The Talent Equation Podcast

Throughout her career as one of the world's top athletes, Annie Vernon struggled with a question about the purpose of sport in our society: why do we do it? What is it about our psyche that makes pushing the mind and body to their limits in order to win a foot race, a swimming race or a rowing race such a basic human desire? Having retired from competition, Annie decided to look for answers to these questions in the world of mind games. What is the psychology behind sport at an elite level?Through interviews with leading sports stars and the latest scientific research, 'Mind Games' discusses elite sports psychology in a way that is interesting to the watching public, sports fans and sports-haters alike, with Annie drawing on her own first-hand experiences to walk them through this fascinating subject.In this conversation we explore...- The value of competitiveness- Whether 'talent needs trauma' after all- The surprising truth about motivation (it's about chickens or pigs!)- Why coaches shouldn't try to be wizardsIts a great conversation that I am certain you will enjoyThe book is available to purchase here https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mind-Games-Determination-Insiders-Psychology/dp/1472949110Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-talent-equation-podcast--2186775/support.Ready to explore these ideas further? Join The Guild of Ecological Explorers – a community of practitioners committed to deepening their understanding of ecological dynamics and constraints-led approaches. Head to www.thetalentequation.co.uk and click the 'Join a Learning Group' button to become part of this transformative conversation

John Kessel works for USA Volleyball, as Director of Sport Development. He currently serves as the staff liaison for Disabled Programs & USA Deaflympic Teams. His main goal is to help make all coaches more efficient, positive and creative, no matter what level - 7 year olds in an elementary school program or National team players and programs. He challenges old ways of thinking and help coaches create what they need, while having fun in the process. In this fascinating conversation we discuss...- 'Training in reality and the quest for faster, denser motor learning- Why drills don't work (because humans aren't robots)- The 'white belt mentality' - What coaches can learn from surgeonsIt is a great conversation...I hope you enjoy Links Get my 'visual show notes' at http://www.thetalentequation.co.uk/podcastsJohn's Blog - https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Volleyball/Features/2016/November/01/IWantYouToMakeMistakesAustin's Butterfly - https://youtu.be/hqh1MRWZjmsBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-talent-equation-podcast--2186775/support.Ready to explore these ideas further? Join The Guild of Ecological Explorers – a community of practitioners committed to deepening their understanding of ecological dynamics and constraints-led approaches. Head to www.thetalentequation.co.uk and click the 'Join a Learning Group' button to become part of this transformative conversation

James Vaughan returns to the podcast to share some of his latest insights into the world of talent development, skill acquisition and coaching. James is a coach at AIK Stockholm and is one of a team of experts that are leading a transformation in the way that the club engages with the community and with the young people within it's academy. It is a talent development environment that is very much 'bucking the trend'. In this conversation we explore...- How AIK are ensuring that what they are trying to do is being experienced by young people, coaches and parents. - How they utilise the 'Skilled Intentionality Framework' to shape their coaching activity. - Why 'The Cobra Effect' should be considered when making any kind of policy shift. - Practical considerations when applying 'The rule of 3' I hope you enjoyYou can find James' previous conversation on the show here https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/in-search-of-creativity-a-conversation-with-james-vaughan/id1209549739?i=1000411664849)Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-talent-equation-podcast--2186775/support.Ready to explore these ideas further? Join The Guild of Ecological Explorers – a community of practitioners committed to deepening their understanding of ecological dynamics and constraints-led approaches. Head to www.thetalentequation.co.uk and click the 'Join a Learning Group' button to become part of this transformative conversation

Ted Suikonen is a Skill Development Specialist Coach that has been working in professional ice hockey for most of his career. He is currently the skill development coach with Locomotiv Moscow in Russia and boasts an impressive track record of developing players to play at the elite level in Russia many of whom have been drafted into the NHL. In this fascinating conversation which we recorded when Ted was in the locker room straight after a session (forgive the background noise!) we explore a broad range of topics related to skill acquisition including: - Why every player is like a snowflake- Why technical skills camps are a scam- How to develop players with 'perceptual radar'- How Ted encourages players to coach other players to beat themselvesI hope you enjoy it as much as I didBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-talent-equation-podcast--2186775/support.Ready to explore these ideas further? Join The Guild of Ecological Explorers – a community of practitioners committed to deepening their understanding of ecological dynamics and constraints-led approaches. Head to www.thetalentequation.co.uk and click the 'Join a Learning Group' button to become part of this transformative conversation

James Stafford has a strong interest in how information guides movement. Questions like how can we judge a gap between cars when crossing a road and how does a cricketer successfully intercept a ball travelling at 90 mph led him to working with Professor Cathy Craig on a PhD at the Movement Innovation Lab at Queen's University Belfast. James wrote a fascinating thread on Twitter about the Australian cricketer, Steve Smith and the way he has developed a method of batting that is explained through ecological principles. https://twitter.com/JamesStafford94/status/1169619675656916992?s=20 that is well worth a read. We discuss this in this episode as well as a range of sports including the fascinating work he is doing using VR to develop goalkeeping ability by improving a goalkeeper's ability to perceive ball flights. It's a really fascinating conversation...I hope you enjoyhttps://incisiv.tech/ https://cleansheet.incisiv.techDon't forget to check out the new course for sports parents and parent coaches that I have put together with Non-Perfect Dad https://non-perfectdad.co.uk/talentequation/Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-talent-equation-podcast--2186775/support.Ready to explore these ideas further? Join The Guild of Ecological Explorers – a community of practitioners committed to deepening their understanding of ecological dynamics and constraints-led approaches. Head to www.thetalentequation.co.uk and click the 'Join a Learning Group' button to become part of this transformative conversation

Richard Shorter (AKA Non Perfect Dad) is back to help me celebrate 'Parents In Sport Week' and also because we have a special announcement to make about a new free course that we have created called 'Conversations 4 Growth' that is designed to support sports parents and coach parents to navigate the complexity of supporting and guiding young people through their sporting journey. The course comprises of 10 short 2-3 minute conversations between Richard and myself exploring a challenging discussion topic that we have faced in our interactions with our children. The course can be accessed at www.conversations4growth.co.ukIn this podcast episode we cover a LOT of ground...- Why most parent engagement is the equivalent of 'cones and drills' or 'beige food at parties'- Actionable steps to create a more inclusive and engaging environment for parental engagement- The 'Iceberg approach' to tackling challenging parental behaviours - Using Professor Jeff French's behaviour change framework to support parental engagement - how to use a 'firm nudge'Hope you enjoyBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-talent-equation-podcast--2186775/support.Ready to explore these ideas further? Join The Guild of Ecological Explorers – a community of practitioners committed to deepening their understanding of ecological dynamics and constraints-led approaches. Head to www.thetalentequation.co.uk and click the 'Join a Learning Group' button to become part of this transformative conversation

Rob Gray is Associate Professor of Human Systems Engineering at Arizona State University and host of the highly regarded Perception - Action Podcast. This is Rob's third appearance on the show and once again, he brings his 'A-Game' by providing a depth of insight and knowledge and also being very patient in answering my questions and helping me think out loud. In this conversation we cover the following...- A response to the accusation that ecological approaches to coaching are just 'old wine in new bottles'- Why a lot of 'constraints based' coaching is actually just 'unprincipled, atheoretical manipulations'- How developing 'functional variability' is the route to skillful performance- Why 1 v 0 is very different from '1 v unrepresentative 1' from an ecological perspective Hope you enjoyLink to Rob's website http://perceptionaction.com/Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-talent-equation-podcast--2186775/support.Ready to explore these ideas further? Join The Guild of Ecological Explorers – a community of practitioners committed to deepening their understanding of ecological dynamics and constraints-led approaches. Head to www.thetalentequation.co.uk and click the 'Join a Learning Group' button to become part of this transformative conversation

Marianne Davies' coaching experience includes more than 20 years of working in sports, academic and corporate environments. She is a coach educator, assessor and national trainer. Marianne spent eight years in the role of Coaching Manager for Canoe Wales and before that was responsible for participation development. Marianne worked for many years as a full-time senior adventure sports coach during which time she was responsible for the design and delivery of a two-year practical-based module for a Sports Science & Outdoor Education degree course at Bangor University. As well as training and assessing other coaches. In this conversation we discuss...- How to use constraints in the sport of canoeing - An ecological approach to equestrian sports- How to facilitate learning that is in the 'ugly zone'This is a great conversation, I hope you enjoy. https://dynamics-coaching.com/articles/learning-in-the-ugly-zone/Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-talent-equation-podcast--2186775/support.Ready to explore these ideas further? Join The Guild of Ecological Explorers – a community of practitioners committed to deepening their understanding of ecological dynamics and constraints-led approaches. Head to www.thetalentequation.co.uk and click the 'Join a Learning Group' button to become part of this transformative conversation

Ross Tucker is Professor of Exercise Physiology with the School of Medicine of the University of the Free State. He is the scientific and research consultant to World Rugby, ambassador and scientific advisor to Virgin Active and Adidas, and a published author, opinion leader and consultant to numerous elite sports teams and organisations.In this conversation we explore Talent ID and the 3 big mistakes that most talent system builders make. We also explore the phenomenon of cheating in sport and whether coaches should help players to use gamesmanship to gain an advantage. Finally, we look at Ross's work to use science to improve player welfare in rugby and explore the challenges of bringing about behaviour change in professional sport. Ross's website is https://sportsscientists.com and he can be found tweeting at @scienceofsport and podcasting at 'The Real Science of Sport Podcast' - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-real-science-of-sport-podcast/id1461719225Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-talent-equation-podcast--2186775/support.Ready to explore these ideas further? Join The Guild of Ecological Explorers – a community of practitioners committed to deepening their understanding of ecological dynamics and constraints-led approaches. Head to www.thetalentequation.co.uk and click the 'Join a Learning Group' button to become part of this transformative conversation

Ben Galloway is back from his sabbatical running a football academy in Uganda and came to stay with me ahead of a trip north to join Keith Davids and colleagues for a conference on changing lives, community sport and skill acquisition research.Ben came to coach with me and we then sat down to reflect on the session and to discuss his recent experiences in Africa and some of his latest thinking around ecological dynamics, learning design and how the 'form of life' of a coach can affect they way that they act. Hope you enjoyIf you are interested in getting hold of the bonus recordings from the conference and our reflections from it then that will be made available to Patreon subscribers. Go to https://www.patreon.com/thetalentequation to become a subscriberBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-talent-equation-podcast--2186775/support.Ready to explore these ideas further? Join The Guild of Ecological Explorers – a community of practitioners committed to deepening their understanding of ecological dynamics and constraints-led approaches. Head to www.thetalentequation.co.uk and click the 'Join a Learning Group' button to become part of this transformative conversation