The Talent Equation Podcast

Dr Mustafa Sarkar is an Associate Professor of Sport and Performance Psychology at Nottingham Trent University. His research focuses on the psychology of sporting excellence and its application to other high performance domains. His work addresses how high achievers thrive on pressure and deliver sustained success with a particular focus on team, and organisational resilienceas well as personal and team growth and thriving. In this conversation we explore Mustafa's own experiences as an aspiring athlete and his own challenges with responding to performance pressures. We also explore the nature of resilience and discuss to working models to help coaches to design environments that stimulate growth while maintaining athlete wellbeing. It is a really interesting conversation...hope you enjoy...

The best-selling author of 'Teach Like a Champion' and 'Practice Perfect' makes a welcome return to the podcast and has a new book out called 'A Coach's Guide to Teaching' https://amzn.to/2LMYKlnDoug brings his considerable knowledge about the science of classroom teaching to the sports coaching world to support coaches on the court and field. The book is written brilliantly and makes core scientific concepts accessible and practical.... it prepared to explore ideas from a range of theoretical perspectives to open discussion about some key areas that are still hotly debated today. You will hear me exploring some of this with Doug as some of the ideas don't necessarily map on to my perspective on coaching but we show how these things can be accessed by coaches. https://amzn.to/2LMYKlnThis is a great Christmas present to yourself so go ahead and get stuck in.

Peter Arnott and Greame McDowell run 'Golf on the Edge of Chaos' a unique coach development programme that allows golf coaches to learn and explore the applications of non linear pedagogy and the constraints led approach in golf. Ian Renshaw is a regular podcast guest and is a researcher and renowned author specialising in the constraints led approach based at QUT in Australia. They have just published a new book to demonstrate how their practice is driven and inspired by their alignment to a CLA, @A Constraints-Led Approach to Golf Coaching' includes case studies and examples of how constraints are manipulated to induce adaption in the technical, tactical (or put in golf terms, course management), physiological, and psychological development mechanisms needed to improve at golf. In this conversation we discuss how they apply the principles and seek to support golfers on their journey. We explore some of the the approaches that they use with young players, elite amateurs and also aspiring professionals. It is

David Colclough is the Head of Member Education at the Professional Golfers Association in the UK. David is a PGA Advanced Fellow Professional. Following 14 years of coaching golfers of all abilities, at home and abroad, As Head of Member Education his main objective is to support PGA Members with their own personal & professional development, providing relevant training and education opportunities which are reflective of the knowledge and skills required from the various roles they have throughout the golf industry.In this discussion we explore: - How coach education in golf has moved away from prescriptive approaches. - Some of the great innovations of golf coaches and their brilliant methods - How the professional coach 'form of life' affects the way that they coach (but why this could change for the better for them)- The difference between 'surface level' learners and 'deeper level' learners - and the methods that tend to be used with themHope you enjoy

Here is the link to support the fundraising effort for Kiran...any help would be greatly appreciated - https://uk.gofundme.com/f/a-chance-for-kiranThis week's podcast is a bit of a different one...the Talent Equation Learning Community (we call it 'The Conclave') went on a field trip. We joined up with Rob Gray from the Perception and Action Podcast (the brainy older cousin of TTE!) and had a 'livestreamed conclave meeting' where we discussed Rob's recent video series exploring the difference between Ecological theory and Information Processing theory. Here is a link to the original video which I would recommend checking out before listening to this..https://www.thetalentequation.co.uk/single-post/why-drills-don-t-work-in-an-ecological-approach-to-skill-development

Luke Regan is an LTA Level 4 coach with a real passion for exploring the applications of the constraints led approach in tennis. Luke is a member of the Talent Equation Learning Group 'The Conclave' and has been actively engaged in sharing his learning journey with others. In this episode we discuss: - Why Luke feels that he gets on much better with the people he coaches when he stops trying to coach them. - Why the technique led model of coaching is bad for business and bad for tennis- The ways that he applies the approach with different clients - How Luke has really helped me with my tennis (he even gives me a verbal coaching session as we explore some of my challenges with the game!)Hope you enjoy

Craig Morris is a canoe slalom coach working within the elite performance pathway of British Canoeing. He has recently been shortlisted as a finalist in the Elite Performance Coach Category of the UK Coaching Awards. Craig's journey into coaching is not a typical one but what comes across in this conversation is an individual who is thirsty for information and learning, willing to be vulnerable in approaching the application of ideas and completely committed to the needs of their athletes. Key topics discussed include: - Why you need to be meticulously planned to enable fluid (no pun intended) transitions in practice- Whether planning fits an ecological approach to coaching- The importance of leaving things open to challenge by the athlete- Why coaching is like improvised comedyI hope you enjoy

Dr Ed Cope is a Lecturer in Sports Coaching at Loughborough University in the UK. He has had lecturing positions in Sports Coaching at Sheffield Hallam University and the University of Hull. Ed has also worked at the English Football Association, where he was responsible for the design and development of their education courses.In this conversation Ed and I unpack an article that he has recently written with Prof Chris Cushion about 'Direct Instruction' which leads to some surprising conclusions about how we might think about instruction (hint: it's not instruction at all). Link to the article - https://impact.chartered.college/article/a-move-towards-reconceptualising-direct-instruction-sport-coaching-pedagogy/Link to an article about the principles of direct instruction - https://teacherhead.com/2018/06/10/exploring-barak-rosenshines-seminal-principles-of-instruction-why-it-is-the-must-read-for-all-teachers/

Adam Young is a golf coach and someone who defies easy categorisation. He is one of the most knowledgable people about the technical aspects of golf and has a real in depth understanding of physics, bio-mechanics and physiology but he eschews all of that in favour of a coaching approach which has very little of that information present in the learning environment for the participant. He works in an extremely 'task led' way and uses constraints as a way to support a golfer to learn how to become more proficient in the game. His approach has built a significant following online and his book 'The Practice Manual' https://www.adamyounggolf.com/book/ is a fantastic companion to anyone wanting to learn the game. I hope you enjoy our conversation about coaching...

Carl Woods PhD is a Senior Research Fellow at Victoria University in Melbourne, Australia. He also works with high performance sports teams as a coach and consultant with his main focus sport being Aussie Rules Football. In this conversation we explore a range of issues related to how ecological principles can be used and adopted and applied by coaches. The range of subjects include...- Why coaches need to have a good grasp if what they are doing and why they are doing it- The difference between 'knowledge of' and 'knowledge about' sport and why that is essential for coaches to understand- How technology can seriously undermine skill acquisition- How to design learning environments using 'fishtanking' It is an extremely rich and varied conversation. Enjoy

Mark Williams is an academic and one of the world’s leadingauthorities on expertise and its acquisition in sport. He has published18 books and written over 500 scientific articles on how peoplebecome skilled and achieve success in sport. Mark's new book is called 'The Best: How elite athletes are made' is a really interest delve into the science of athlete development told through the stories of elite athletes and coaches. In this episode Mark joins me for my regular monthly conversation with the learning community called 'The Conclave' for a live podcast recording and question and answer session. In the conversation we discuss: Deliberate Practice and 10,000 hours - what does the science tell us now? Why specificity, variability and representativeness are essential to athlete developmentThe role of coaching and how to improve it. and so much more...Here is a link to the book https://t.co/n1eX7N1f0PHope you enjoy...

Iain 'Brunchy' Brunnschweiller is the Head of Coaching and Player Development at Southampton FC. His work seeks to improve the development experience for the players within the academy so that the club can continue it's impressive record of supporting the development of some of the countries most able young players. In this conversation we explore the ways that Iain has evolved his coaching approach and how his experiences as a professional sportsman have influenced his development as a professional coach developer. We also spend a bit of time exploring the unique role of 'keepers' in a range of sports and how their development presents some unique challenges fro those wanting to develop their abilities in a non linear way.I hope you enjoy the discussion.

I was invited by Ivan Cobb and Adam Haniver to join the community of boxing coaches that they convene to talk about skill acquisition, ecological dynamics and the constraints led approach. It is a wide ranging discussion where I am responding to questions and exploring the ways that a 1 to 1 combat sport could utilise ecological principles and apply the constraints led approach. Hope you enjoy

Greg Spencer has spent a good proportion of his life afloat...he is a paddler...he is passionate about all forms of self propelled floating water craft...he particularly loves canoes and he loves helping other people to fall in love with canoes. In this conversation, Greg and I explore how canoe coaching sets so comfortably with the ecological approach and how it has influenced the ways in which he works to develop a club environment that is about "people learning from people". We cover a lot of ground including...- Why young people make the best coaches- Why the least psychologically safe space for kids is an age grade team- How he wants to develop clubs that are 'nested social learning spaces' - The role of the coach as a facilitator of learning - a 'guide by the side'I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I didCheck out www.singleblade.co.uk for more information on the work that Greg is doingStuart

This weeks podcast comes from a 'Breakfast Club' session that I did with the Mark Cairns, one of the founders of 'Coach Logic' and Dr Ed Coughlan. In this conversation, Ed walks through his ideas about helping coaches to develop using a 'cut, bleed and bandage approach' and we then explore various other methods and some ways that coaches can commit to their development and learning. Hope you enjoy.

Kathy Sierra is the name behind the fabulous @intrinzen Twitter account and the @Pantherflows Instagram account. Kathy has an amazing backstory including time as an exercise physiologist and owner of one of the biggest gyms in California to a career in video game design. More recently she spends her time using ecological principles to develop the movement capabilities of horses. As her website puts it..."We use the principles of exercise physiology, motivation science, and neuroscience in a specific, unique way to develop a horse that is intrinsically motivated to “dance” in true self-carriage. Not for us, but for himself. And all of the wonderful experiences we have the horse — from ground work to riding — are the beautiful, organic side-effect of helping the horse develop autonomy, mastery, and purpose through powerful postures and movements".It is absolutely astounding...as is this conversation....it really doesn't matter if you are into horses or not...trust me...you will not want to miss this conversatio

Gérard Jones is Elite Coach Educator with the Fédération Royale Marocaine de Football (Moroccan Football Federation). He is also published author and professional football coach with over 14 years coaching experience across the world. He recently served as a Grassroots Instructor with USSF and Director of Coaching in the US, having also been a Head of Academy Coaching at EFL League One side Bristol Rovers FC, where he was responsible for coach and player development.In this podcast we discuss Coach Education, Non Linear Pedagogy, 'Priming to attune' and a range of other subjects. Enjoy

Jamie Edwards from 'Trained Brain' makes a welcome return to the show to explore some of the challenges being presented by the current lockdown and how coaches can help themselves to deal with the effects of social isolation as well as helping athletes to work through it. In this episode Jamie meets 'The Conclave' the Talent Equation's monthly learning community to answer questions. It is a really interesting discussion. If you would like to find out more about the work Jamie does then head over to https://www.trained-brain.com/If you would like to join The Conclave...you would be more than welcome...just head over to https://www.patreon.com/thetalentequationStay safe...

Mark Bennett from 'Performance Development Systems' and Alan Keane, Head Coach of Reading Rockets Basketball Club make a welcome return to the show to share some of their latest thinking around coaching and coach development. The conversation centres around why they have moved away from the term 'athlete centred' or 'player centred' coaching towards 'need centred or needs led' coaching. We explore what this means, why it is important and how it is applied. In this discussion we cover the following: - - - Why asking questions doesn't make you an athlete centred coach- How to help athletes define what the WANT is compatible with what they NEED- The 3 'A's' of 'The rule of 3'- Why 'selling the why' is so importantMark and Alan are embarking on an extensive engagement programme to support coach learning while everyone is in lock down. Head to www.pdscoaching.com to find out more.

I caught up with Shawn Myszka and Tyler Yearby, the co-founders of 'Emergence' a www.emergentmvmt.com, a dedicated resource and community for coaches and movement specialists looking to explore the ever growing world of skill acquisition through ecological dynamics. In this conversation we explore why 'emergence' was set up and the impact it is having for coaches looking to learn more about this branch of the coaching world. We also dig into what this means for coaches working day to say and I challenge the guys to come up with some solutions for parents at home as to the kinds of things that they could do to keep their kids active. Join the guys at one of their 'movement meet ups' at www.emergentmvmt.com