University of Staffordshire's Performing Under Pressure Podcast

This episode contains a trigger warning - see episode description below... Dr Andrew Wood is a HCPC registered sport psychologist with a specific interest in Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy. He has worked with many businesses and teams as well as previously holding lecturer positions at the University of Staffordshire and Manchester Metropolitan University. Joining Dr Paul Mansell in the studio...

Kelly Massey is a former 400m and relay athlete who has represented Team GB at the Olympics, World Championships, European Championships, and Commonwealth Games earning multiple medals throughout her career. Alongside her many years at the training ground, Kelly also taught Physical Education and Dance full-time at secondary school level. Now, Kelly lectures at Liverpool Johns Moores University wh...

Rhian Cleverly is a defender for Rugby Borough Women FC. She has previously played in the WSL, Championship, and she has been capped for Wales. Rhian also has a master's degree in sport and exercise psychology. In this episode, Rhian describes the routines that she adopts to aid performance under pressure and how she is able to bounce back from adversity. There is a focus on the culture that has b...

Kate Richardson-Walsh was the captain of Team GB women's hockey side that triumphed at the Rio 2016 games. She's been capped a record 375 times for her country. Kate was awarded an MBE in 2016, an OBE in 2017, and was nominated for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 2016. Alongside guest co-host for this episode Helen Richardson-Walsh, Kate and Helen were the first same sex married couple t...

Dr Karla Drew is a Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Psychology at the University of Staffordshire. She is a former Team GB heptathlete and since retiring, has gone on to complete her HCPC sport psychologist accreditation. In this episode, Dr Paul Mansell and co-host Nika Pavic facilitated a conversation with Karla about her experiences across those three different domains. Karla explained her recent...

Ben Williams is a triple jumper who represented Team GB at the Tokyo Olympic Games. The Staffordshire-based athlete is also the former World Youth Champion. In this episode, he joins host Dr Paul Mansell and co-host Meg Baldwin to discuss his approach to performing under pressure. Ben describes the importance of having a coach who you can trust, as well as the criteria for people to be in his inne...

Dr Phil Clarke is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Derby and a HCPC registered sport psychologist who has worked in over 30 different sports. Phil joined hosts Dr Paul Mansell and Jason Wright to discuss performance under pressure through the lens of his research and applied practice. Much of Phil's published work has centred around 'choking under pressure' and 'the yips'. Phil explains the...

Mark Roberts joined Dr Paul Mansell and Dr Katie Sparks in the studio to discuss performing and leading under pressure. Mark has played 700 games in his professional football career and has represented clubs including Fleetwood Town, Stevenage and Cambridge United. He captained Fleetwood and Stevenage to promotions and won the FA Trophy with Stevenage during their rapid ascent up the Football Leag...

Greg Leigh has represented Jamaica on over 20 occasions including playing in the Copa America. He began his career at Manchester City's academy and has since played for numerous clubs including Bury, Bradford City, Aberdeen, Ipswich Town, and Oxford United. In this episode, he explains to Dr Paul Mansell and Dr Andrew Wilkinson about how psychology influences his performance. Greg outlines the rol...

Nicky Forster has had a career in professional football spanning over 700 games and has scored over 200 goals for clubs including Reading, Brighton and Hove Albion, Brentford, and Birmingham City to name a few. He now works as a goal setting coach and keynote speaker (https://nickyforster.com). Dr Paul Mansell and Professor Matt Slater hear Nicky's thoughts on leadership, staying motivating in the...

Robbie Udberg is the former Head of Player Development and Performance at Chelsea Women FC and now is the Co-Director of CHX Challenge and CHX Performance. Having had more than a decade of experience in performance at the top level of the game, he is well placed to describe the role of leadership in performing under pressure. Speaking with host Dr Paul Mansell, Robbie explains the importance of th...

Danny Schofield is our guest on this episode. Joining us all the way from Australia where he is currently coaching in the A-League and Asian Champions League, Danny explains some of the key features of his coaching style to Dr Paul Mansell and Sam Westley. Danny also has experience of coaching in the UK and is the former Head Coach of Huddersfield Town and Doncaster Rovers. Danny draws on his expe...

Adam Evans is the CEO of Staffordshire Football Association - an organisation with over 1,700 teams, 30,000 players and 800 referees. An episode focused very much on leadership and culture, Adam explains to Professor Matt Slater and Dr Paul Mansell about how he is creating a culture that can drive the organisation forward. Using Matt's experience in leadership and togetherness, a social identity l...

Joining Dr Paul Mansell for this episode is Luton Town and Scotland forward Jacob Brown. Jacob is approaching 300 professional appearances including spells at Barnsley, Chesterfield and Stoke City. Recorded at Luton Town's training ground, Jacob is very candid about how psychology influences his performance. He reflects on how a serious injury changed the way he thought about his career beyond bei...

Professor Andy Lane is our guest in the studio as we discuss his applied work and research in performance and wellbeing in athletes. Joining hosts Dr Paul Mansell and Dr Karla Drew, we discuss self-efficacy in performance, how to cope psychologically with endurance events, and the importance of creating interest and engagement in applied work. Based at The University of Wolverhampton, Andy describ...

In this episode, Dr Paul Mansell is joined by sport psychology academic and practitioner Dr Sofie Kent. Sofie is a Senior Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Psychology at Leeds Beckett University and has an excellent track record of publishing peer-reviewed articles about performing under pressure. Sofie's published work includes topics such as assessing performance under pressure, career transitions...

Mackenzie Cherry is our guest in this special international episode of the Performing Under Pressure podcast that was recorded at the University of Porto. Mackenzie is a defender for Portuguese top-flight outfit Valadares Gaia. A team looking to challenge the traditional big teams in women's football in Portugal such as Benfica, Mackenzie describes her journey from college football in America to P...

Melissa Dhillon is a performance psychologist and owner of Athletes in the Zone. She has experience of working with Aston Villa FC, Birmingham City FC, Salford City FC, the LTA and with corporate clients such as Julius Baer and Circle Rehabilitation. In this episode, she reveals to Dr Paul Mansell some of the strategies she finds to be effective when working with athletes, and how this might diffe...

Lee Burch is the Manager of Rugby Borough Women Football Club. Aiming for promotion to the second tier of women's football, Rugby Borough are an upwardly mobile club, typified by their progress on and off the pitch. Lee has managed in the Women's Super League and the Championship and is a UEFA A License holder. Speaking with Dr Paul Mansell and Dr Katie Sparks, Lee describes how he uses routines t...

In our final episode of series 1, we had the pleasure of chatting to Chris Shambrook. It was double delight as we welcomed Dr Martin Turner back into the studio as co-host for this episode, too. Chris is an inspiring guy with an amazing amount of experience as a psychology practitioner across a range of contexts. Chris has worked at 5 Olympic games supporting one of Team GB’s most enduringly succe...

Professor Tracey Devonport from the Univeristy of Wolverhampton joined Dr Paul Mansell in the studio to discuss her knowledge and experiences of performance under pressure. Tracey is a HCPC registered sport psychologist and has had an extensive research career with over 100 publications to her name. In this episode, there is a focus on the role of mentoring in facilitating performance under pressu...

Ryan Cockbill is a Paralympic shooter and has taken part in four Paralympic Games dating back to London 2012. In 2022, he won a silver medal the European Championships and a bronze at the World Championships. In this episode, he describes to Dr Paul Mansell and Dr Katie Sparks about how he focuses to perform well in a sport that demands precision and control. This includes the need for automaticit...

Luther James-Wildin is a defender for League One Stevenage and has made over 250 appearances in his career. He joined Dr Paul Mansell and ex-Plymouth Argyle striker Jake Jervis in the studio to discuss several topics that relate to performance under pressure. Luther is also the Founder and CEO of Wildin Ventures Ltd and the Players Property Partners, and an important topic of conversation was the...

Azeem Amir is a footballer for the England men's blind team. In this episode, he tells Dr Paul Mansell and Dr Joe Dixon about his journey into football, his business ventures that seek to help others learn more about disabilities, and his pride in representing his country at the European and World Championships. Azeem utilises many strategies to facilitate performance under pressure such as choosi...

Josh Gordon is a forward for Walsall and has had a really interesting journey to becoming a professional footballer. Whilst completing his undergraduate degree at the University of Staffordshire, Josh was playing non-league football for clubs such as Stafford Rangers and Nantwich Town when current Premier League Champions Leicester City came calling. He has since represented Barrow and Burton Albi...