how he engages with his athletes and help them achieve peak performance. In the cast we cover... - The difference between 'guided discovery' and 'guided exploration'. - Going from asking 82 questions per session to asking less questions and better questions - Coaching an athlete without l...

In this 2 part episode, I talk to a genuine master practitioner, Kendal McWade. Kendal is a golf coach who works with some of the most able young players in England as a regional coach for England Golf. His methods and his approach are truly captivating and this episode was a genuine eye opener for me. In the epidode we cover... - Why throwing golf clubs is a good way to get better - The differenc...

I this episode I respond to some of the criticism I received from some quarters of the academic community for my recent episode (episode 2) 'The War on Drills' and explain the rationale behind this stance. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-talent-equation-podcast--2186775/support . Ready to explore these ideas further? Join The Guild of Ecological Explorers –...

My Co-Host - Nick Levett and I get into the subject of managing parental behaviour. In this episode, we focus on strategies to ensure a positive environment when parents are spectating so that they don't ruin the experience for the kids and they allow for a learning culture for the players. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-talent-equation-podcast--2186775/su...

In this episode I explain why coaches are addicted to drills and why drills should have no place in the talent development landscape. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-talent-equation-podcast--2186775/support . Ready to explore these ideas further? Join The Guild of Ecological Explorers – a community of practitioners committed to deepening their understanding...

In this episode, I talk with Mark O'Sullivan from the amazing blog https://footblogball.wordpress.com/ about talent ID in sport and the scary scenario where children as young as 4 are being invited to 'Talent ID' sessions. What can we do about it? What should we do about it? How can parents, coaches and administrators push back against this development and take back children's sport? Become a supp...