The Young Player Wellbeing Podcast

Do not worry, I (brad obviously) have returned from Vietnam to facilitate all of your wellbeing podcast needs. In this episode, we provide an overview of our first season working in Scottish football as part of the young player wellbeing academy (formally programme) designed by Care Visions. We share our thoughts on what we thought the programme would involve before the season started, as well as...

In this week's episode we challenge you to keep count of all the times we use the words 'group' or 'identity'! Identity is a theme that has been brought up consistently during previous episodes and notably by our guests as well. This is a topic that is crucial in both sport and our lives in general. Therefore, we thought that it was about time we spent an episode explaining ide...

In this week's episode we are joined by Strength and Conditioning coach Lucas Forrester. Lucas has a vast amount of experience supporting athletes, helping them develop and improve their performance. During this episode we have some fantastic conversations around Mindfulness (again!), pushing comfort zones, developing our identity, trusting the process and much more! Want to find out more or g...

In this week's episode we are joined by Wycombe Wanderers Midfielder David Wheeler. David started out at Brighton’s academy in his hometown then played in non-league while studying sports science at Brunel University and while he is currently at Wycombe he has had stints with Exeter City, Portsmouth, MK Dons and QPR. Alongside being a regular starter in the Wycombe side David has also complete...

Join us on this week's episode where we have a very special and specialised guest on the show discussing all thing's injury. Bradley Steedman has worked with Dundee United, Rangers and now currently Burnley as a physiotherapist. On the episode Bradley shares his expert knowledge with us while also allowing for key insights into how full time academy footballers recover from injury. We hope...

This week Antonio and Brad had the absolute pleasure of having Ryan Stirton on as a guest for the podcast. During this episode, Ryan shares his experiences from the elite youth football world and the challenges he faced. Additionally, as an online performance lifestyle coach working with semi professional footballers he offered some fantastic advice to young players in relation to strength trainin...

On this unique episode, we spend time reflecting on some of the key nuggets of wisdom that our guests have provided us with during our recordings. Join us as we discuss the importance of these insights and some of the key takeaways points. At each talking point a clip will be played from a previous guest - Paul Di Giacamo ('Giaco'), Craig Clark, Paul Dixon or Murray Mackintosh - before we...

This week we are covering resilience. Robot voice AKA Louis has finally got his mic working properly and is celebrating by playing the role of host for this week's podcast. Join the usual crew as we discuss resilience, explaining the difference between mental toughness and resilience as well as why the term toughness can be so detrimental towards our wellbeing plus much more. Shout out to our...

In part 2 we continue our chat with Murray and learn more about his football career, including his big move to Australia. Toni decides he has bigger plans than the podcast so isn't available for part 2 (benched for the next one). Also on this episode, Murray tells us about his return to Rugby park with Forfar FC and a (big time) phone call he received which lured him to Brechin City FC. Brad l...

This week we are on our best behaviour as we are joined by special guest, Murray Mackintosh. That being said we do discover that Brad's team was the only one that made Murray see red when growing up! Murray's journey in football and life has been a great example of what a successful career in football can look like. Join us as we take a dive into Murray's journey and understand how he...

In line with the Easter holidays, we thought we'd take the chance to talk about 'recharging our batteries'. In the midst of all this, Louis' voice sounds like Robocop, Vicky reveals her streak (headspace not snapchat), Brad (the master of burnout apparently) throws up at school, and Toni starts banging on about the 'Energiser bunny'. Other highlights include Toni completely...

In this episode we talk about the importance of being adaptable. We also talk about a stress bucket (???), Gregg's sausage rolls (for the 3rd time), avoiding training legs cause you've got a dodgy ankle and getting skinned by a 5's team full of old guys wearing Samba's. Enjoy! The serious bit: Everyday there are numerous situations we will find ourselves in where we have to adapt....

Over the last few months we have noticed some key skills consistently being brought up in the topics that we discuss and cover. In the week's podcast we wanted to explain how these skills overlap into the different topics and why. 

This week we discuss Leadership on and off the pitch. Developing Leadership skills can also help you develop other vital areas that are important not just in sport but everyday life as well. Join us as we discuss the importance of leadership and how we can develop our leadership skills. 

This week we discuss confidence on and off the pitch. Confidence is a crucial part of everyday life and a skill which can be developed over time. We refer to confidence building strategies we have learned as trainee sport and exercise psychologists but also draw on our own experiences.  Talking Points (with time stamps): 1. Intro to podcast and programme (00:00 - 00:54) 2. Intro to confidence...

This week on the podcast we talk about flow states and the importance of finding our flow. We also offer some tips on how to induce flow while pulling on our own experiences. Talking points (with time stamps): 1. Intro to the podcast and programme (0:00 - 00:50) 2. Defining "Flow" (00:55 - 3:10) 3. Our own experiences of being in "the flow" (3:18 - 8:20) 4. The importance of Arousal levels in rega...

This week on the podcast we talk about the power positivity can have on our wellbeing and performance. We also offer some tips on how to stay positive based on our own experiences. Talking Points (with time stamps) 1. Intro to podcast and programme (00:00 - 00:55) 2. What is positivity? Why is it important? (00:57 - 03:57) 3. Toxic positivity and individual differences (03:58 - 11:08) 4. Positive...

Hi there, we are Wellbeing coaches at Care Visions working as part of a programme focussed on helping Academy footballers develop a deeper understanding of themselves, how their choices impact their wellbeing and affect their ability to perform on the football pitch. We wanted to start producing weekly podcasts on the topics we are covering with our players. This is in order to not only allow our...

Hi there, we are Wellbeing coaches at Care Visions working as part of a programme focussed on helping Academy footballers develop a deeper understanding of themselves, how their choices impact their wellbeing and affect their ability to perform on the football pitch. We wanted to start producing weekly podcasts on the topics we are covering with our players. This is in order to not only allow our...

Hi there, we are Wellbeing coaches at Care Visions working as part of a programme focussed on helping Academy footballers develop a deeper understanding of themselves, how their choices impact their wellbeing and affect their ability to perform on the football pitch. We wanted to start producing weekly podcasts on the topics we are covering with our players. This is in order to not only allow our...

Hi there, we are Wellbeing coaches at Care Visions working as part of a programme focussed on helping Academy footballers develop a deeper understanding of themselves, how their choices impact their wellbeing and affect their ability to perform on the football pitch. We wanted to start producing weekly podcasts on the topics we are covering with our players. This is in order to not only allow our...

Hi there, we are Wellbeing coaches at Care Visions working as part of a programme focussed on helping Academy footballers develop a deeper understanding of themselves, how their choices impact their wellbeing and affect their ability to perform on the football pitch. We wanted to start producing weekly podcasts on the topics we are covering with our players. This is in order to not only allow our...

Hi there, we are Wellbeing coaches at Care Visions working as part of a programme focussed on helping Academy footballers develop a deeper understanding of themselves, how their choices impact their wellbeing and affect their ability to perform on the football pitch. We wanted to start producing weekly podcasts on the topics we are covering with our players. This is in order to not only allow our...

Hi there, we are Wellbeing coaches at Care Visions working as part of a programme focussed on helping Academy footballers develop a deeper understanding of themselves, how their choices impact their wellbeing and affect their ability to perform on the football pitch. We wanted to start producing weekly podcasts on the topics we are covering with our players. This is in order to not only allow our...

Hi there, we are Wellbeing coaches at Care Visions working as part of a programme focussed on helping Academy footballers develop a deeper understanding of themselves, how their choices impact their wellbeing and affect their ability to perform on the football pitch. We wanted to start producing weekly podcasts on the topics we are covering with our players. This is in order to not only allow our...