The Sport Psych Show - TopPodcast.com

View Top 200 Chart

Back to Rankings Page

The Sport Psych Show — Amateur
The Sport Psych Show

Join Sport Psychologist, Dan Abrahams, on The Sport Psych Show as he aims to demystify sport psychology for players, coaches and parents by speaking with some of the most influential people in sports performance today. Dan is on a mission to learn more about how sport psychology philosophies, tools and techniques positively impact participation, progression and performance in sport. He wants to learn more about how to drive participation – what motivational tools engage players and inspire people to play and stay in their sport. He wants to explore how players can progress quicker and more effectively – what is great practice and training? And how does learning in sport really happen? Finally, he wants to hear what his guests have to say about the psychology of performance – how do they think players can improve their ability to high perform consistently under pressure? Discover simple and practical tools and techniques by listening in to Dan’s conversations with elite competitors, sports coaches, sport scientists, and psychologists.

Latest Episodes:

#179 Dr John Stoszkowski & Dr Danny Massaro - Thinking Critically Feb 21, 2022

Show notes

I speak with Dr John Stoszkowski and Dr Danny Massaro in this episode.

Danny is widely recognised as one of the best squash coaches in the United Kingdom. He coached his wife, world champion, Laura Massaro, for over 10 years, guiding her to world number 1.

Danny is a lecturer in Sports Coaching at the University of Central Lancashire. And just completed his PhD.

John was, up until very recently, a senior Lecturer at the University of Central Lancashire, leading a range of modules on the BSc Sports Coaching and Performance, BA Sports Coaching and Development, and MSc Sports Coaching programmes. In recognition of his contributions to teaching, John is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

He is research active with a particular interest in coach learning. John has just launched Think Space Academy, a new online cohort-based course.

We discuss the importance of critical thinking in sporting environments.

#178 Dr Fiona Leggat and Dr Sean Figgins - Understanding Problematic Players Feb 14, 2022

Show notes

I speak with Dr Fiona Leggat and Dr Sean Figgins in this episode.

Fiona is a Research Associate at Kingston and St Georges University London. She completed her MSc in Sport and Exercise Psychology at the University of Chichester and her PhD in Applied Health Psychology at St Mary's University. Fiona's academic interests include co-design, narrative pedagogy, rehabilitation psychology, implementation science and group dynamics.

Sean is a Senior Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Psychology and Research Methods at the University of Chichester. Sean's research focusses on the social psychology of groups in sport and exercise contexts, with a particular focus on leadership and group dynamics. His research has primarily focussed on how leaders inspire groups and individuals, as well as the personal and contextual factors that impact on this process.

We discuss in detail a brilliant paper that Fiona and Sean have written along with Dr Matthew Smith entitled 'Talented but Disruptive: An Exploration of Problematic Players in Sports Teams.

#177 Dr Nate Zinsser – The Confident Mind Feb 07, 2022

Show notes

I'm delighted to speak to sport and performance psychology expert, author, and speaker, Dr Nate Zinsser this week. Nate has been at the forefront of applied sport psychology for over thirty years. He is the director of West Point's prestigious Performance Psychology Program, a Certified Mental Performance Coach (CMPC) with the Association for Applied Sport Psychology and has a PhD in sport psychology from the University of Virginia. Nate has been a regular consultant to the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Giants for twelve seasons.

We discuss Nate's brand new book 'The Confident Mind: A Battle-Tested Guide to Unshakable Performance' in which he distils his research and years of experience, offering a fascinating guide to the science of confidence. The book provides readers with a practical, step-by-step programme to best harness their belief in themselves to achieve success in any field. The Confident Mind is a complete guide to confidence: how to understand it, how to build it, how to protect it, and how to rely upon it when your performance matters most.

#176 Dr Ed Coughlan – Embrace the Chaos! Jan 31, 2022

Show notes

I'm so excited to speak with the very first Sport Psych Show guest, Dr Ed Coughlan this week. Ed is widely acknowledged as one of the top skills coaches working in elite sport today. He is a senior lecturer at Munster Technological University and Research Lead in Skill Acquisition.

Ed has worked with a wide range of competitors and coaches including from the EIS, GB Shooting, UEFA, Chelsea FC, St Helen's Rugby League and with a number of golfers on the European Tour.

Ed has over 30 years coaching experience. We discuss how his coaching has changed over that time; being comfortable with not having all the answers for players; the ASPIRE model he and fellow researcher, Dr Paul Ford developed and Ed shares his top tips for coaches of teams for session design with skill acquisition in mind.

#175 Dr Michael Ashford - Decision Making Processes in Team Sports Jan 24, 2022

Show notes

I am delighted to be joined by Mike Ashford in this episode. Mike is a lecturer in Sport Coaching at Coventry University. His research interests include player and coach decision making, coach development and understanding how we can shape effective learning environments. Mike completed his PhD at Leeds Beckett University.

Mike is also a coach developer at Grey Matters, a company specialising in performance enhancement and coaching development for individuals, sporting/cultural organisations and systems.

Mike and I discuss two papers he has co-written along with Dr Andrew Abraham and Dr Jamie Poolton on decision making processes in team sports. We take a deep dive into these brilliant papers which can be found here https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.609127 and https://doi.org/10.3390/sports9050065

#174 Dr Bryan McCann – Perceived Influences on Player Motivation Jan 17, 2022

Show notes

I speak to BPS Chartered Sport and Exercise Psychologist and HCPC Practitioner Psychologist, Dr Bryan McCann in this episode. Bryan is a lecturer in Psychology at Glasgow Caledonian University. He is an active researcher interested in a range of sport and exercise psychology topics, in particular the social influences on motivation in sport and exercise contexts. In Bryan's previous role as a Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Science at Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen he led a range of innovative and award-winning projects.

Bryan has provided psychological support to a range of national, international and Olympic level athletes and teams in different sports, including football, golf, swimming, table tennis and skiing and has consulted for organisations such as the Scottish FA, The Camanachd Association, Scottish Swimming and Sport Scotland.

Bryan and I speak about a fascinating paper he has written about the perceived influence of coaches, parents and peers on players' motivation during development.

#173 Dr Matthew Schweickle – The Psychology of Clutch Performances Jan 10, 2022

Show notes

I'm delighted to speak to Dr Matthew Schweickle in this week's episode. Matt is a post-doctoral research associate at the University of Wollongong. Matt's particular area of interest is clutch performances and the psychology of what is happening during clutch performances when people are performing well under pressure.

We discuss in detail a fascinating paper that Matt wrote, along with Prof Christian Swann and Prof Stewart Vella which looks at objective and subjective performance indicators of clutch performances.

#172 Dr Scott Goldman – Flexible Thinking for a Competitive Mindset Dec 27, 2021

Show notes

I'm delighted to welcome back licensed clinical psychologist and sport psychologist, Dr Scott Goldman in this episode.

Scott started out at the University of Arizona where was one of the first embedded sport psychologists in an athletic department. He has since served as a clinical and performance psychologist for the University of Michigan and Saint Louis' Athletic Departments. Scott also helped co-author the best practices for the NCAA and was part of their first mental health task force.

Scott has worked as sport psychologist for the Miami Dolphins and Detroit Lions NFL teams and NBA teams Washington Wizards, and currently the Golden State Warriors.

Scott has also developed a test called the AIQ which measures sport-specific intelligence that is used across all 5 major leagues in the US as well as in other countries around the world.

#171 Dr Amy Whitehead & Jenny Coe – Myths of Sport Coaching Dec 20, 2021

Show notes

I speak with Dr Amy Whitehead and Jenny Coe in this episode. Amy is a Reader in Sport Psychology and Coaching and teaches across the Sport Coaching, Physical Education and Sport Psychology programmes at Liverpool John Moores University. Amy is a BPS accredited sport and exercise psychologist and has worked for organisations such as St. Helen's RFC, British Cycling, the FA, Professional league and non-league football and European Tour Golfers.

Jenny is head of performance and well-being at West Ham United Women's Team. Jenny has been involved with elite sport for most of her life, having played as a guard in basketball for Ireland and WIT Wildcats before joining UK Coaching in 2018, where she supported coaches across 13 high-performance Olympic sports on their respective journeys.

Jenny and Amy have edited the newly released 'Myths of Sport Coaching' and it's this fascinating book that we discuss.

#170 Dr Oliver Runswick – Motor Development and Anticipation Dec 13, 2021

Show notes

I speak with Dr Oliver Runswick in this episode. Ollie is a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Performance Psychology at King's College London. His research focuses on understanding and enhancing learning and performance in domains including sport, dance, education, and the military. Prior to joining King's Ollie worked as a Senior Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Psychology and Programme Co-ordinator at The University of Chichester and as an Evening Lecturer in 'The Brain: Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience' at Imperial College London. He has received a first-class BSc in Sport and Exercise Science from Swansea University, MSc in Human Movement Science from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, PGCHE from St Mary's University, and PhD from Liverpool Hope University where he studied perceptual-motor skills based with St Mary's University's Expertise and Skill Acquisition Research Group.

Related Podcasts