Goalkeeping is arguably the most difficult and mentally challenging position on the football or soccer pitch. Common psychological challenges goalkeepers face include; dealing with pressure due to being the last line of defence, coping with mistakes, managing emotions, maintaining focus on the pitch in matches and in training, as well as communicating effectively with team-mates. In today’s episode Andy Elleray, an author and goalkeeping coach, who has worked for clubs such as Chelsea and Bristo...
Apr 14, 2023•39 min•Ep. 165
Trauma refers to a deeply distressing or disturbing experience or event that can overwhelm an individual’s ability to cope and potentially cause lasting psychological, emotional and physical effects. In this bitesize episode, my guest, author and motivational speaker Steve Judge tells me about his inspiring journey. In 2002, Steve was involved in a car crash near Sheffield, crushing both of his legs and very nearly losing his life. The episode highlights how Steve learned to walk again, he also ...
Apr 07, 2023•12 min•Ep. 164
The “yips” is a term commonly used in golf. It describes sudden and unexplained losses of fine motor skills which impact on putting strokes and golfers chipping action. It is argued that somewhere between 32 and 47% of serious golfers have been affected by the yips at some point. The yips can be a very complex challenge to overcome where many golfers simply change technique and equipment numerous times. Sports psychologists are advocates of the use of hypnosis, relaxation and visualisation techn...
Mar 31, 2023•18 min•Ep. 163
Today in episode #162 of the Demystifying Mental Toughness Podcast I chat with Sun Sachs and Ed Gibbins, owners of Rewire Fitness about flow states. When you have a sense of control, are at peace, have a quiet mind and an inner calmness about you. We discuss the characteristics and importance of flow states, as well as touching on how you can find “flow.” Key Learning Points: Understanding self-care can help perfectionist athletes. The perfectionist can be relentless in their pursuit of excellen...
Mar 24, 2023•28 min•Ep. 162
In episode #161 I chat with Author, Coach Educator and Performance Rugby Consultant, Paul Phillips. We discuss his experiences of developing high performance cultures in professional rugby. Paul also shares some research on tackling and how to overcome fears with helpful triggers as well as other fascinating insights. Key Learning Points: In Rugby at the lower levels fear is very prominent. Establishing values and behaviours that are coupled with a vision for the team and club is an essential pa...
Mar 17, 2023•40 min•Ep. 161
Golf Psychology is only for top, elite professionals such as Rory McIlroy or Jon Rahm. Only work with a Golf Psychologist if you have a problem. A Golf Psychologist will fix you in one session. Working with a Golf Psychologist will take place on a “couch.” These statements are all myths that some golfers believe are true yet couldn’t be farther from the truth. The role of a Sport Psychologist who supports golfers is varied. It includes sitting down strategizing and going “deep” at times with the...
Mar 10, 2023•41 min•Ep. 160
If you’ve got to the point where you’ve experienced physical, emotional and mental exhaustion you may have experienced burnout. This can happen to people who are subjected to high levels of stress and pressure over a sustained period of time. In elite sport prolonged and intense involvement as an athlete, coach or support member can push you in this direction where your motivation and performance levels can naturally decline. In addition, your psychological well-being and mental health can also ...
Mar 03, 2023•36 min•Ep. 159
Mental Health in sport is a topic which over the last decade has become more significant and a big talking point with many elite athletes and coaches openly talking about their personal challenges and struggles. Yet do clubs and organisations take their needs seriously? In some cases, this is arguable. Though, thankfully it is changing for the better. Today’s guest, Dr Paul Gorczynski and I discuss this topic where he talks about his interest in mental health, his research in the development and...
Feb 24, 2023•26 min•Ep. 158
Today’s episode of Demystifying Mental Toughness is where my colleagues at Inspiring Sporting Excellence, Olivia Scott, Aditi Gandhi, Tom Short and Alexandra Harper all share what they feel Sports Psychology is and what Sports Psychology is not. I hope you enjoy listening to their insights and gain a better understanding of the field. Key Learnings Sports Psychology is used to find ways to improve performance. Sports Psychologists help people in a proactive way to improve as well as overcoming m...
Feb 17, 2023•37 min•Ep. 157
In mainstream sports psychology when helping individuals to develop their mental toughness and overcome performance challenges sport psychologists are likely to use interventions such as cognitive restructuring, visualisation, goal setting, mindfulness and other relaxation techniques to help athletes. However, when athletes experience trauma and difficulties such as the yips or mental blocks other tools may be required to help them overcome the challenges that they face. Today I chat with Ruth C...
Feb 10, 2023•36 min•Ep. 156
Avoiding procrastination and becoming better organised as a young athlete is the topic of today’s short solo episode. In Mental Toughness term’s we’re talking about commitment and sticking to promises as well as life control and having a “can do” attitude. These are much needed skills that many youngsters struggle with, which often means their sporting performance is harmed as well as their self-worth. In this episode, I share 3 ideas to help parents and coaches support children to overcome thes...
Feb 03, 2023•6 min•Ep. 155
In this short solo episode, I discuss an important component of Mental Toughness – control. In sport, business and in everyday life it can be very easy to get distracted by external factors that are out of your control. I go on to use Andy Murray’s gutsy recent performances at the Australian Open Tennis tournament to illustrate my points sharing an exercise to help you better understand how to go about controlling the controllables and be able to set yourself process goals. Key Learnings What fa...
Jan 27, 2023•13 min•Ep. 154
Welcome to episode #153 of Demystifying Mental Toughness. This is the final part of four specially created episodes to celebrate reaching 150 episodes! This time the episode is created with rugby enthusiasts in mind where the great guests that have been interviewed on the show to date, and with experiences in rugby union or rugby league, go on to share their key takeaways. As you’ll note the majority of insights are linked to the development of mental tough athletes and helping rugby players rea...
Jan 20, 2023•18 min•Ep. 153
Welcome to episode #152 of Demystifying Mental Toughness. This week we bring to you the 3rd of 4 compilation episodes. The key takeaways from this episode come from the world of business and entrepreneurship and lessons from the military. Mental fitness, mental health, motivation and the importance of sleep were also topics that were unpicked. Enjoy listening to the excellent insights! Relevant Podcast Episodes in Order and Sequence as Relayed in Episode 152 Ep106: Amy Rowlinson – Why is knowing...
Jan 13, 2023•26 min•Ep. 152
Welcome to episode #151 of Demystifying Mental Toughness. This is part two of four specially created episodes to celebrate reaching 150 episodes! 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 integration of sports psychology, the development of mental toughness, c...
Jan 06, 2023•38 min•Ep. 151
Welcome to episode #150 of Demystifying Mental Toughness! This is the first part of four specially created episodes to celebrate reaching 150 episodes. The episode is hugely insightful with a number of our guests to date, sharing many fantastic takeaways. The messages come from different angles where a mental toughness practitioner, mental performance coaches and Olympians discuss mental toughness and horse riding, track and field, bobsleigh, cricket, swimming and skiing. We also have sports psy...
Dec 30, 2022•21 min•Ep. 150
In this short solo episode, I answer a popular question that we get asked by sporting parents - how do I help my children deal with strong emotions? When playing sport, children’s lives are littered with challenges and difficulties including; being dropped from squads or teams, losing form or skills, being injured and the recovery period, selection bias, being bullied, being played out of position, and dealing with making mistakes and losing, as well as many more. I go on to share 7 suggestions ...
Dec 23, 2022•7 min•Ep. 149
Our guest today is Derek Tate, an experienced ski coach and author. We go on to discuss his book Six Steps for Training the Mind as well as mental toughness in snowsports. Derek goes on to share insights into differences in mindset between recreational and elite skiers, the role of fear, pushing boundaries and comfort zones, the impact of self-talk, getting into a flow state and a whole lot more. Fear is a common emotion for both recreational and elite skiers. The environment and weather on the ...
Dec 16, 2022•29 min•Ep. 148
In episode #147 I chat with Aaron Walsh, a performance coach for the Chiefs rugby team in New Zealand as well as a consultant to many more elite teams including the Scottish Rugby team. We chat about his experiences of supporting elite rugby union players, common challenges that players bring to him, perceptions from players and coaches of working on their mental game. Performance analysis is a topic we touch on too as is culture in elite professional sport. Key Learning Points: We have many ama...
Dec 09, 2022•41 min•Ep. 147
In today’s episode I chat with John Nassoori, a freelance writer and sports journalist for BBC Sport and The Guardian, in the UK. We go on to discuss his research into football or soccer psychology, at both the elite end and in grassroots football. We chat about perceptions of sports psychology, mental health and mental toughness in football. We also touch on the difference between a sports psychologist and other people who are working in football who often get labelled as sports psychologists. ...
Dec 02, 2022•36 min•Ep. 146
In this short solo episode, I answer a question posed by a parent. “How can I help my son, a goalkeeper who gets very grumpy and nervous the evening before a match?” Many children across a range of sports face this challenge, often talking themselves into performing poorly before they go out to play a match or compete. They let nervousness win. Today’s episode is set up to help parents where I share some ideas on how you could adapt your approach so that you help your children. Key Learning Cons...
Nov 25, 2022•6 min•Ep. 145
In today’s episode I chat with Jon Watkins a resilience and transformation coach and a former special forces soldier. Jon shares insights into some challenges that he overcame in the military and the importance of mindset. Goal setting is introduced, concepts such as self-leadership, natural resilience, adaptive resilience and psychological safety we also touch on and a lot more. Enjoy tuning in! Key Learning Points: The selection process in the special forces produced likeminded mentally and ph...
Nov 18, 2022•32 min•Ep. 144
In today’s episode I chat with the author and the founder of The Money Confidence Academy, Lesley Thomas, where we discuss a subject some people are uncomfortable discussing “money”. Lesley shares valuable insights into our money mindset and how money can impact our self-worth. For psychology practitioners or business professionals we chat about pricing your services and conversations that come with this. We also highlight the relationship between your mental toughness and money. Key Learning Po...
Nov 11, 2022•36 min•Ep. 143
In episode 142 of Demystifying Mental Toughness, Dr Alessia Bruno and David discuss perfectionism in gymnastics as well as across other sports and walks of life. We go on to look at healthy perfectionism, as well as the downsides to the trait where we share some advice for gymnasts, athletes in general, coaches and parents. Key Learning Points Gymnasts are judged on their performances which can go on to impact their self-esteem. The intensity of their lives can mean some gymnasts run the risk of...
Nov 04, 2022•33 min•Ep. 142
In this short solo episode, I answer a question posed by a parent. “My son has had a tough time recently and often talks about not wanting to continue with football.” Sadly, this question appears to be a common one at present and shows no signs of going away potentially down to the pressures placed on children at a young age, both in their sport and education. I do my best to give sporting parents one idea on how you can help them and open up a conversation on the topic. Key Learning Ask your ch...
Oct 28, 2022•4 min•Ep. 141
In this episode double Olympian and former Commonwealth champion swimmer, Chris Cook joined me. We discussed his journey to becoming an Olympian and his role now as a motivational speaker and executive coach. Different obstacles that he overcame were also talking points, as were how he sets goals and works to achieve them. Chris also shares many great questions that you can ask yourself and what sports performers can learn from CEOs in the business world. Key Learning Points: Having people that ...
Oct 21, 2022•35 min•Ep. 140
In episode 139 of Demystifying Mental Toughness I had the pleasure of speaking to the head of The Newcastle United Foundation, Steve Beharall. Steve shared his inspiring journey from being a part time football coach to where he is today. Lessons that he has learned, challenges he’s overcome as well as insights into initiatives that the foundation are involved in and what the future holds. Steve also passes on some advice to the future generation of coaches on opportunities for them. Key Learning...
Oct 14, 2022•35 min•Ep. 139
If you’re Mentally Tough you don’t need to sleep you can simply push through… Wrong! The mentally tough person, as research suggests is more likely to deal with fatigue better than a mentally sensitive person however they do need to sleep. Being committed to your goals, making sacrifices, taking challenges head on and dealing with pressure requires a clear head, focus and perspective, as well as adequate rest and recovery. In this episode, I chat with Nick Littlehales, a well respected Sleep Coa...
Oct 07, 2022•55 min•Ep. 138
In this short solo episode, I explain 5 reasons why you should look in more detail at the use of mindfulness and ACT in sport. How and why this approach goes on to free up mental space in your mind to enable you to perform better. I also summarise how Mindfulness and ACT can be used in harmony to develop a more mentally tough individual. 5 Key Benefits of Mindfulness and ACT This approach can help you become a more psychologically flexible person. It helps you gain a bigger picture perspective o...
Sep 30, 2022•13 min•Ep. 137
In this episode I was joined by professional footballer Charlotte Potts where we had a deep and fascinating conversation about different challenges that she has faced so far in her life and when playing Professional Women’s Football. We went on to discuss Discrimination, Mental Health and Mindfulness too as well as a whole lot more. It’s well worth a listen! Key Learning Points: Charlotte’s mental health has suffered from time to time therefore she has looked to develop a high degree of self-awa...
Sep 23, 2022•34 min•Ep. 136
