UK Coaching Podcasts

Senior Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Science at the University of Gloucestershire Will Roberts, County Coach Developer at the Football Association Sally Needham and UK Coaching's Nick Levett explore a range of games-based approaches to coaching Being able to design practices that utilise games and support athletes' movement and thinking skills has the potential to accelerate learning and enjoymen...

Derek O'Riordan is a coaching partnership manager with sportscotland, a coach developer with Scottish Rugby and Hearts FC, as well as being deployed more broadly with sportscotland. In this podcast, Derek shares his perspectives on the current changes in coach development and coach education in Scotland. He explores several topics, including the need for an understanding of the socio-cultural infl...

Paddlesports athlete, Team Coach and Team Psychologist at Team GB Johnathan Males and Performance Coach Developer at England Netball Sarah Green explore the concept of a maverick and the impact they have on the people around them. What makes someone a maverick? Is a maverick jut the disruptive, audacious player who thinks the rules are for other people? Are some mavericks those athletes who see an...

High jumper-turned coach Simon Phelan, currently a sports coaching lecturer at Oxford Brookes University, joins UK Coaching’s Tom Hartley to discuss his research and his interest in coach development. Despite gaining a coaching qualification whilst he was still an athlete, and when injury pointed Simon towards the coaching pathway, he quickly realised he wasn’t fully ready to coach. His response w...

Giving advice and feedback is a critical part of coaching, and how we do that matters. It is natural to be apprehensive about having those honest conversations, but when carried out properly, they can be motivational, encouraging the people you coach to take ownership of personal goals, address problems on and off the field and enhance performance and teamwork. So how do you go about having those...

Coaches are often told that they need to review or reflect as part of the plan-do-review model, yet they may not be shown how to approach it. Have you ever wondered how you should reflect, and reflect well? It's not always a simple or easy process! In this session, UK Coaching's Mark Scott and Andy Bradshaw explore the topic of reflective practice and how to engage it in more effectively. Want to...

Rachel Lofthouse is a Professor of Teacher Education at the Carnegie School of Education and in this podcast she shares her insight into how teachers learn; how they can be supported to put that learning into practice, and she explores how this links to coach development. Presented by UK Coaching's Andrew Bradshaw, the podcast covers his and Rachel's discussion around coaching and mentoring in edu...

Following Michael Jordan and his Chicago Bulls teammates as they embarked on their journey towards their sixth NBA title, the Netflix series, The Last Dance, unraveled some of the behind the scenes footage and interviews from that fateful season. The series has captivated the world. UK Coaching’s Nick Levett and Jenny Coady (a former international basketball player and now coach) are joined by Reg...

UK Coaching’s Marianne Davies talks to Lucy Moore (Sport England) about the complexity of attempting to understand why there is a lack of female coaches, coach educators and coach developers in most sporting workforces. In this podcast, Marianne and Lucy discuss how a lack of female representation in the coaching workforce should be viewed as a ‘red flag’. What is happening in the wider coaching e...

Performance Nutritionist at Yorkshire Rugby Academy Sarah Chantler shares her knowledge and experience of sports nutrition with UK Coaching's Chris Chapman, exploring how nutrition fits into the holistic development of athletes. What are the dietary considerations for athletes on the move? Travelling creates additional challenges that can easily lead to unhealthy choices, so it’s important to enco...

The UK Coaching team and an expert panel explore the impact of building positive relationships with parents and the effect on athletes. Understanding and developing the relationship between coach, parent and athlete has the potential to transform your coaching environment and the experience of the people you coach. Join the UK Coaching team and an expert panel to explore the impact of building pos...

Most coaches have a network of people they trust and can call upon. The UK Coaching team explore ideas for growing your network. Most coaches have a network of people they trust and can call upon for advice, help and guidance. However, most of us don't harness it to maximum effect or plan the growth of it deliberately. In this session, the UK Coaching team explore ways to grow your network and to...

Olympian Adam Peaty's coach Mel Marshall considers how to develop an empowering environment that fosters greatness, all wrapped up in the importance of how to become the best coach you can be. How do you take someone from having a fear of water to becoming a world record-holding athlete and the fastest swimmer in the world? In this session, Olympian Adam Peaty's coach Mel Marshall explores how to...

Stuart Armstrong (The Talent Equation podcast) and Kendal McWade (Golf Coach) explore the concept of skill acquisition. To help people improve at their chosen activity, having some understanding of skill acquisition principles is essential. In this session, Stuart Armstrong (The Talent Equation podcast) and Kendal McWade (Golf Coach) explore the concept of skill acquisition and discuss practical s...

Jack Rolfe, founder of The Coaching Lab, and Darren Lamon, Academy Coach Development Officer and Head of Women’s Rugby at Sale Sharks, join the Club to discuss the use of games principles in coaching. It’s the question we possibly get asked most as coaches and leaders of sport and physical activity: 'but really, when are we going to play a game?'. In this session, Jack and Darren navigate the use...

  Reflecting on their discussion in the previous podcast, Kevin Till and Chris Chapman consider what talent identification can look like for a coach. Talent identification across a pathway is about preparing athletes for their long-term development – where are they likely to go in the sport over the next 10 or 15 years? Kevin talks through the performance model, which looks to understand the devel...

Performance Consultant Grant Downie joins UK Coaching’s Paul Thompson and Tim Hartley on the April 27 edition of the Curious Coaches’ Club. Often as coaches we don’t work alone; at many levels of sport and activity we are usually coaching in a pair or within a bigger team of coaches. Grant, who has worked with Manchester City and Cirque Du Soleil, among many others, discusses how creating the righ...

In this Curious Coaches’ Club, UK Coaching’s Head of Coaching, Nick Levett, is joined by pro footballer-turned head coach, Joey Barton, and ex-GB diver Georgia Davenport, now a talent coach. Dealing with change can be difficult and a big challenge for many people. With ex-elite athletes Joey and Georgina, we explore the changes experienced, the challenges overcome and all the learning in-between,...

Coach Developers Tom Hartley and Alan Rapley lead the April 14 Curious Coaches’ Club discussion on developing yourself, the coach, and developing your athletes. Do you sometimes struggle to find time to put your thoughts into actions? We know it can be a real challenge for all of us! This discussion shares ideas that could help solve this and provides some examples and strategies for practically d...

UK Coaching’s Paul Thompson is joined by colleagues Jenny Coady and Marianne Davies in this April 6 edition of the Curious Coaches’ Club. We know as coaches we can sometimes struggle to make time for our own learning and development. For many this proved even harder during lockdown, when all our normal routines and social networks were changed dramatically. This session focused on how we, as coach...

Join UK Coaching’s Mark Bateman and Andy Bradshaw for their Curious Coaches’ Club conversation about remote coaching. In this session, Mark and Andy share best practice and explore some of the essentials of working from home, discussing how you can support the people you coach despite the restrictions on movement. They also draw on some of the positive consequences of having to work in a different...

A professor of athletic development, vastly experienced strength and conditioning coach, and an expert in the field of talent identification, Kevin Till talks to UK Coaching's Chris Chapman about the role coaches, of all levels, have in athlete development. Everyone has an opinion on what talent looks like, so how can sport science be used to accurately support and understand potential? Coaches ne...

Pete Sturgess is the FA's National Lead Coach for the Foundation Phase (5-11 years) and in this Coach Developer Conversations with UK Coaching’s Senior Coach Developer Tom Hartley, he discusses the value of player-centred coaching and his approach to coach development. Pete has dedicated his coaching career to the development of foundation phase players. These young people are a 'mass' of potentia...

Sport England CEO Tim Hollingsworth and UK Coaching CEO Mark Gannon have joined together for a podcast to give their thoughts on the coronavirus situation from a coaching perspective. The gentlemen praised the innovative coaching practice that has kept the nation active during unprecedented social restrictions. The wide-ranging conversation, which was released during Mental Health Awareness Week a...

  What does an ‘ideal’ parents' meeting look like? Gordon MacLelland from Working With Parents in Sport joins Chris Chapman for the final time, to discuss parents' meetings. Gordon highlights that a successful parents' meeting is about more than just updating them on their child’s progress, it can lay the foundations for an enjoyable, successful season or year. It’s never an easy thing, to stand i...