Peter Dutton is a psychotherapist and counsellor who works with athletes and occupational workers to enhance their wellbeing and performance. Peter works for Sporting Chance to help athletes in dealing with addictions and he is also a part-time lecturer at Anglia Ruskin University. In this episode, he shares insights from his practice to hosts Dr Paul Mansell and Dr Karla Drew. During the conversation, Peter outlines the role of dopamine in addiction and explains how mentoring can be a valuable approach to support career transitions. Peter also describes how mental health can impact performance and how we might be able to spot when a teammate is suffering from poor mental health. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Graham Scott has spent a decade refereeing at the highest level of English football having worked his way up from the National League to the Premier League. He retired from the Select Group of Officials in 2025. In this episode, Graham explains to hosts Dr Paul Mansell and Professor Matt Slater how he was able to perform well in the high-stakes environment that is Premier League football. Part of this process is built around a clear routine, and Graham outlines how he approached the days and hours leading up to kick-off. He shares what he considers to be the biggest source of mistakes in officiating and provides some interesting advice for those who are looking to excel at officiating. We also discuss the need for referees to decompress after an important fixture, and Graham reflects on the reporting of refereeing decisions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ian Davies MBE is an associate professor in Health, Education and Policing Sciences at the University of Staffordshire. For 20 years, Ian worked within the NHS as Lead Biomedical Scientist and an Operational Manager, providing 24-hour analysis of specimens from patients to assist in the diagnosis and monitoring of disease. In 2025, Ian was awarded an MBE for his services to pathology and biomedical science education. In this episode, Ian offers his unique perspective into the challenges and psychological effects of working within a demanding clinical environment. He goes into detail about the inherent stressors of working with sick patients and how to handle these, as well as his thoughts on what makes an effective leader. Ian also explains how he is designing graduate courses to better equip prospective NHS scientists with the ability to lead and perform under pressure. With thanks to Jacob Rowlands and Holly Cadman for their technical support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ben Osborn is a professional footballer who is currently on loan to Stockport County from Derby County. His former clubs include Nottingham Forest and Sheffield United, and he has also represented England at U18, U19, and U20 level. He has made over 350 appearances in his career including 61 appearances in the Premier League. In this episode, he explains how he prepares himself to deliver on a matchday. He describes his ideal type of leadership, including what changed at Derby County towards the end of the 2024/25 season when they survived relegation having looked certain to go down. Ben also explains his business interests and how he is utilising mentoring in schools to support the development of adolescent boys. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this special international episode recorded in the Porto region of north Portugal, we are joined by professional footballer Erin Seppi. Erin is from New Jersey in the United States of America and has represented Romanian side FC Cluj in the Champions League before joining Valadares Gaia in 2021. Valadares Gaia are one of the top sides in women's football in Portugal, and Erin is their captain and goalkeeper. In this episode, Erin reveals the kind of skills that are in her psychological toolkit that can help her to perform under pressure and deal with mistakes. Our first goalkeeper on the show, Erin also explains the psychology of a goalkeeper and how that might be different to outfield players. We focus on leadership and Erin describes how a senior leadership group can shape togetherness at Valadares Gaia. Erin also explains how she was able to deal with studying while playing to a high level, and how she is developing skills now that can underpin life beyond football. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jeremy Holt is a chartered organisational psychologist and a founder of the Centre of Team Excellence. He has spent over 30 years building high-performance teams in sport, business, and the military. Jeremy also coaches young players in grassroots rugby, for which he has a strong passion. He is also the author of "For the Love of the Game: How to coach identity, belonging and performance in sport. A playbook for grassroots coaches".  In this episode, Jeremy gives an overview of the "TRIBE" method outlined in his book, which gives a guideline for creating a sense of togetherness or "us" within a team. Additionally, Jeremy talks about his approach to team leadership and the importance of social identity. He recounts his experiences working in senior officer training, as well as working with some of Great Britain's Olympic and Paralympic teams. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Emma Heighway is the Subject Leader of PE at Erasmus Darwin Academy, a school based in Staffordshire. Having graduated with a first class honours degree and completed her PGCE, she has been teaching PE for over ten years. More recently, she has been promoted to Subject Leader, and leadership forms a big part of our conversation. We discuss the importance of having values that are lived, and Emma shares how this is the case for students and staff alike. We also discuss ways to motivate young people, the importance of goal setting, and how to make a learning environment inclusive. Emma also shares her approach to fostering the development of leadership in young people. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Katie Clark is a HCPC accredited Sport and Exercise Psychologist. She completed her postgraduate degree at the University of Staffordshire and has since gone on to work in a Premier League football academy and in women's football, among other sports. In this episode, she explains to Dr Paul Mansell how she navigated the challenging pathway to becoming a Sport Psychologist. Katie tells us more about her work around the training ground and on a matchday, and she reflects on strategies that she finds to be effective when working with players. Katie outlines the balance between working at group-level vs. 1-to-1 and how she works through the coach to develop an effective environment for performance under pressure. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sara Svoboda is a Canadian rugby player at Harlequins FC. In 2021, she reached the semi-finals of the Rugby World Cup, and has over 20 caps for her country. Sara is also a doctoral researcher at Loughborough University.In this episode, Sara shares her methods for controlling her demeanour and behaviour while performing under pressure, both on and off the field. As an international athlete, Sara offers a unique perspective on the ways in which she has been able to support her team following some significant setbacks, sharing her findings on the usefulness of being mentally flexible in response to adversity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James Maurice is the Lead Academy Sport Psychologist at Portsmouth FC. He has previously worked in the academies at West Ham United, Sunderland, and Wolverhampton Wanderers. In this episode, James shares his experiences of working in this domain, as well as working for GB Archery at the Olympic and Paralympic Games. James describes the concept of 'pressure menus' to help prepare athletes for competition. We discuss the role of mentoring and the findings from James's PhD which examined the parent engagement in academy football. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Former professional footballer Sam Winnall has completed a fascinating research project as part of his MSc, and in this bonus episode, he explains his findings to Dr Paul Mansell. Conducted with a sample of current elite strikers, including an international player, Sam investigated the role of competition for places between teammates in football. With most teams playing with only one 'number 9', how do footballers navigate the scenario of being a team-mate, a friend, and a rival for a place in the team? Sam outlines the results of his interviews, which include healthy and unhealthy competition, what is meant by a 'Goldilocks' level of competition, and the social factors that can influence this dynamic. He also shares some useful implications based on his research. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nathan Magill's job is to oversee the development of thousands of referees in England. His previous experience includes being Head of Referees at Football Australia and he is also a Board Member on the Premier League's Elite Referee Development Plan. He explains to hosts Dr Paul Mansell and Stuart Carrington the importance of a person-first approach to his role. This episode naturally features conversations about the learning and development of referees, but more so, the development and leadership of individuals. Nathan shares the one question that underpins his leadership, how the FA support referees in dealing with abuse, and why he has no non-negotiables when it comes to referees. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Helen Davis is a Sport Psychologist who has extensive experience working across a broad spectrum of sports, collaborating with accomplished athletes at various levels. Her clientele includes elite professional teams and individuals, amateurs, Olympic and Paralympic medallists, as well as Commonwealth, European and World Champions. Through completing her postgraduate degree at the University of Staffordshire, Helen explains her transition from teaching into sport psychology. With host Dr Paul Mansell, we explore Helen's experiences of working at Wimbledon, and Helen outlines how a lightbulb moment helped her to see pressure in a different way as a competitive swimmer herself. We also discuss supervision of trainee sport psychologists, and Helen reveals what she thinks sport psychology will look like as a discipline in the future. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode, Maisie Brown shares her experiences of what life is like as the romantic partner of a high performance athlete. Married to Jacob Brown, a forward for Luton Town and Scotland, Maisie shares her thoughts on what it is like to navigate the transfer window, dealing with Jacob's injuries, experiencing abuse, and the scheduling issues that are part of football. This interview builds on Dr Sofie Kent's work which explores the experiences of romantic partners in elite sport. Often the bedrock of an athletes' support system, there is often a lack of focus on supporting romantic partners. Maisie offers some suggestions as to how this might be improved, as well as her advice as to how younger romantic partners can best deal with life in this domain. We also hear from Jacob about the level of support he feels that he receives from Maisie, while he also shares some of his experiences as part of being a married couple in elite sport. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jack Cuthbertson is a personal trainer and business owner. Having worked in the industry for over a decade, he explains how he uses psychology as an integral part of his daily work. For example, he outlines how he uses goal setting, his approach to motivating his clients, and how he went about taking a calculated risk to set up his own business. This episode really highlights the role that psychology plays in both work and life, and regardless of your occupation, there are some useful takeaways that can help individuals reflect on their own use of psychology. Jack describes to hosts Dr Paul Mansell and Dr Andrew Wilkinson how he protects his mental health and shares a useful analogy that our listeners may benefit from. We also debate the success of Hyrox, and Jack explains how he uses psychology himself as a regular Hyrox competitor. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nathan is a Digital Sports Editor, Presenter, Sports Writer, and Podcast Host for Wolverhampton’s Express and Star newspaper. He has covered Wolves for nearly a decade, and earlier this year, he was named Sports Journalist of the Year at the Regional Press Awards. In this episode, we explore performance under pressure in the domains of journalism and broadcasting. To what extent are deadlines a stressor in journalism? What are the nuances of managing relationships between football clubs and the press? What is like working in the chaos of the transfer window? How important is integrity in broadcasting? And who is the best sports journalist in the world, in Nathan's opinion? From a Wolves perspective, Nathan shares what it was like working with Nuno Espirito Santo and how challenging it can be to be the bearer of bad news. We also discuss life as a podcast host and how to prepare for speaking live in front of hundreds of people. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Stuart Carrington is a Lecturer at St Mary's University in Twickenham, London. He is currently completing his PhD which centres around officials' performance under pressure, and he is the author of 'Blowing the Whistle: The Psychology of Football Refereeing'. In the episode, Stuart discusses the strategies that officials typically find to be helpful before, during, and after a performance. With a focus on Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy, Stuart explains which irrational beliefs are particularly prominent and unhelpful in officials. We also discuss how organisations can facilitate performance under pressure for officials, such as through mentoring schemes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dr Katie Sparks is a Lecturer of Sport and Exercise Psychology at the University of Staffordshire and a Performance Lifestyle Advisor for British Rowing. She completed her PhD at the University of Birmingham in 2022 and has published several peer-reviewed articles relating to performing under pressure. In this episode, she tells Dr Paul Mansell and co-host Brent Horleston about the importance of mindfulness and how it can facilitate performance. Although not an easy skill to develop, mindfulness can be learned by anyone and can reduce rumination and anxiety. We also discuss self-compassion and how parents can learn these skills to better support their child. The role of mentoring in academy football is explored, as well as how we might reduce the likelihood of choking under pressure. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jack McMillan is a former professional footballer who has dedicated his second career to supporting professional athletes on a holistic level. His specialisms include breathwork and yoga, and he has worked with over 60 professional football clubs and organisations including the PFA and Great Britain. Joining Jack and host Dr Paul Mansell in the studio are two of Jack's clients. Former professional footballer Jake Jervis and Luton Town and Scotland forward Jacob Brown shared their experiences of working with Jack and more broadly, how breathwork and other strategies have helped their performance and wellbeing. Jack describes the science behind breathwork and underlines the importance of maximising something that we all do 20,000 times per day. We discuss the role of the out-breath, the link between breathing and our physiology, and how other strategies such as yoga, meditation, and grounding can support the psychology of athletes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This episode contains a trigger warning - see episode description below... Dr Andrew Wood is a HCPC registered sport psychologist with a specific interest in Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy. He has worked with many businesses and teams as well as previously holding lecturer positions at the University of Staffordshire and Manchester Metropolitan University. Joining Dr Paul Mansell in the studio as a co-host is England blind footballer Azeem Amir. Andrew worked with Azeem during his time as the team's sport psychologist. Andrew reflects on what it is like to work in para sport and how adopting rational rather than irrational beliefs can facilitate performance under pressure. Andrew also candidly speaks about his experiences of long Covid. In an emotional and enlightening episode, Andrew shares how he coped with some incredibly dark times, and we should warn listeners that there is a discussion about topics that might be upsetting. If you or someone you know is in crisis, Mind UK are a charity that offer free mental health support via their website https://www.mind.org.uk/about-us/contact-us/ or by calling 0300 102 1234. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices