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Two sports and exercise psychologists (in training) chat with Olympians, professional athletes, esports players & coaches to better understand the crucial role the mind plays in (e)sport performance and how they cope with the mental demands of competing at the elite level. Providing high-level competitors with a voice and inspiring listeners.
Episodes
Sunday Feb 06, 2022
Sunday Feb 06, 2022
Today we welcome Joey Hewitt to the podcast 🏀 !
✅Topics Discussed:
🏀Catch up since we last spoke in Part 1
🇲🇽 Joey’s experience playing high level basketball in Mexico & adapting to the culture & language
🤕 His injury experience whilst playing in Mexico
🧠 Psychological qualities he believes makes a successful basketball player
🏀 Some NBA chat & his thoughts on the Warriors who are currently performing extremely well as a team
Sunday Jan 02, 2022
Sunday Jan 02, 2022
Today we welcome double Paralympian & 5x time Paralympic medalist, Isis Holt, to the podcast 🇦🇺.! ✅Topics Discussed:
🏃♀️How Isis got into professional sports
🧠Sheds light on her condition (cerebral palsy) & how it affects her sporting performance & daily life
🏆Winning & breaking the world record in her first major competition in Doha (2015)
⏱What it was like to consistently break world records from 2015-2018 (aged 14,15,16)
🗣Why it was important for her to take a break from competing in 2018 for a couple of years to focus on herself & her studies (aged 17)
🇧🇷First Olympic experience in Rio in 2016 & winning 2 silver medals
🇯🇵What it was like competing at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics & winning silver + how important this delay of the Olympics helped her better prepare
🧠Psychological strategies & techniques she used before & during competition + the work she has done with her sport psychologist
🔮Her future plan & aspirations
Sunday Dec 19, 2021
Sunday Dec 19, 2021
Today we welcome professional Rugby 7s Rugby player as well as Team GB and England captain, Tom Mitchell , to the podcast 🏴🇬🇧.
🏉How Tom got into the sport of rugby.
📚 How studying a university degree whilst playing was hugely important for him as it enabled him to develop a wider identity than just that of being a rugby player.
🏉Key differences between Rugby 7s & Rugby Union + the physical & psychological of Rugby 7s players tend to endure.
🤕Tom’s experiences with injury & how he managed to cope with these difficult periods.
🇧🇷What it was like competing at his first Olympics, particularly as the sport of Rugby 7s was making its debut at the Olympics + thoughts of coming short of picking a gold medal.
🇯🇵Experience of competing at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics & explains how he coped with the Games being delayed a year.
🗣 Psychological skills Tom believes make a successful Rugby 7s captain & player
🔮Tom about his future projects & ambitions.
Monday Dec 13, 2021
Monday Dec 13, 2021
Today we welcome professional Archer, Bryony Pitman, to the podcast. ✅Topics Discussed:
🏹How Bryony got into Archery & how important her father was in introducing her to the sport (being an ex-professional Team GB Archer himself).
💪🏻Sheds light on the different elements of training a professional archer undertakes on a weekly basis.
👨👧 The dynamics of being coached by her father & how this father-daughter coaching relationship has been so successful.
🥇🥉Bryony then takes us through her exciting 2019 year where she won both Bronze at the World Championships and Gold at the European Games after having successfully qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
📚How she managed to balance studying a university degree with her professional archery career.
🧠Psychological qualities she believes make a successful archer.
📖 The importance of imagery & journaling & how it helps her manage her thoughts & emotions before and after competitions.
🧠Qualities Bryony looks for in a sport psychologist.
Sunday Dec 05, 2021
Sunday Dec 05, 2021
Today we welcome professional shot-putter, Scott Lincoln, to the podcast.✅Topics Discussed:
🧱How Scott managed to balance working a full-time job as a bricklayer & his professional career as an athlete.
📆The couple of months leading up to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, being a rollercoaster journey as Scott was initially struggling to find some form until he successfully qualified for the Olympics.
🧠Scott’s experience of working with a sport psychologist & how helpful it has been for him to remain calm & perform optimally during competitions.
😍His first Olympic experience & how he best prepared himself for this major event.
🗣His relationship with his coach, being a huge source of motivation & an important figure for him in & outside of sport.
🎯Some of his goals & ambitions he hopes to achieve now that he has competed at his first Olympics.
Wednesday Dec 01, 2021
Wednesday Dec 01, 2021
Today we welcome professional Futsal player and England captain, Raoni Medina, to the podcast. ✅Topics Discussed:
🇵🇹Experience of sharing the pitch with Ricardo Quaresma & Cristiano Ronaldo at Sporting Lisbon’s academy.
🏴 Raoni's arrival in England where he decided to pursue a futsal career & the FA wanted him to play for England but couldn’t as he did not yet have a British passport.
🏴Coping with the criticisms about him representing & captaining England despite not being born here.
🗣How he was as a captain & how he managed to get the best out of the team.
🧠Techniques he used before games to prepare mentally & the work he has done with a sport psychologist & how much it helped him as an athlete.
⚽️Coping with recently retiring from futsal.
Sunday Nov 21, 2021
Sunday Nov 21, 2021
Today we welcome sports physiotherapist, Glenn Vercauteren, to the podcast.✅Topics Discussed:
🗣Glenn’s journey & what it was like growing being the son of Belgian ex-pro footballer/manager, Franky Vercauteren.
🇷🇺His experience working at FCKS Samara & the numerous cultural differences to he encountered.
🇧🇪Working at Royal Union St-Gilloise where his role at the club went far beyond providing physiotherapy services & due to him having his UEFA coaching B license, he was able to support the coaching staff too.
🟣Working at RSC Anderlcht with players such as Samir Nasri, Nacer Chadli, Alexis Salemaekers, Adrien Trebel & Jeremy Doku.
🧠Experience working alongside Anderlecht's sport psychologist & how useful it was when trying to support players who were going through difficult periods & with the stressors he was experiencing as a staff member.
🇸🇦Experience working in Saudi Arabia for Al Fateh FC & how he has adapted to the culture.
Sunday Nov 14, 2021
Sunday Nov 14, 2021
Today we welcome professional Belgian high jumper, Claire Orcel, to the podcast.✅Topics Discussed:
🏃♀️How Claire got into high jump.
🗣How important her coach, Thierry Briquemont, has been in shaping her as an athlete & as a person, having been there since the very beginning.
🏆Claire’s experience of achieving her PB of 1.94m.
😓Her disappointment for not making it at the recent Tokyo 2020 Olympics, missing out by 1 place.
🧘♀️Her opinions on the most important psychological qualities she believes make a successful high jumper as well as some psychological techniques she uses prior to competition.
🧠The type of work she is doing with her sport psychologist.
✈️ Realities of travelling to competitions around Europe & how mentally draining it can be for an athlete.
Monday Nov 08, 2021
Monday Nov 08, 2021
Today we welcome professional boxer Macauley Owen to the podcast.✅Topics Discussed:
🥊How Macauley was introduced to boxing & how he used the sport to channel the anger & energy he had when he was younger.
🎓What it was like being a student athlete after having been granted a scholarship from Coventry University.
💪🏻The challenges of balancing university & boxing throughout his degrees.
🦠 How he managed to cope mentally with the pandemic which paused his progression to reach the pro scene & how he used it to improve as an athlete.
🏆 What it was like competing in his first professional fight which recently took place.
🧠Psychological qualities he thinks are necessary in order to become a successful boxer & some psychological techniques he tried to use (e.g., pre-performance routines) before a fight.
🗣The work he has done in the past with various sport psychologists.
Tuesday Nov 02, 2021
Tuesday Nov 02, 2021
Today we welcome ex-Arsenal & Watford Youth Foundation Phase coach and current Assistant Head of Coaching (U8s-U12s) at Crystal Palace, Paul Barry to the podcast.✅Topics Discussed:
🗣Paul’s journey of becoming a Premier League team youth coach
⚽️How becoming a parent has hugely impacted the way Paul coaches and to better understand how young people think and behave when in certain situations.
👦Paul then talks about the importance of helping young players develop a growth mindset through his coaching
⚖️Paul’s coaching philosophy and some values he strongly adheres to
👨👦The important role parents have on their talented young footballers development (Paul provides tips for what parents should and should not do / say or not say after a game if they are to support their child the best they can)
🔴Arsenal’s deselection process and how they support players by organising trials and offer psychological support.
🧠We then go onto to talk about Paul’s personal experience of seeing a sport psychologist and how valuable it has been for him during his career, even as a coach.