The Talent Equation Podcast

Nick Davey is a full time field hockey coach that works in the North West of England. He has been on a fascinating learning journey and has been really committed to his development. This podcast came about because Nick and I were in conversation about some of the challenges that have been presented by the recent discussions around 'it depends'. In this conversation we explore his philosophy and se...

Kendal McWade came over for a visit. While he was here we did some work on my golf game and he also did some work with my son. As has become customary, we went for a meal and the conversation started to flow, we got home and had a coffee in my kitchen and I pressed record to capture some of the areas we were exploring together. We delve into the skill acquisition process, how we can enrich individ...

This week's podcast is a bit different I am joined by some guests who have made appearances on the show previously to discuss topical issues that are on their minds. On the panel this week is Mark O'Sullivan, Nick Levett, David Hinchliffe, Rob Grey and Andrew Wilson. Key themes covered include... Whether coaching using a mixed methods approach is actually just a cop out? What Ringo Starr can tell...

Alex Twitchen has spent all his life in coaching. It is something that he has been able to combine as a career and as a practitioner. He is passionate about learning and development and is as passionate about helping other coaches develop as he is about the development of the players he coaches. His most recent career move has seen him working in the 'University in the Cloud' so that he can bring...

Anastacia Long has had an amazing coaching journey. In this enthralling story (that is straight out of the Hollywood archives), she tells us all about her journey from going from being an elite high board diver to the novice rugby coach of a group of under 15 boys with no previous rugby experience and how they went all the way to the finals of England Rugby’s national schools’ competitions. In thi...

The Superbowl is coming this weekend!! As my excitement increases in the build up to the amazing global showcase of sporting endeavour and razzmatazz, I thought it was the perfect time to invite the human encyclopedia of all things movement skill in the NFL, Shawn Myszka (aka @movementmiyagi on Twitter) and author of the amazing blog 'Football Beyond the Stats' https://footballbeyondthestats.wordp...

Sarah Kelleher is the Head Coach of the England U18 Girls Field Hockey team. She is one of the most creative and playful coaches that I have ever had the pleasure to meet and coach with. We worked together in the England Hockey talent pathway and it was one of the highlights of my coaching journey so far. She brings creativity and joy to to everything she does, even the process to planning, sessio...

Professor Keith Davids is Professor of Motor Learning at the Centre for Sports Engineering Research at Sheffield Hallam University in the UK. Keith is one of the 'founding fathers' of the 'ecological approach' to skill acquisition and motor learning in sport. His research investigates the role constraints play on coordination tendencies in athletes and sports teams which he defines as 'complex ada...

Chris Panayiotou is the Global Technical Director for Rush Soccer, a worldwide soccer coaching network that has 50,000 players across the globe. Chris is originally from the UK and has been based in America for a number of years and has committed his coaching career to supporting other coaches within the Rush Community to improve and develop to provide the best possible experience for children in...

This week's podcast is the final one of 2018...hasn't the year flown by!! For this episode I asked some of the guests I have had on the show over the year to drop by for a little Christmas sin dig so that they could share their reflections and learnings from the year. It is a bit of a crazy whirlwind of a conversation with people coming and going and we cover a lot of ground but there is some gold...

This week's podcast is another experiment in sound recording. I am travelling in my car, Mark has just come out of the gym, Juan is in his office at school and John has just got back from taking the children to school. But we still managed to record a conversation!! You join us as we are planning our forthcoming conference 'The Future of Coaching' as we finalise how we are going to be delivering t...

Andrew Gillott describes himself as a Coach Developer. I would describe him as a genius learning architect. Andrew has been instrumental in leading and creating opportunities for coaches to learn and develop and his passion for learning and development has meant that he has led some of the most innovative and creative programmes of development for coaches up and down the UK talent system. In this...

Dr Amanda Visek is a researcher from George Washington University in the U.S as well as being an active sports coach and someone who is passionate about the role that sport can play to improve children's lives. Her research provides a fascinating look into what makes sport fun for children and the results will surprise you. In this super interesting conversation we delve into the way that she gath...

Scott McNeill is a Performance Coach Developer for GB Hockey, a Performance Director for the Canoe Association of Northern Ireland as well as a mentor for the Premier League. He has been part of a group of people that have led a transformation within GB Field Hockey to redevelop the player development system in line with the principles of Ecological Dynamics. In this fascinating conversation, Scot...

Richard Shorter has spent his life committed to supporting families to improve their communication and relationship dynamics. He set us www.non-perfectdad.co.uk to provide a space for sporting parents to help to navigate the dynamic world of sport for young people. In this illuminating and energising conversation Richard unloads 20 years of knowledge about the challenges of parenting into an hour...

Sergio Lara-Barcial has committed his life to improving the coaching experience for young people. As a coach, researcher and policy maker he is working hard to give himself and others more opportunities to learn, develop and improve. In this conversation we discuss his role as a national team coach and how he had to find strategies to ensure that the stress didn't affect him. He shares his researc...

Jack Shakespeare is the head of UK Active Kid a 'not for profit health body' that is focused on tackling the growing epidemic of inactivity among young people in the UK. In this conversation Jack and I explore the ways that they are taking a 'socio-ecological' approach to creating communities and environments that support young people into a more physically active life. This is a fascinating conve...

Sam Jarman is an ex professional golfer he is now a golf coach but his interests and knowledge go far wider than a single sport. I would describe Sam as a 'Human Experience Specialist'. In this episode we get deep into an exploration of what makes us human and how we operate in the world. Sam blows apart some common held ideas about how experience shapes us and proposes some ideas that could have...

Debbie Sayers is one of the founders of Salisbury Rovers. A youth football club that has taken the concept of 'child centred' sport to a new level. In this fascinating conversation we discover how the club came about, the approach that the coaches have taken to ensure that the children are benefiting from the best experience possible and why they have opted out of formal competition structures in...

Dr Don Vinson is a researcher and lecturer at Worcester University in England. He is also a practising coach who is working with the U16 England national girls hockey team and a damn fine bloke!! I dropped by to Don's office as i happened to be in his neck of the woods and was fortunate enough to find out that he had a free space open up in his diary and could spend some time with me talking about...

It's national Parents in Sport week!! https://thecpsu.org.uk/upcoming-events/parents-in-sport-week-2018/ So it is only fitting that I had a conversation with Gordon MacLelland of Working with Parents in Sport https://www.parentsinsport.co.uk . In this conversation I am actually being a sport parent and recording the podcast on my phone while watching my son play his first game of 'proper football'...

David Hinchliffe is back...and this time he has a list of topics to talk about!! In this episode we cover a lot of ground including, why English batsmen can't play spin bowling, the difference between teaching and coaching, why sport is still undervalued in society, why competition is killing children's sport. I will warn you now...it's a bit of a rant fest!! Hope you enjoy it. Become a supporter...

Peter Prickett is a coach that is passionate about the role that games can play in the child's sports experience. So much so that he has written a book that is dedicated to playing games. But not just any games...specifically 3 v 3 games as he believes that they offer the most representative football experience and provide the richest opportunities for learning. In this super interesting conversat...

Nick Heard is a teacher and coach that has committed to being the best he can be for his students and his athletes. He set up www.relentless-optimism.com in an attempt to convey a message to those in tasked with supporting young people to explore their potential are also striving to be the best they can be. Nick took time out of his holiday (you can hear the coffee machine in the background) to ha...

Dr Suzanne Brown is a clinical psychologist who is fascinated by the dynamics of human development. She is exploring the challenges faced by young athletes and supporting coaches and other leaders to develop environments where young people can thrive instead of just survive. In this fascinating conversation we discuss... - Why emotions are not a bad thing. It's just that society has labelled them...