On the latest episode, we discuss the loan transition in football with Dr Sofie Kent. Sofie is a Senior Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Psychology and the perfect person to talk about this topic, having published her own research on coping with the loan transition in professional association football in 2022.

For young players at the beginning of their professional career, going out on loan is a likely option. For some, this transition be pretty daunting; a completely new environment, in a new place, with new demands. Sofie breaks her research down to help players, staff and organisations understand the demands of going out on loan and how it can best be managed to support the well-being and performance of the player.

Thank you to Sofie for coming on! Click below to learn more about Sofie and her research

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sofie-kent-ba2a3289/

Talking Points

1. Intro and welcome to episode (00:00)

2. Sofie's journey in sport (3:58)

3. 'Mental strength' (14:18)

4. Psychologist in a football academy (19:50)

5. The loan transition in football (36:40)

6. Main stressors for athletes on loan (46:15)

On this episode, we draw from the expertise of the wonderful Dr Fleur - Michelle Coiffait. Fleur is a Clinical Psychologist working across the lifespan, meaning she works with young children all the way up to adults. Dr Coiffait specialises in supporting individuals with neurodivergence, such as ADHD and Autism. She has also worked as a Clinical Psychologist within a Premier League Academy, and supported several others in the sporting context, including athletes, coaches and Sport Psychologist's to better understand clinical issues in sport.

As Sport Psychologist's working with athletes, there are issues that arise that lie outside of our areas of expertise. That's why it is crucial that we understand the role of a Clinical Psychologist and how we can utilise their expertise to best support the athlete. On the episode we discuss what the input of a Clinical Psychologist looks like in a football academy, when Sport Psychologist's may look to refer on to clinical support why it's important to be interested in other areas of psychology, plus much more!

We hope that this episode helps our listeners to differentiate between the role of a Sport Psychologist and Clinical Psychologist and conveys the importance of seeking other input.

We're grateful to finally get Fleur on the pod. Thanks for coming on Fleur!

Connect with Fleur at the below links:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drfleurmichelle?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fmcoiffait/

Talking Points

1. Intro and Welcome to Episode (00:00)

2. Getting into Clinical Psychology (4:10)

3.. Supporting Young Players (21:25)

4. When to Refer to Clinical Psych (34:30)

5. Working with Sport Psychs (51:00)

6. Closing Thoughts (1:03:30)

On today's episode we have a deep conversation about the power of human emotion with Emotional Intelligence (EI) Coach Nick Atzeni.

It's obvious throughout this episode that Nick's philosophy and approach to practice aligns very much with ours. Nick's beliefs however stem from quite a different place. Coming from a business background, Nick has owned many of his own business at home in Italy, in Cameroon and London. He has worked with a vast range of high performance professionals, including entrepreneurs, landscapers, physiotherapists and of course, footballers and athletes!

Nick's supports individuals to increase their emotional intelligence. He breaks emotional intelligence down into 3 clear points and shows us how he considers these through reference to a real life case study.

Increasing self - awareness on the emotions you are experiencing can help you to make sense of them. This then gives you more control around how you respond to them, promoting the chances of positive behaviour change to improve quality of life and performance. We hope this is the episode that sparks curiosity in the emotions you experience!

Thank you to Nick for coming. We got a lot of from this epsiode.

Please leave us a review if you enjoyed.

Find out more about Nick:

Website: https://nickatzeni.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-atzeni-538990a7/

Talking Points

1. Intro and Welcome to episode (00:00)

2. Nick's Journey (3:52)

3. What is EI? (6:29)

4. Individual Differences in EI (11:30)

5. Supporting Athletes with EI (15:50)

6. Questionnaires to Develop EI (27:01)

7. Case Study (36:15)

8. The Struggle to Identify Emotions (52:00)

9. Closing Thoughts (1:05:40)

On our first episode of season 5 we bring you one of our strongest episodes to date, as we have our minds well and truly blown by ACT expert Trevor Jones.

As a professional golfer, Trevor is someone who has lived experience of the demands of elite sport as an athlete. Since a lightbulb moment in competition, Trevor has lived and breathed Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) in all areas of his life. Since then he has pursued a career as a Mental Performance Coach. Currently working under the AWARE Performance Group, Trev has shown thousands of people (including both of your co-hosts) the power of ACT, allowing them to be in contact with what matters most to them.

Today we cover athletic identity, something that we've spoken about loads on the podcast. This season, we wanted to cover it slightly differently than we have before. This episode is experiential in nature and to get the most out of it we'd encourage you (if possible) to engage in all the exercises and prompts that Trevor offers, as we did!

We are delighted with this episode and extremely thankful to Trevor for coming on and doing his thing - he's pretty good at it after all.

Please let us know what you think of this episode and give us 5 stars if you enjoyed it.

Trevor is currently writing a book on the yips, keep up to date with this and much more on his socials:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trevor-jones-036857110/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trevorjones_aware?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==

1. Intro and Welcome to Episode (00:00)

2. Trevor's Lightbulb Moment (7:45)

3. Pairing Identity with Performance (25:20)

4. Perspective Taking and Identity (32:00)

5. Persona or 'Mask' (46:35)

6. Donut SAC Exercise (56:00)

7. Values (1:13:00)

8. Closing thoughts (1:20:00)

SEASON 5 COMING MONDAY 19TH MAY

The Young Player Wellbeing Podcast is back!!

It's been a while, we are sorry we left you. We've been working hard behind the scenes to bring you another season of your favourite sport psychology podcast.

This season we are going to be focusing on 'hot topics' in the world of sport and well-being. These are topics that we find come up most often on the podcast, but also in our work with players, coaches and parents. No spoilers here, listen to this trailer to find out what these topics might be.

After 70+ episodes our confidence in recording these episodes has grown, which is why this season we've moved to a slightly more conversational way of recording. After all, you've got to be psychologically flexible to deal with whatever shows up.

Join us for season 5 of The Young Player Wellbeing Podcast. We hope you enjoy!

On this episode we pick the brains of Dr James Newman. James is a senior lecturer in Sport and Exercise Psychology at Sheffield Hallam University. He is also a HCPC registered Sport and Exercise Psychologist and Associate Fellow and Chartered Psychologist with the British Psychological Society (BPS).

James’ area of expertise is bullying, banter and whistleblowing in elite sport, having conducted several research projects on this across various sports. One sport James has focused a lot on is football. Working in academy football, we (Brad and Toni) have first-hand experience of the ‘bullying and banter’ culture. Rolling back the years, we’ve even been part of environments as athletes, where bullying and banter takes place. 

Join us as we discuss the fine line between bullying and banter in the sporting environment, whist offering up some solutions that organisations and those in positions power can consider to ensure that this balance is managed effectively.

Thanks to James for coming on!

Talking Points

1. Intro and welcome to episode (00:00)

2. James’ journey in sport (3:52)

3. Being captivated with research (9:14)

4. Working with the media (14:23)

5. ‘Bullying and banter’ in sport (18:29)

6. Systemic changes that address bullying and banter (28:53)

7. Organisational changes (38:14)

8. Should we punish bullies? (49:25)

9. Applied work vs research (58:08)

10. Closing thoughts (1:02:35)

Connect with James on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-newman-14610050/

Visit here for more information around his research publishings: https://www.shu.ac.uk/about-us/our-people/staff-profiles/james-newman#firstSection

On this episode we speak to Neil - Addington - Lefringhausen. A man who has plenty of experience integrating psychology in Scottish Football, spending 4.5 years as the academy psychologist at Celtic FC. As psychologists working in Scottish football, we take the opportunity to learn from Neil's experiences and consider the implications for our work but also for others supporting young athletes.

Working as a sport psychologist in any team environment can be daunting. We're thankful to Neil for being open on the challenges he experienced but also offering solutions. This includes discussion around fitting in to the environment as a psychologist, 'undercover' psychology with U9's, using ACT in academy football, the importance of coach buy - in and much more.

Currently, Neil works as a Sport Psychologist at the Scottish Institute of Sport, supporting athletes at an individual and team level across various sports. We also discuss this role and draw out the key differences and skills required compared to his time at Celtic.

Thanks to Neil for coming on!

Connect with Neil on LinkedIn:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neil-addington-lefringhausen-28907b61/

Talking Points

1. Intro and welcome to episode (00:00)

2. Neil's journey in sport (3:20)

3. Academy psychologist at Celtic FC (10:25)

4. Immersed in the environment as a psych (20:22)

5. Engaging U9's - U18's (27:02)

6. Challenges with coach education (33:28)

7. Using ACT 'in the moment' (45:45)

8. Support wellbeing of players and staff (55:12)

9. Psychology in player development plans (1:04:13)

10. Sport Psychologist at the SIS (1:13:59)

11. Closing thoughts (1:18:08)

On our latest episode we speak to the brilliant Marketa Simova. Marketa is a Performance Lifestyle Practitioner at the UK Sport Institute. As part of her role, Marketa supports the wellbeing of Olympic level athletes in swimming and diving, most of whom competed at Paris 2024. We spoke to Marketa fresh off the back of the games (3 days to be exact) to deepen our understanding of performance lifestyle and the detail of support that is put in place to support the wellbeing of Olympians.

There is a bit of a blur around the difference between performance lifestyle and sport psychology. On the episode we sought Marketa's knowledge and experience to explore this in more detail. In doing so, we get a border picture of how an MDT operates in a high performance context. Other highlights include Marketa sharing the implications of her PhD research and the consequences of a toxic performance environment.

This acts as the second episode of season 4 that was recorded in the Leeds Trinity University podcast studio. Thanks to LTU as always for having us down and to Marketa for chatting with us.

Find out more about Marketa via the following links:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marketa-simova-592438184/

Talking Points

1. Intro and welcome to episode (00:00)

2. Marketa's journey in sport (3:51)

3. The difference between performance lifestyle and sport psychology (11:03)

4. Mini case study (25:15)

5. 6 pillars of support as a PL (37:18)

6. Toxicity from media in sport (43:22)

7. Wellbeing of high performance coaches (45:49)

8. Toxic performance environments (52:49)

9. Closing thoughts (1:15:12)

On this episode we speak to the inspiration that is David Smith MBE. Without chatting to David, you'll likely know him as an athlete and for his triumphant gold medal win at the London 2012 Paralympic games in para - rowing. Chat or listen to him and you'll quickly learn he is so much more. David's story is massively influenced by his life changing health challenges. In 2009, in a routine check, a tumour was discovered growing in David's spinal cord.

At the point of recording David has went through 7 spinal surgeries. He was forced to retire from competitive sport in 2016 when he was paralysed from the neck down during surgery. He has faced death more than most human beings and experienced massive physical and mental changes to who he was once as an athlete. On numerous occasions he could've thrown towel in, but David finds himself in round 14 of the fight and going nowhere.

On this episode David shares various experiences and skills that reveal how he has coped with his challenges. This includes seeking support in the form of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and living this in his day - to - day life. It involves drawing on psychological skills taught from sport (e.g. resilience, discipline) and importantly surrounding himself with the people that matter most to him. On a rollercoaster of a journey, David now finds himself on the Young Player Wellbeing Podcast - inspiring us and hopefully all of our listeners.

Thank you David.

David's details below. Please connect with him!

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidsmithmbe/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-smith-mbe-108a0719/

Talking Points

1. Intro and welcome to episode (00:00)

2. David's unique intro (4:38)

3. David's journey in sport (11:46)

4. Emergency surgery and it's impact (26:09)

5. Sport as an escape (46:47)

6. A conveyor belt of athletes (58:53)

7. Closing thoughts (1:19:12)

On today's episode we pick the brains of the brilliant Gordon MacLelland. Gordon is the CEO and founder of 'Working with Parents in Sport', and the parent to sporty kids of his own, making him the perfect guest to address a topic we've been keen to explore for a while. 

In sport, it can be quick to overlook parents as we are so focused on supporting the athletes. There might also be a bit of anxiousness around working with parents, but the importance of parents in sport can't be overstated. Without them, sport simply can't happen. 

The roles and responsibilities of the sporting parent are stressful; driving hours to training / matches, buying kit and paying fees, the car ride home, balancing priorities. If we want to have a positive influence on young athletes, then we need to support parents with the issues they face, which undoubtedly has a knock on effect.

We discuss the pros and cons of running social media accounts for child athletes, the car ride home, shifting culture to influence parent support, an athlete centred approach to supporting parents, how Gordon manages being a sporting parent himself + much more.

We hope our discussion with Gordon is useful for parents and provides them with information that helps them to support their child in sport. We also hope that it provides a different perspective for working with parents in sport for coaches and support staff.

Visit Gordon's website to learn more and access his services: https://www.parentsinsport.co.uk/author/wwpisadm01/

Follow WWPIS on Twitter: https://x.com/_WWPIS

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/workingwithparentsinsport?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/@wwpis

Connect with Gordon on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gordon-maclelland-0bb4b0143/?originalSubdomain=uk

Talking Points

1. Intro and welcome to episode (00:00)

2. Gordon's experience in sport growing up (4:07)

3. Personal experiences influencing career path (6:36)

4. 'The Athletic Triangle' (15:28)

5. Common areas of parent support (28:32)

6. Parents running social media account for kids (43:48)

7. Success stories (53:44)

8. Being a sporting parent himself (59:58)

9. Closing thoughts (1:08:52)

On this episode we talk to the wonderful Dr Arabella Ashfield - recorded in the podcast studio at Leeds Trinity University.

Arabella has extensive experience in performance lifestyle. She has worked for the UK Sport Institute (UKSI; formerly EIS) for the past 15 years, initially as a performance lifestyle advisor with GB canoeing before progressing to a senior performance lifestyle coach with the GB Olympic Cycling Team. She is currently the Performance Lifestyle Research Lead at the UKSI.

Arabella educates us on what performance lifestyle is based on her own experiences. We discuss the responsibilities that performance lifestyle advisors have in terms of athlete wellbeing and what exactly PL's might address to support this.

We also have a detailed conversation around Arabella's research which focuses on flourishing and languishing and what these mean in relation to wellbeing and mental health.

As psychologists there is likely to be a time where we work alongside peformance lifestyle practitioners. To work effectively in a multi disciplinary team (MDT) it's important we know what they do which will optimise the way we collaborate with them and in turn maximise the support offered to the athlete(s). Arabella has provided us with a lot more clarity on the role of a PL and we hope that any practitioners tuning into this episode feel the same.

Stay tuned for more performance lifestyle conversations later this season...

We always enjoy our time down in Leeds so thanks to the team at LTU and Arabella for making this happen.

Connect with Arabella on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arabella-ashfield/

Arabella has recently pivoted towards supporting mothers through motherhood. Visit her website to learn more and access her services: https://www.ascendingmotherhood.com

Talking Points

1. Intro and welcome to episode (00:00)

2. Arabella's experience in sport growing up (3:08)

3. What is a performance lifestyle practitioner? (14:18)

4. Wellbeing responsibilities as a PL (21:45)

5. Is there a focus on performance lifestyle of staff? (31:53)

6. Flourishing and languishing (37:12)

7. Boundaries between mental health and wellbeing (49:21)

8. Implications for NGB's (59:16)

9. Educating practitioners: then and now (1:06:03)

10. Closing thoughts: (1:12:56)

On this episode we speak to Karl Colley, an ex professional footballer born in Sheffield. Karl relished the dream of so many young players by signing a professional contract at 17. Karl signed with Sheffield Wednesday - the rivals of his boyhood club Sheffield United. He later had spells at Newcastle United before returning home to Sheffield, signing at the opposite side of the city with Sheffield United.

But that 'dream' opportunity of playing professional football isn't always what it seems, as revealed by today's guest. We mostly avoid 'on the pitch' stories and instead delve into some of the 'darker' sides of sport. Karl openly shares his personal experiences of isolation and how it later lead to depression, addiction and an attempt on his own life.

We are extremely grateful to Karl for his openness around his struggles which has provided us with a platform to raise awareness on gambling addiction, ill mental health and suicide.

Gambling and depression in particular are issues that are unfortunately prevalent for young athletes who may find themselves with a new, potentially large income stream and a lack of places to spend it. Failure from clubs to really check in on players and direct them towards the correct form of support can lead to the worst possible outcome in suicide. We hope this episode reduces the chances of any young athlete experiencing similar issues to Karl.

Keep up to date with Karl's current pursuits as a mentor and gambling awareness speaker by following him on social media:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karl-colley-32a912167/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karlcoll33/

If you are experience ill mental health we encourage you to reach out or seek support from the following organisations:

Samaritans: https://www.samaritans.org/scotland/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan/

CALM: https://www.thecalmzone.net

Mind: https://www.mind.org.uk

Mental Health Foundation: https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk

Gambling support:

Gam Care: https://www.gamcare.org.uk

Gamble Aware: https://www.gambleaware.org

Talking Points

1. Intro and welcome to episode (00:00)

2. Karl’s journey into professional football (5:02)

3. Competing against the best at Sheffield Wednesday (21:30)

4. Isolation, depression and gambling at Newcastle (30:23)

5. How can we support young players better? (45:24)

6. Returning home and signing for Sheffield Utd (51:56)

7. Depression leading to attempted suicide (1:05:20)

8. The road to recovery (1:12:50)

On this episode we talk to the amazing Jen Coe. Jen is an advocate of greater gender equity and inclusivity in sport and is dedicated to promoting well-being across the sporting landscape. With over two decades of experience working in high performance environments, she champions a culture of performance through well-being in her work with organisations and individuals. Jen has worked from grassroots to elite level across a portfolio of sports, in roles such as coaching, analysis, coach development and sport psychology. She currently works within the women’s professional game in football as the Performance Well-being Lead an exciting role and key to supporting the players journey into, through and after professional sport.

On the episode, Jen shares detailed insight into the landscape of wellbeing support in the women’s game. Jen has been leading a bit of rebranding in the ‘player care’ space, with the role responsibilities being unclear in recent years. This rebranding has helped to streamline wellbeing support with a bit more clarity and intent. 

Jen also shares first hand experience on how wellbeing is addressed at an organisational level, ensuring that staff and wellbeing is being looked after across all of the women’s Super League and Championship teams.

Other highlights include discussion around how clubs may or may not exploit future employees due to many with ambition to work in sport being ‘obessed with the badge’. 

Thanks so much to Jen for coming on. We hope our listeners enjoy this episode.

Purchase Jen’s new book ‘Myths of Sport Performance’ here: ⁠https://www.sequoia-books.com/catalog/sport/⁠

Find Jen on LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenny-coe-1a308a49/⁠

Talking Points

1. Intro and welcome to episode (00:00)

2. Jen’s experience in sport growing up (4:40)

3. Being person - centred (12:31)

4. Performance Wellbeing Lead @ WSL and Women’s Championship (22:10)

5. Addressing wellbeing at an organisational level (33:03)

6. A psychosocial lens in practice (42:10)

7. Avoiding the ‘tick box’ approach (51:52)

8. Sharing best practice in wellbeing (58:42)

9. Exploitation of those ‘obsessed with the badge’ (1:03:25)

10. Closing Thoughts (1:12:06)

We launch season 4 with a bang as we talk to the one and only Dr Pete Olusoga. Anybody interested in sport psychology will know of Pete, whether that’s through his educational wellbeing snippets on social media, tuning in to the eighty percent mental podcast (which Pete hosts) or having been one of Pete’s many students. Toni and Brad have admired Pete from a far for some time and were buzzing to hear that he was willing to appear on the pod.

The 3 chat largely about stress, burnout and the connection with wellbeing. We offer in the moment strategies that will help our listeners to manage stress and ensure that burnout is avoided. In an eye – opening discussion, it becomes apparent that wellbeing is not solely the responsibility of the individual (who knew it?). Whether you’re an athlete, work in a sales team, or a kitchen, the organisation you work for has a duty to ensure that your wellbeing is being catered for. These are the ‘bigger picture’ ways that wellbeing can be addressed in a working environment. It is that very premise that sets up the rest of season 4.

The Young Player Wellbeing Podcast is back. Enjoy!

Thanks so much to Pete for coming on. Find his socials / podcast info below.

Listen / follow / turn notifications on for the eighty percent mental podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/143LNdkleAM1Tx3RLITImd?si=576c5624dcba4f1a

Follow Eighty Percent Mental on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eightypercentmental?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==

Follow Pete on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr_pete_olusoga?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==

And LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peteolusoga/

Talking Points

1. Intro and welcome to episode (00:00)

2.Pete’s experience in sport growing up (3:51)

3. Experiences influencing career path (7:25)

4. Early research interests (9:26)

5. Stress, burnout and connections with wellbeing (13:26)

6. Common symptoms of burnout (25:19)

7. Strategies to manage stress and avoid burnout (32:52)

8. Wellbeing is the responsibility of the organisation (51:40)

9. Closing thoughts (1:10:20)

🚨SEASON 4 COMING MONDAY SEPTEMBER 2ND🚨

We know you’ve missed us, but have no fear because we are BACK. Toni and Brad have been very busy off the back of what was a hugely successful season 3.

Take a listen to find out what they have in store for you over this next season!

An opportunity to learn more about your hosts Brad and Toni, the creation and development of the Young Player Wellbeing Academy / Podcast and some key experiences that have shaped them as practitioners. The pair are interviewed by Dr Richard Simpson in the podcast studio at Leeds Trinity University.

Talking Points

1. Intro and welcome to episode (00:00)

2. Why do we work in psychology / wellbeing? (2:48)

3. What is the Young Player Wellbeing Academy? (10:50)

4. What wellbeing means to us (15:35)

5. Main areas we support academy players with (20:35)

6. Importance of player - led approach (26:30)

7. Key skills developed as Wellbeing Coach's (31:10)

8. Key learnings from hosting the pod (38:34)

9. A letter to our future selves (47:25)

10. Closing thoughts (52:04)

On this episode we speak to player care consultant, counsellor, mentor and aspiring coach Jake Jervis. Jake is an ex professional footballer, having had a successful career that included spells at Plymouth Argyle, Luton Town and Ross County as well as time in India, Finland and Turkey.

Like most ex pro's, Jake picked up a wide range of skills and attributes from football. But Jake is more than just a footballer. He is a passionate, family - orientated individual that wants to support the youth of today wherever he can. It's easy to see how Jake's skills combined with his beliefs and passions have lead him down the career path he is currently on.

On the episode we draw on Jake's playing career to learn how this has influenced the man he is today and all the work he is doing to give back in the youth sport space.

Find check on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jake-jervis-475072b0/

Follow him on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jjervis14/

If you are seeking support please check get in touch or visit the following links which were mentioned in this episode.

Samaritans: https://www.samaritans.org/?nation=scotland

Mind: https://www.mind.org.uk/need-urgent-help/using-this-tool/

Mental Health Foundation: https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk

Calm: https://www.thecalmzone.net

Andy's Man Club: https://andysmanclub.co.uk

Talking Points 1. Intro and welcome to episode (00:00) 2. Jake's experience in sport growing up (3:51) 3. Proactive approach to transitions (9:08) 4. Biggest challenges faced in professional football (14:42) 5. Transferable skills from football (23:01) 6. Managing wellbeing as a footballer (29:22) 7. Retiring from professional football (38:40) 8. Motivation to support young athletes (44:30) 9. 'Coffee Culture' (47:08) 10. Emotional intelligence (49:47) 11. Key message (54:06) 12. Closing thoughts (57:30)

Our latest episode is with Dr Paul Mansell. Paul is an expert on the psychology of stress in sport, having conducted a PhD focused on just that. Since then, Paul has taken up a role as a lecturer in sport and exercise psychology at Staffordshire University. Interestingly, Paul is also a podcast host, heading up ‘The Performing Under Pressure Podcast’. On the pod Paul chats to former professional footballers and other high-level performers about how they view and cope with pressure in their field. 

On this episode we talk about stress, nerves, and pressure. We share our opinions on how we view these feeling and how we may support athletes to understand them better, to benefit both wellbeing and performance.

Other highlights include learning more about Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT), Paul’s current and future research projects and the future of ‘The Performing Under Pressure Podcast’.

Learn more about Paul and his pod by visiting the links below.

The Performing Under Pressure Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/2UVgbxrwlSJKHax8CmsDOc?si=6aaaf927663343c2

Paul on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-paul-mansell-94ab9113b/

 Talking Points

1. Intro and welcome to the pod (00:00)

2. Paul’s experience in sport growing up (3:35)

3. First interests in psychology of stress (5:10)

4. Is being stressed a bad thing? (10:30)

5. ‘Stress Mindset’ (14:40)

6. Challenge vs Threat Mindset (22:49)

7. Wellbeing and Performing Under Pressure (31:02)

8. REBT to support athletes with stress (39:00)

9. Personal strategies to cope with stress (52:30)

10. The ‘Performing Under Pressure Podcast’ (59:48) 

11. Closing thoughts (1:07:55)

On this episode we talk to Dr Luke Barnes, in a special, shorter episode which we recorded in the podcast studio at Leeds Trinity University.

Luke worked with an English Championship academy club for 6+ years as an academy psychologist. Throughout this time, Luke played a vital role in driving values, working closely with both staff and players to do so. This aligns well with Luke's PhD, which focused on integrity and English football. We discuss the work Luke implemented in this space in detail, with a focus on values, identity, self - efficacy, motivation and much more.

Dr Luke Barnes has played a key role in formalising the working relationship between the Young Player Wellbeing Academy and Leeds Trinity University and we look forward to working with him and their staff in the near future.

Enjoy!

Follow / Connect with Luke on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-luke-barnes-114250267/?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app

Follow Leeds Trinity's Sport Psych page on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ltusportpsych?igsh=MXUxZTBxNmQwd3dtcQ%3D%3D

and LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ltu-sport-psychology/

Talking Points

1. Intro and welcome to episode (00:00)

2. What is sporting integrity? (4:28)

3. Embedding psychology in academy football (8:38)

4. Wellbeing in academy football (18:16)

5. Common areas of support (24:28)

6. Internal vs external psychology support (31:50)

7. Closing thoughts (36:17)