The Sport Psych Show
Dan Abrahams
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.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Oct 19, 2018 • 1h 9min
#11 Todd Beane - A Journey to Extraordinary
I'm lucky enough to be joined by Todd Beane on this episode. Todd is a soccer coach and Founder of TOVO Training and TOVO Academy Barcelona. In TOVO Training, Beane has combined proven pedagogical practices of experts in the field of education with the visionary components of a total football legend into a dynamic and practical training methodology. Todd worked with Johan Cruyff for 14 years to create the Cruyff Institute for Sport Studies and to deliver total football training programs to professional clubs worldwide. In this episode, Todd and I talk about putting managing self at the forefront of coaching; educating young players to make good life decisions; the importance of understanding the 'why'; creativity coming from structure; having processes of health; front loading cognition and self-regulation; the challenge of coaching on the run; the relationship between intention, attention and mental intensity; dealing with bad days as a coach; and the art of co-coaching.
Oct 17, 2018 • 22min
#10 Q&A with Jermain Defoe
In this episode, I had the opportunity to sit down with former Spurs, Sunderland and now Bournemouth and England footballer Jermain Defoe and ask him about the psychology of being a striker in the English Premier League. Jermain and I spoke about the toughest defender he ever played against and what made him so tough. We discuss the specific preparation he's always used to prepare for matchday and highlighted his use of visualisation as a mental tool to prepare for a game. We then drilled down on how he developed his game as a young player and Jermain talked in detail about how an obsession to score helped him make his debut for West Ham. Finally, Jermain reveals his top tip for young players who aspire to play in the Premier League.
Oct 15, 2018 • 1h 10min
#9 Iain Highfield - How to Practice Like a Champion
I have the pleasure of having Iain Highfield on this week's episode. Iain is a performance coach specialising in helping golfers develop their mental skills. He has implemented psychological conditioning programmes at two leading Junior Golf Academies and he was voted one of the best young golf teachers by Golf Digest Magazine in 2017. He is co-founder of Game Like Training Golf, where he introduces cutting-edge research to coaches. In this episode we discuss the importance of taking a holistic approach to developing performance; building a collaborative model of progression; the importance of spaced and variable practice; tools to promote deeper learning; using gamification within practice; building a generalised motor pattern; and creating a chaotic set of activities.
Oct 8, 2018 • 1h 18min
#8 Laurence Halsted - Inside the Mind of an Olympian
In this episode, I'm joined by 2-time Olympian Laurence Halsted. Laurence competed in the London and Rio Olympics for the British Fencing team. He won a silver and bronze medal in the European Championships and finished 6th in the World Championships. He now works as performance director for the Danish Fencing Federation. As a coach, he has developed a passion for the mental side of sport. He works as a mentor for a not-for-profit organisation called The True Athlete Project. In this episode Laurence and I discuss the psychological demands of fencing as a martial art; taking control of yourself when competing; using visualisation before competing; developing a mental system of effort & attitude; common distractions and how to deal with them; Recognise, respond, re-focus; what it takes to be world number one; the importance of character development, broadening identity and self-compassion in sport; revolutionising the culture of sport.
Oct 1, 2018 • 57min
#7 Vern Gambetta - Mind + Muscle = Winning
I'm delighted to have Vern Gambetta join me on this episode. Vern has been a sports coach for over fifty years and he's worked with some of the greatest sporting teams and athletes of all time. His CV reads like a who's who of sporting royalty having worked with the Mets, the Chicago Bulls, the 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs. Vern is an athletic development coach using functional training to build foundations in movement skills and physical literacy.
Sep 24, 2018 • 1h 4min
#6 Lara Mossman - The 'Flavours' of Motivation
I'm delighted to speak with Lara Mossman in this episode. Lara is currently studying a PhD in Positive Psychology and Sport at La Trobe University. Her interests are in Autonomy Support, Achievement Goal Theory and Positive Psychology in football. She is the co-founder of The Strengths Exchange, a strength-based positive parenting website. During this conversation, we chat about a range of Positive Psychology topics including promoting player wellbeing and player motivation.
Sep 14, 2018 • 1h 4min
#5 Dr Martin Turner - The Rational Competitor
In this episode, I'm joined by Dr. Martin Turner. Martin is Senior Lecturer in Sport Psychology at Staffordshire University. He's worked in a wide range of sports and is currently Lead Psychologist for the English futsal team. Martin is interested in using a counselling framework called Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT) to improve the performance and enhance the mental health of competitors from all sports. In this episode Martin and I talk about how coaches can use REBT, the relationship between thoughts, feelings and performance; the problem with extreme language; developing flexible thinking and embracing helpful negatives.
Sep 5, 2018 • 1h 31min
#4 Prof Damian Hughes - The Barcelona Way
I'm lucky enough to be joined by international speaker and best-selling author Professor Damian Hughes on today's podcast. Damian is the trusted adviser to the business, education and sporting elite, specialising in the creation of high performing cultures. Damian and I look in detail at this latest book The Barcelona Way honing in on the 'culture of commitment' that Barcelona have instilled. We discuss how Barcelona have put people at the forefront of their culture and how they've sustained success.
7 snips
Aug 27, 2018 • 1h 7min
#3 Doug Lemov - Building a Culture of Error
In this episode, I chat with teacher, teaching mentor and bestselling author Doug Lemov. Doug believes that teaching is a performance profession and spends his time learning what the very best teachers do. During our conversation, Doug introduces practical methodologies that coaches can use to improve their ability to teach, including the craft of coaching on the run, the difference between teaching and learning, how to data collect as you coach and thoughts on using ecological dynamics as a coach.
Aug 27, 2018 • 1h 12min
#2 Dr Chris Shambrook - What if it goes right?
I'm joined by Great Britain Rowing Psychologist Dr Chris Shambrook. Chris is a veteran of 5 Olympic Games. He's worked with elite athletes in the most pressure-filled environments and so is the perfect person to tell the Sport Psych Show how the brain impacts learning and performance. In this episode Chris and I share notes on all things sport psychology including experiencing failure to increase success, using key words to change behaviours, and strength & conditioning for the mind.
