#284 Rob Walter & Adam Miles - Developing a Psychological Programme for High Performance in Elite Sport

I’m delighted to speak with basketball coach and qualified teacher, Alan Keane this week. Alan is a performance basketball coach with a focus on meeting the needs of the people he works with. He is the Great Britain U20 National Team Basketball Head Coach. Alan is also co-founder of MVMT sports, a mission-driven business for people who believe sport should be a movement for good (not bad). MVMT provides training, support and tools for coaches who want to be difference-makers. The MVMT brand champions coaches who put people before winning. Alan is currently undertaking a Professional Doctorate in Coaching Science. He researches current strategies, motivations and evaluator approaches used by coaches, and intervention strategies to develop self-regulated learners. Alan has won numerous coaching and teaching awards including: Great Britain National Team Coach, England Commonwealth Games Coach, Sky Sports Living for Sport Outstanding Contribution by a Teacher Award Nominee, Chris Morgan Coach of The Year Winner, and Sky Sports Teacher of The Year Finalist.

I’m delighted to speak with mentor, speaker and author, Dr Richard Young this week. Richard works with leaders and experts to help them uncover sustained competitive advantage. Richard consults internationally to help people build sustainable performance systems and achieve faster. He works with Olympic sports, professional sports, national coaches, and former elite athletes. Richard has been involved with nine Olympics as an athlete, coach, researcher, technologist and leader working across more than 30 sports for three countries focused on Olympic performance. Richard has a PhD in physiology, medical science and biomedical engineering. Richard is also the founder of a number of international performance programs including, the Technology and Innovation for GB and NZ, and the Performance Knowledge & Learning program for NZ Olympic, Winter Olympic and Paralympic teams. Richard has researched the differences between medallists and non-medallist athletes, coaches, support staff and organisations across 5 Olympic cycles and identified the behaviour and system differences between those who achieve and those who don’t.

I’m delighted to welcome back Adam Miles to the show this week. Adam is joined by Rob Walter, the Head Coach for the South African White Ball team in this episode. Rob holds a degree in Human Movement Sciences. He started his coaching career as conditioning and fielding coach for the Proteas, the South African National Cricket Team. During this time, he also worked in the Indian Premier League for Pune Warriors and Delhi Daredevils. Rob was then Head Coach of the Titans Cricket Team in South Africa before pursuing head coach roles in New Zealand. He was Head Coach of Otago Cricket for 5 seasons before taking up the same role for Central Districts Cricket for almost 2 seasons. In 2023 Rob was named the ODI and T20 Coach of the Proteas.   Adam currently works as a psychologist in Primary Care. He is also team psychologist at Otago Cricket and Southern Steel in the New Zealand Netball League. Adam was previously Assistant Coach at Otago Cricket, working closely with Rob to develop a mental skills programme at the Club. Prior to this, Adam was manager of talent development and player pathway at Otago Cricket Association. Adam also coached New Zealand first class cricket team, Otago Volts. Adam moved from the UK to New Zealand on a PhD scholarship in Sport Psychology at the University of Otago exploring Life Skills Development in Elite Athletes.

I’m delighted to speak with Derek O’Riordan this week. Derek is Partnership Manager for Sport Scotland, the national agency for sport in Scotland. Derek works with governing bodies to support their investment for development. Derek is also a lecturer in sport management and coaching at the University of Stirling and a coach developer working in situ with coaches. Derek also coaches Rugby Union in the Premiership in Scotland. Derek and I discuss his experiences as a coach and coach developer, including: the intricacies of coach development – the differences between education and development; what healthy involvement in sport can look like for children; the role of deliberate practice; the use of attentional cues for learning and performance.

I’m delighted to speak with Jordan Cassidy this week. Jordan is a Sports Scientist specialising in skill acquisition and coach and athlete development. Jordan's work is aimed at supporting coaches to best support their players and athletes. Jordan has worked across a number of sports across the globe including with the Hong Kong National Rugby Union Team as a strength and conditioning coach and then working as a sport scientist. Jordan is currently conducting research in skill acquisition and coaching at Queensland University of Technology, while working as a coach and player development consultant for clubs and schools across Queensland. Jordan aspires to support coaches to deliver more engaging and enjoyable sessions for their athletes, in their unique context. Jordan aims to encourage reflective practice and provide feedback on: empowering players within training, coaching behaviours within a session and training session (micro-planning) and training block design (macro-planning).

I’m delighted to speak with Elisabeth Oehler this week. Elisabeth is a Sports Performance and Strength and Conditioning Coach.  Elisabeth has worked in various sports in multiple countries and is currently Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Saudi Olympic Training Center. Elisabeth has her own consultancy practice EO Performance. Previously, Elisabeth was the Strength and Conditioning Coach for DHL Stormers Western Province Rugby in South Africa. Elisabeth takes a holistic approach to athlete development in her coaching to make her athletes stronger, faster, and more powerful. Besides the physical performance aspects, she helps her athletes to develop mental toughness, integrity, the ability to work in a team, discipline, respect, and leadership skills on and off the field or competition floor. Elisabeth is currently undertaking a Professional Doctorate in Elite Performance at Dublin City University.

I’m delighted to speak with sport psychologist, Michael Caulfield this week. Michael has worked in professional sport for over 25 years. He currently supports a number of teams, organisations, coaches and athletes in elite sport. Michael has worked with teams and players in the Premier League as well as international and domestic cricket and has wide experience across many of the sporting codes. Michael is a registered performance psychologist with the Health and Care Professionals Council, having retrained in psychology after a career in sport and sports administration. Michael is a regular keynote speaker at sport and business conferences on key areas such as wellbeing, rest and recovery, sleep, developing confidence and how to cope with the range of demands placed on people in all walks of life. Michael is also a regular contributor to BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC News and Sky Sports.

I’m delighted to speak with Allan Steele this week. Allan has held many positions in football including Director of Football, Technical Lead, Academy Manager in the Premier League and pro-licence coach.  Allan was Director of Football at Forest Green Rovers Football Club. Previously he held roles at Brentford Football Club – as B Team Technical Lead and Assistant Coach, and as Education and Welfare Manager and Academy Coach. Allan and I discuss his coaching and leadership experiences and approaches having worked across three different footballing cultures.

I’m delighted to speak with coach educator and coach, Dr Noel Dempsey this week. Noel is a Senior Lecturer at the University Campus of Football Business (UCFB). UCFB is dedicated to the delivery of ground-breaking undergraduate degree programmes in the football and sports industry. Noel is a UEFA A Licence coach and has coached in range of settings, including grassroots, academy, non-league. Noel previously coached at Manchester City Football Club, The English FA for 4 years and Burnley Football Club. We discuss a range of coaching topics and Noel shares his experiences as a coach and coach developer.  

I speak with Olivia Bramley and Dr Laura Healy in this episode. Olivia is a PhD student at The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) with an interest in positive sporting environments and experiences. Olivia completed her BSc in Sports and Exercise Science at Nottingham Trent University where she was also Women's Football Club President, Women's Football Media and Communications Officer and Women's Football First team player. Olivia has just returned to the UK to play for the Women’s Championship Team, Durham. Laura is a Senior Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Psychology at Nottingham Trent University. Her research explores how to optimise goal pursuit in sport and physical activity for individuals and teams. This has included examining how the motivation underpinning goal striving can impact upon the self-regulation of goals and well-being. Recently, Laura has researched in areas associated with elite performance environments, including the role of personality in elite coach-athlete relationships, resilience, psychological safety and fear of failure in a national sport governing body, and the experience of release from professional football academies. We discuss a paper led by Olivia and co-authored by Laura and Dr Mustafa Sarkar which examines the mental health within sub-elite women’s sport.  You can find the paper here: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1612197X.2024.2311752