In this episode, I was joined by former professional footballer Hannah Bromley where we had a fascinating conversation. We discussed the pressures of playing international football, playing overseas in different cultures and how this went on to impact her performance levels. Coach communication was part of our conversation too as well as mental health, bulimia, bullying and her passion for sports psychology. It’s well worth a listen! Key Learning Points: The highs and the lows of the professiona...
Feb 18, 2022•42 min•Ep. 105
Today I’m joined by a South African professional rugby player, Sebastian De Chaves, who is currently plying his trade in the USA with Austin Gilgronis and has represented a number of Premiership Rugby clubs. We discuss mental toughness in elite professional rugby, the use of sport psychology, typical challenges that rugby players and coaches face and common psychological demands of the sport. Key Learning Points: Mental toughness is being able on an individual level, to get your job done and per...
Feb 11, 2022•42 min•Ep. 104
Welcome to episode #103 of Demystifying Mental Toughness. This is the final part of four specially created episodes to celebrate reaching our century! The episode is hugely insightful with a number of our guests to date, again sharing many fantastic takeaways. The messages come from the world of marathon running, rugby, tennis, cricket, combat sports and refereeing and can only help athletes, coaches and parents with an interest in sport. Relevant Podcast Episodes in Order and Sequence as Relaye...
Feb 04, 2022•41 min•Ep. 103
Welcome to episode #102 of Demystifying Mental Toughness. This is part three of four specially created episodes to celebrate reaching our century! This time the episode is created with soccer and football fanatics in mind where the great guests that have been interviewed on the show to date, and with experiences in soccer or football, go on to share their key take home messages. As you’ll note the insights are related to the development of mental toughness. This episode is a must listen for foot...
Jan 28, 2022•30 min•Ep. 102
Welcome to episode #101 of Demystifying Mental Toughness. This is part two of four specially created episodes to celebrate reaching our century! This time the episode is created with golf enthusiasts in mind where the nine first class guests that have been interviewed on the show to date about all things golf and mental toughness share their key take home messages. You’ll hear about managing your emotions, getting the most from your practice and a lot more. With the goal helping you or your clie...
Jan 26, 2022•27 min•Ep. 101
Welcome to episode #100 of Demystifying Mental Toughness! One hundred episodes are something that I would like to celebrate because I feel incredibly proud of what I’ve done with the show. So in this episode, I’ve collated a large number of take home messages from our guests to date and pieced them together into this episode. There are lots of hugely inspiring messages for you. You’re going to hear key takeaways on how to develop your mental toughness, ideas to deal with Covid times, stress, and...
Jan 21, 2022•49 min•Ep. 100
Do you get caught up overthinking when playing golf? Do you suffer from paralysis by analysis? Or maybe you stand overpressure shots and visualise topping the ball, thinning the ball, or even shanking it! If you do, it’s OK even the best players in the world think this way every so often! In this episode, Trevor Jones a PGA Professional Golf coach and mental performance coach and I have great chat about this topic and how you can best deal with these challenges. We also touch on Trevor’s playing...
Jan 14, 2022•47 min•Ep. 99
Today’s episode will help you reflect on how you want to behave moving forwards. My guest Jon Bartlett, who works as a Performance & Program Operations Advisor for the National Basketball Association (NBA) and I go on to discuss his why. He tells me about his background in Premier League and International Football, Australian Rules Football and a lot more, explaining what has shaped his why. Jon also shares some ideas on how you can go about finding your why and how important it is. What You...
Jan 07, 2022•31 min•Ep. 98
This episode of Demystifying Mental Toughness is going to help you learn from the past year so that you can make 2022 a better year. Included are different exercises and important questions that you can consider and reflect on. Improving your own or supporting your clients or athletes to improve their learning orientation, a part of Mental Toughness, where you look to seek the learning out of situations is the thinking behind the design of the episode. Key Takeaways Why do you do what you do? Lo...
Dec 31, 2021•18 min•Ep. 97
Today I’m joined by Gary Curneen a football or soccer coach, an author and a coach educator who shares with me some great nougats of advice for coaches involved in a range of sports. Gary and I go on to chat about his experiences as a football coach and how important the psychological side of the game is, as well as how effective it is used. We chat about the role of video analysis and sport science in producing confident footballers. How you communicate and what and when you say it as a coach w...
Dec 24, 2021•42 min•Ep. 96
If you are an athlete, do you struggle to transfer your skills from training or practice to competitive situations? Or if you’re a coach, does your team or athletes fail to express themselves fully when the pressure is on? In this solo podcast episode, I address this hugely common challenge that athletes young and old, amateur and professional have, where I review recent podcast episodes and articles that I’ve created on the topic and go on to share 10 common reasons why this is the case. You’ll...
Dec 17, 2021•27 min•Ep. 95
In this episode of Demystifying Mental Toughness, I’m joined by Professor Adam Nicholls where our conversation is mostly based around the sport of Rugby, though there are crossovers into other sports. We discuss how do you define Mental Toughness in rugby terms, coping with stressors and pressure in professional rugby and at a youth level. How coaches can best help players to develop their mental toughness at different stages as well as a lot more. Enjoy tuning in! Key Learning Points: Mental To...
Dec 10, 2021•33 min•Ep. 94
Today I chat with leading Sport Psychologist Dan Abrahams about the mental blocks that footballers present that can go on to influence why they struggle to replicate their form from the training pitch to match days. Despite our conversation in the main, being football related it does crossover to other sports where we touch on performance anxiety, Dan’s approach to the use of mental skills and how as Sports Psychologists we can educate coaches on the importance of psychological and social factor...
Dec 03, 2021•40 min•Ep. 93
In today’s episode I introduce the concept of Acceptance Commitment Therapy or Training (ACT) and Mindfulness with co-author of an excellent book on the topic Dr James Hegarty. In sport it is very easy to get ahead of yourself or dwell on past mistakes impacting on your performance levels. James and I go on to unpick how ACT and Mindfulness principles and tools can support you in this regard so that you can perform better under pressure. Enjoy tuning in. Key Takeaways: In psychology a lot of wor...
Nov 26, 2021•36 min•Ep. 92
Whether you're a batsman or bowler, a wicket keeper or a fielder the psychological challenges in cricket are vast. The game is unique where despite being a team sport, it can also be a very lonely place when you experience repeated failures as a batsman or get embarrassed as a bowler being smashed out of the park on a regular basis. Today, Jarrod Leathem who enjoys supporting batsmen, in cricket, as a performance coach and is the founder of the popular High Performance for Batsmen Group and I di...
Nov 19, 2021•32 min•Ep. 91
Today’s Mental Toughness compilation episode includes short snippets of advice from our most recent 9 episodes. We touch on many aspects of Mental Toughness from how you deal with challenges, learning from difficulties, setting appropriate goals, as well as ways to improve your confidence so that you can express yourself under pressure. Key Learning Points: Stuart Wade discusses mentally preparing for challenges is a vital factor if you want to gain a mental edge. David Charlton shares with you ...
Nov 12, 2021•42 min•Ep. 90
There’s a common theme across a lot of sports where athletes find it hard to transfer their skills from training or practice to competitive events and tournaments when the pressure is on. Today I chatted to Will Shaw, a highly qualified PGA golf professional and sport’s scientist who shares with me his insights. It’s a must listen if you’re into golf or if you’re looking to understand better what things to consider when learning how to transfer your skills to the golf course. We discuss how to b...
Nov 05, 2021•48 min•Ep. 89
In episode 88 of Demystifying Mental Toughness, I had the pleasure of talking to a former professional basketball player, serial author, and entrepreneur Dre Baldwin. Dre has written 27 books, one of which is called ‘Playing As Well As You Practice’. Today we dig into this topic as it’s a common challenge many highly driven and motivated athletes, young and old, amateur and professional can struggle with from time to time. Being able to compete “fearlessly” in a tournament or match, to have an a...
Oct 29, 2021•33 min•Ep. 88
Today I'm joined with Carl Bell who played football at Newcastle United’s academy from the age of 13 and progressed to reserve team level before injuries meant he pursued a career in physiotherapy. He is now a partner at Functional Intelligent Training and a sought after and very knowledgeable physiotherapist. Carl was a goalkeeper, so we go on to discuss the unique pressures of goalkeeping, and how this impacted his enjoyment of the game. We also talk about his career now and the psychology aro...
Oct 22, 2021•32 min•Ep. 87
Are you someone who responds positively to setbacks, knowing that these types of situations provide an opportunity for personal development? Do you recognise that challenges are a normal part of life and welcome the fact that sometimes you may need to shake up your routines? Do you then go on to look forward to these new experiences? Or do you worry more than most people when unexpected events happen? You may hate the thought of making mistakes or failure and simply move on by keeping yourself b...
Oct 15, 2021•31 min•Ep. 86
Being comfortable in your own skin as a teenager can be difficult. It's an age when you are physically and emotionally developing and rapidly on occasions. You may find regulating your emotions tough, you can often be easily influenced by others, you are becoming more aware of other people’s thoughts and opinions. This can be a lot to deal with at a time when you getting to know yourself and form your view of the world. This episode is all about helping youngsters navigate some of these challeng...
Oct 08, 2021•14 min•Ep. 85
In today’s podcast episode, I chat with Dr. Jim Afremow and Phil White who have written an excellent book to be released in December 2021, called The Leaders Mind. I tap into their expertise to help you, where we discuss modern sport psychology as well as different elements of the book and link it to mental toughness. For example, we chat about a pilot, Tammie Jo Shults and how she took control of a stricken plane when there was an engine failure and how she went on to manage the situation and h...
Oct 01, 2021•38 min•Ep. 84
Today’s guest is a former world boxing champion and now a personal performance coach and professional speaker. In this episode, Billy Schwer and I discuss the controversial title of his book, Man Up. We discuss Billy Schwer, the world champion boxer and the costs of being fully focused on glory as well as how his life now and personality has changed. Mental health and showing vulnerability, which many men aren’t comfortable with is also part of the conversation. It’s a great listen where his pas...
Sep 24, 2021•35 min•Ep. 83
The conversations that take place after competitive matches or events can often be emotionally charged for the young athlete, parents and coach. Yet do you consider the importance of these conversations and the impact this can have on their sporting experience? This podcast episode is designed to help you take a step back and consider whether your approach is useful. It will help you start supporting your son or daughter or athletes so that they develop a growth mindset and have healthy self-con...
Sep 17, 2021•23 min•Ep. 82
In today’s episode, we take a look at Mental Toughness and how it applies to combat sports with a well-qualified guest, Stuart Wade, who has won 4 world titles in taekwondo and kickboxing. He’s not someone to be messed with! He’s also a clinical hypnotherapist and personal trainer. We chat about controlling your emotions and maintaining your composure after being hurt and despite being in pain. We discuss fatigue and the impact this can have on you as a fighter, mentally preparing for fights, in...
Sep 10, 2021•39 min•Ep. 81
Today’s Mental Toughness compilation episode includes short snippets of advice from our most recent 9 episodes. By tuning in you will learn more about the significance of Mental Toughness and the complexity of the trait across a range of domains. Key Learning Points: James Lau tells you about dealing with fear in tennis. Tom Jones shares his insights into Mental Toughness on the cricket field. David Charlton challenges your thinking around setting goals. Grant Phyphers discusses how he defines M...
Sep 03, 2021•42 min•Ep. 80
To make your way in life to be the best person that you can be, to give yourself the best opportunity in your chosen field being comfortable in your own skin and finding and developing mental strength is very important as I’ve emphasised in the other 2 parts of this short series. In today’s episode I help you tap into some of your strengths and question your approach by going through a variety of scenarios and exercises. It’s an episode created to stretch you, enjoy tuning in! You may want to li...
Aug 27, 2021•15 min•Ep. 79
In today’s episode, I chat to the creator and founders of Kymira Sport and Golf in the UK, Tim Brownstone and Michael Davis, and the sponsors of our podcast show. We dig deep and discuss the incredible technology that they have available and relate it to Mental Toughness. Tim and Michael both have a passion for excellence in sport and are former athletes themselves, so we go on to discuss focus, how to make your own luck, the importance of recovery as well as the Kymira brand, and how the sports...
Aug 20, 2021•36 min•Ep. 78
In this episode, I discuss with former professional footballer Danny Thomas, the psychological qualities that helped him break into and maintain a career in professional football. We also went on to talk about his debut, and we discussed the challenges of transitioning out of professional football and into the workplace. Enjoy listening! Key Learning Points: Becoming a professional footballer and then sustaining a career are completely different things For me it wasn't just football, football, f...
Aug 13, 2021•47 min•Ep. 77
In today’s episode we discuss the most demanding job on a football pitch. No not the role of the goalkeeper, but the referee. It’s a job which rarely get any praise and requires a special type of person. Someone who is very assertive, especially in those demanding pressurised moments. Someone who can take criticism, and a lot of it. Someone who can handle abuse, and again sadly a lot of it. In this episode I chat with a referee and resilience trainer, Nathan Sherratt about his love of the job, h...
Aug 06, 2021•39 min•Ep. 76
