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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:

#78 Dr Scott Goldman - Measuring Athletic Intelligence Feb 24, 2020

Show notes

In this week's episode I welcome back Dr Scott Goldman. I asked Scott back on the show to speak about the Athletic Intelligence Quotient (AIQ) which he created together with Dr Jim Bowman when they both received training at the Albert Ellis Institute in New York. The AIQ is an intelligence test that assesses the innate cognitive abilities that are most utilised in attaining, developing, and applying athletic skills, strategies, and tactics.

The AIQ has over 6000 professional elite athletes in its database covering all 5 major leagues in the US as well as Olympic training facilities and an English Premier League team. We take an in depth look into the AIQ, how it works and what the outcomes mean for individuals and teams.

#77 Dr Scott Goldman - Supporting Elite Performers Feb 17, 2020

Show notes

I'm excited to be speaking with Dr Scott Goldman in this episode. Scott is Director of High Performance Psychology for one of the NFL teams in the US. He provides psychological support and expertise to the team, Head Coach, General Manager, and Vice President. Scott has served as a clinical and performance psychologist for the University of Michigan, Arizona, and Saint Louis' Athletic Departments. In 2018, he was elected President of the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP), an international, multidisciplinary organisation with over 2,500 members across 55 countries.

We speak about the range of support around an athlete; different styles of coaching; psychological safety; and the role of luck.

#76 Rob Cooper - Giving Yourself Permission to be Great Feb 10, 2020

Show notes

I'm speaking with Rob Cooper in this episode. Rob is Head Coach of Penn State University baseball. A former college baseball player himself, Rob went on to complete a psychology degree at the University of Miami where he also played and where began his coaching career. And he has been coaching ever since - he was named Head Coach at Wright State University, Dayton Ohio and was Head Coach at USA Baseball in 2013 where his team won a gold medal in Taiwan.

We speak about the importance of the mental game; redefining failure; the importance of experiencing failure; reframing; and athletes playing with freedom.

#75 Ganon Baker - What Makes a Successful Athlete Jan 31, 2020

Show notes

I'm delighted to speak with professional basketball and global skill coach, Ganon Baker in this episode. Ganon is regarded as one of the premiere basketball skill trainers in the world. He trains players from the NBA, NCAA, high school and middle school levels. His relentless passion, work ethic, and competency for the game has the respect of players and coaches all over the world. Ganon has travelled the globe impacting the game of basketball and has worked with and shared the court with players such as Lebron James, Chris Paul and Kevin Durant.

We speak about what makes a successful athlete; connecting not communicating; behaviour change; playing with a sense of fun and how to coach different types of people.

#74 Stuart Singer - The Fundamentals of Improving Performance Jan 27, 2020

Show notes

I have the pleasure of being joined by Stuart Singer in this episode. Stuart is a performance psychologist with a Masters of Education in Counselling and over a decade of experience working to improve individual and group performance. He currently works with the Washington Wizards and the Washington Mystics and serves as the Performance Enhancement Coach for the Connecticut Sun of the WNBA. Stuart has also coached high-school athletes in varsity soccer, basketball, track, and cross-country, and was a graduate assistant for the Women's Cross-Country and Track teams at Shippensburg University. Stuart's practice includes providing mental performance skills coaching for athletes from the elite high school level through to college and professional athletes.

We speak about players knowing themselves at their best; focusing on the process; intentionality and accepting imperfection.

#73 Bobby White - Helping Players Become Great Decision-Makers Jan 20, 2020

Show notes

In this episode, I'm joined by Bobby White. As National Performance Manager for England Handball, Bobby is responsible for creating and enhancing handball and personal development opportunities for players. A former player himself, Bobby captained Great Britain's handball team at the London 2012 Olympics. Bobby holds his UEFA B license and has completed a Sports Science degree.

We speak about Bobby's playing days; what confidence feels like; gamification; self-determination theory and we drill down on specific examples of training sessions that help players create autonomy and improve decision making while improving technique.

#72 John O'Sullivan - How the World's Best Coaches Inspire Their Athletes and Build Championship Teams Jan 13, 2020

Show notes

I'm so excited to have John O'Sullivan on this episode. John's background as an athlete and coach led him to start the Changing the Game project with the mission to put the 'play' back into 'play ball' by providing parents and coaches with the information and resources they need to make sport a healthy, positive, and rewarding experience for their children. Changing the Game consults with organisations such as the US Olympic committee and many of the sport governing bodies in the US and in clubs and schools both internationally and in the US.

John also has a fantastic podcast The Way of Champions and has written several books including his bestselling latest book Every Moment Matters: How the World's Best Coaches Inspire Their Athletes and Build Championship Teams. And it's this book we mainly speak about during this conversation, specifically every moment counts when you coach; self-awareness as a coach; responding vs reacting; learning environments and the importance of making all team members feel valued.

#71 Dr Jamie Barker - Thriving Under Pressure Jan 06, 2020

Show notes

I'm excited to be speaking with Dr Jamie Barker in this episode. Jamie is a senior lecturer in sport psychology at Loughborough University. He has worked in sport psychology for the past 20 years, mostly in elite sport and predominantly in professional cricket and the Paralympics. Jamie also coordinates sport psychology provision across all the FA disability squads. In addition, he works in other performance domains such as business, the military, law and medical, relating sport psychology concepts to areas such as well-being and stress in the workplace; organisational change and leadership.

Jamie has co-authored a research paper that examines the relationship between challenge and threat states and performance. And it's the fascinating findings of this paper we focus on during our conversation, specifically we take a deep dive into challenge and threat states and the impact these states have on performance.

#70 Paula Reid – Adventure Psychology: Going Knowingly into the Unknown Dec 30, 2019

Show notes

I'm delighted to be speaking with Paula Reid in this episode. Paula is a trainer, facilitator, coach, author and adventurer. Her adventuring has led her to sail around the world, ski to the South Pole and paddle the Srepok and Mekong rivers.

Drawing from her experiences adventuring, as well as from her knowledge of positive psychology having completed her Masters in the discipline, Paula developed Adventure Psychology which aims to help leaders and organisations cope, survive and thrive.

We speak about adventuring; resilience; Anticipatory Thinking and self-exploration.

#69 Dr Jonathan Fader - Coaching Athletes to be Their Best Part 2 Dec 23, 2019

Show notes

I am speaking with Dr Jonathan Fader in this episode. Fader was Director of Mental Performance for the New York Giants and served as the team psychologist for the New York Mets for nine seasons. He is a certified consultant by the Association for Applied Sport Psychology and a resource doctor for Major League Baseball's Rookie Development Program. Through practical strategies Fader helps athletes and teams to achieve improved results.

This episode follows on from last weeks' episode when I spoke with Prof Stephen Rollnick. Fader and Stephen co-authored the fantastic book Coaching Athletes to be Their Best: Motivational Interviewing in Sports and in this episode we will speak about the concept of "I insist you resist"; guiding vs fixing; how to be an empathetic listener; affirmations; helping build a player self-efficacy and understanding people's perspectives.

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