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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:

#119 Dr Lisa Feldman Barrett - Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain (That Every Coach Should Know) Dec 07, 2020

Show notes

I'm honoured to speak with Dr Lisa Feldman Barrett in this episode. Lisa is a University Distinguished Professor at Northeastern University with appointments at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. She is among the top 1% most cited scientists in the world for her revolutionary research in psychology and neuroscience.

Lisa is also author of several books including her latest "Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain" in which she demystifies that big grey blob between your ears. Lisa and I take an in depth look at this phenomenal book and how it relates to sports coaching, learning and performance.

#118 Tom Young - The Making of a Leader Nov 30, 2020

Show notes

I'm excited to speak with sport psychologist Tom Young in this episode. Tom completed his Master's at Liverpool John Moores University and has subsequently worked as a chartered psychologist in both business and sport, predominantly golf and football (soccer).

Tom has always had an interest in leadership and culture and has recently published the brilliant book "The Making of a Leader: What Elite Sport can Teach us About Leadership, Management and Performance" which shares the practical principles of sustained elite performance and shows how any individual can add value to their own business or organisation by applying these insights. During our conversation we explore the book chapter by chapter.

#117 Dan Clements - Action Research: Coach Development Through Appreciative Inquiry Nov 23, 2020

Show notes

I'm delighted to speak with Dan Clements in this episode. Dan works in elite coach development, currently at The Welsh Rugby Union. Prior roles include Head of Performance at Wales Hockey and Performance Coach Manager at Wales Rugby League.

Dan has co-written a fascinating paper entitled 'Coach development through collaborative action research: enhancing the learning environment within a national talent development system'.

We take an in depth look at this paper and discuss action research; appreciative inquiry; the positivity principle and the intriguingly named 'provocative proposition'.

#116 Dr Pippa Grange - How to Fear Less Nov 16, 2020

Show notes

I'm excited to speak with Dr Pippa Grange in this episode. Pippa is a sport psychologist and culture coach and has worked in the areas of culture, psychology, ethics and leadership, primarily in elite sport. She held the position of Head of People and Team Development at The Football Association, helping the England team reach the semi-final of the 2018 World Cup. She is currently head of cultural strategy at Right to Dream, which places emphasis on flipping the script on women's football.

And Pippa has written a book, Fear Less: How to Win at Life Without Losing Yourself which shows all of us how, by starting to live with less fear, we can find our real passions and deeper fulfilment.

And it's this book we mainly focus on during this conversation, specifically we speak about scarcity narrative; 'in the moment fear', 'not good enough fear'; distorted fear; and 'see it, face it, replace it'.

#115 Rebecca Symes - Beyond Sport: The Importance of Multiple Identities Nov 09, 2020

Show notes

I'm delighted to speak with sport psychologist Rebecca Symes in this episode. Rebecca works with elite and professional athletes to enhance performance and wellbeing. She is currently psychologist for GB women's Hockey. Rebecca also runs her own consultancy, Sporting Success, which has seen her work with clients including Surrey County Cricket Club, Archery GB; England and Wales Cricket Board; and England Athletics. Her work with Archery GB has taken her to two Paralympics. She has also held roles at the FA across the men's and women's pathways.

We speak about personal and athletic identity; the impact of language; identity foreclosure; psychological recovery; and career transitions.

#114 Prof Laurence Alison - Communication That Builds Rapport Nov 02, 2020

Show notes

I'm delighted to speak with Professor Laurence Alison in this episode. Laurence is Chair of Forensic and Investigative Psychology at Liverpool University. He is a leader in forensic psychology, and specialises in the most difficult interactions imaginable: criminal interrogations. He advises and trains the police, security agencies, the FBI and the CIA on how to deal with extremely dangerous suspects.

After 30 years' work Laurence, along with fellow Forensic Psychologist and wife, Emily Alison, has written the brilliant book Rapport: The Four Ways to Read People.

And it's the central premise of the book that we focus on in this episode, looking at what rapport is; how to develop it; how to have great conversations; the HEAR principles - Honesty; Empathy, Autonomy and Reflection; the role of power; self-awareness; and the 3 key components to building expertise in rapport.

#113 Cath Bishop - The Search for a Better Way to Succeed Oct 26, 2020

Show notes

I'm delighted to speak with Cath Bishop in this episode. Cath is a former Olympic rower, competing at Atlanta, Sydney and Athens. Cath now works in leadership development, working with teams and leaders to help organisations be more effective. She has also written the fantastic new book entitled 'The Long Win: The Search for a Better Way to Succeed' which explores "…our cultural obsession with winning and how it affects the way we approach work, sport, education and beyond." In the book, Cath looks at some of the consequences of a win-at-all-costs approach and proposes a new way of redefining success.

And it's this book we mainly speak about, specifically focusing on the process rather than on winning; valuing athletes as people first; athletes having something more than just their sport; finding a balance between competition and cooperation.

#112 Dr Sergio Lara-Bercial - Serial Winning Coaches Oct 19, 2020

Show notes

I'm excited to speak with Dr Sergio Lara-Bercial in this episode. Sergio is a Reader in Sport Coaching at Leeds Beckett University and the International Council for Coaching Excellence (ICCE). He has also coached different sports for the past 25 years, primarily basketball, coaching in the English Women First Division and Team GB, going to five European Championships.

Sergio, along with University of Queensland's Associate Professor Cliff Mallet, led a fascinating study "The practices and developmental pathways of professional and Olympic serial winning coaches" in which they interviewed 14 serial winning coaches and 21 of their athletes from 9 countries and 11 sports. And it's this study we mainly focus on, specifically "driven benevolence"; work/life balance and avoiding burnout; perfectionism; 20/20 vision; and emotional stability.

#111 Dr Joe Dixon - The Psychology of Soccer Oct 12, 2020

Show notes

I speak with Dr Joe Dixon in this episode. Joe is performance psychologist for Bath Rugby Club and also for Stoke City Football Club.

Joe has co-edited and also contributed a chapter to a new book entitled The Psychology of Soccer which seeks to present the detailed understanding of the theories underpinning the psychological issues relating to soccer, along with practical insights into effective psychological interventions and strategies. And it's this book that we focus on during this episode. Specifically, challenge and threat states; approach versus avoidance focus; can athletes in a threat state still perform well?

#110 Kit Holder - Focus, Flow and Attentional Cues Oct 05, 2020

Show notes

I'm delighted to speak with professional ballet dancer and choreographer, Kit Holder in this episode. Kit is first soloist at the Birmingham Royal Ballet where he has danced for 20 years. He trained at The Royal Ballet School in London and is currently studying psychology.

We speak about the psychology of ballet and its parallels with sport, specifically, skill acquisition; attentional cues, lost move syndrome; flow; the importance of having multiple identities; pre-performance routines; and the need for sport psychology in the demanding discipline of ballet.

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