elitesport

This week I’m delighted to speak to Dr Nicky Keay. Nicky is an Exercise Endocrinologist and an Honorary Clinical Lecturer in Medicine at University College London. Previously, Nicky was a Research Fellow in the Department of Sport and Exercise Sciences at Durham University.

Nicky is a member of the British Association of Sport and Exercise Medicine and she conducts clinical research in sports/dance endocrinology which has resulted in a range of research publications and awards.

Nicky’s aim is to redefine optimal health and fitness for the individual helping them to: improve general health and fitness or athletic performance, prevent injury, or rehabilitate after injury or illness. Nicky helps individuals achieve their goals by bringing together her areas of expertise.

We discuss Nicky’s fascinating new book “Hormones, Health and Human Potential: A guide to understanding your hormones to optimise your health and performance”.

I speak with Michael Passaportis and Dr Daniel Brown in this episode.

Michael is a lecturer at the University of Sussex in Sport and Exercise Psychology. He is also completing his doctoral research at the University of Portsmouth.

Michael’s research is centred on exploring the interconnectivity of human excellence and well-being within multidimensional organisational systems, with a specific focus on the psychosocial factors that influence thriving within elite sport organisations. Michael’s research interests are influenced by his past experiences of competing in professional rugby.

Dan is a senior lecturer in Sport and Exercise Psychology at the University of Portsmouth and leads the undergraduate programme in Sport and Exercise Psychology there. He is a Chartered Psychologist of the British Psychological Society and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Dan’s research centres on the psychology of human excellence and well-being (thriving). Specifically, his focuses on understanding and facilitating thriving in humans, athlete transitions and developmental experiences, and the development and assessment of interventions used in sport and performance psychology.

Dan also supervises doctoral students at Portsmouth University, Michael being one of those students. Michael and Dan have co-written a paper with others which is about creating environments for thriving which examines the environmental factors that facilitate athlete thriving.

You can access the paper here:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1469029222001157?via%3Dihub

In this episode I speak to Prof Mark Beauchamp. Mark is a Professor at The University of British Colombia. His research primarily focuses on the social psychology of groups within health, exercise, and sport settings and has been published in a variety of journals such as the Annals of Behavioral Medicine, Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, and the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Mark is a Chartered Psychologist, Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society (BPS), Associate Editor for the 'Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports', and he is on the editorial boards for a number of other journals including 'Sport, Exercise and Performance Psychology'​ (APA), and the 'Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology'. Mark characterises his work as the psychology of human thriving. 

Mark and I discuss a brilliant paper he has written along with Alan Kingstone and Nikos Ntoumanis entitled “Psychology of Athletic Endeavor” which examines the (high quality) evidence that allows athletes to succeed, to thrive and to perform well.

You can find the pre-print version of the paper on ResearchGate https://www.researchgate.net/publication/360181284_Psychology_of_athletic_endeavor

I speak to Dr Keagen Hadley in this week’s episode. Keagen is an occupational therapy doctor who specialises in using psychological treatments such as ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) to improve the lives of his patients.

Keagen is about to release his first book entitled "Torn: Overcoming the Psychological Challenges Post-ACL Injury" (out in June). The book has been written for people who may be struggling with psychological issues related to ACL injuries, though the practical tips on managing stress and overcoming the mental hurdles of injury recovery would be beneficial for those recovering from all types of injury.

Keagen drew on his own personal experiences to write the book, having torn both ACLs playing college and semi-professional football (NFL). This experience made him acutely aware of the struggles associated psychologically post-ACL injury and how to overcome them with positive results. You can check out his website here https://keagenhadley.com

I speak to Dr Lee Hancock in this week’s episode. Lee is a professor in kinesiology at California State University, Dominguez Hills. He is also a coach educator at the US Soccer Federation and the sport psychology coach for Canada Women’s Beach Volleyball team that competed in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio De Janeiro and Tokyo 2020.

Lee is also the founder and owner of DLH Performance - a company dedicated to helping professional athletes, coaches at all levels, business and team leaders, students, parents and organisations fulfil their potential.

And he’s recently released a brilliant book “Talent Zones: 10 Tools to Help Kids Develop Their Talents” in which Lee redefines talent so that parents, teachers, and coaches can create environments rich in opportunities for all kids to boost their confidence and to develop talents in multiple areas. He presents ten evidence-based, developmentally appropriate strategies called Talent Development Zones (TDZs) which transform talent concepts and research into practical strategies adults can use to create environments for developing talents.

I speak with Prof Rosemary Purcell & Dr Courtney Walton in this week’s episode.

Rosie is Director of Knowledge Translation at Orygen. She is also the Deputy Head of Department of the Centre for Youth Mental Health at the University of Melbourne and a registered psychologist. 

Rosie has co-authored over 150 publications in the areas of youth mental health, early intervention in forensic mental health and mental health in elite sport. She is an investigator on a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Project Grant investigating the benefits of physical activity for young people with depression, and a member of the International Olympic Committee’s Elite Athlete Mental Health Consensus Group and the IOC’s Mental Health Translation Working Group.

Rosie’s primary research interests are understanding mental health problems in elite athletes and developing optimal strategies for improving and maximising mental health and wellbeing in sporting environments

Courtney is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow within the Mental Health in Elite Sports research group at The University of Melbourne and Orygen. He is also a psychologist at The Mind Room, where he works primarily with athletes and performers.

Courtney's research aims are to understand the aspects of unstable and competitive environments that both positively and negatively interact with mental health. He is also interested in exploring the ways in which sport and exercise can be supportive of adolescent mental health and well-being. He is an Associate Editor at Australian psychologist, and has contributed to research and consultancy projects with leading sporting organisations such as the AFL, AIS, Cricket Australia, and Tennis Australia. So far, he has published over 50 peer reviewed articles and book chapters.

Courtney and Rosie have co-authored a fantastic paper entitled “An Evidence-Informed Framework to Promote Mental Wellbeing in Elite Sport” and it’s this paper we discuss in detail.

You can read the paper here: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.780359/full

I’m delighted to speak to Dr Colum Cronin in this episode. Colum is Senior Lecturer in Physical Education and Sport Coaching at Liverpool John Moores University. Colum’s research concerns youth sport coaching, coach education and coaching in community contexts.

Colum has worked with a number of sporting organisations such as the Football Association and UK Coaching. He is an associate editor of the academic journal Sports Coaching Review and is co-author of the book ‘Care in Sport Coaching’ along with Kathleen Armour. And it’s this brilliant book we discuss in this episode.

I’m delighted to speak to Prof Kristoffer Henriksen in this week’s episode. Kristoffer is Head of the Learning and Talent in Sport Research Unit at the University of Southern Denmark. He is also a sport psychologist for Team Denmark – an organisation that works to provide Danish athletes with the best possible frameworks and conditions for them to live out their potential and perform at the highest international level.

We discuss Kristoffer’s approach to working with athletes as well as a fantastic paper he wrote along with Gregory Diment and Carsten Hvid Larsen entitled ‘Team Denmark’s Sport Psychology Professional Philosophy 2.0’.

The purpose of the article is to discuss Team Denmark’s professional philosophy; including: (1) the vision for the team; (2) basic beliefs and values; (3) the psychological theories that interventions are based upon; (4) Team Denmark’s Sports Psychological model which describes the content and focus of the team’s work; and (5) the concrete psychological services that delivered. High quality service requires coherence across all five levels of the philosophy.

Read the paper here: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/339167625_Team_Denmark's_Sport_Psychology_Professional_Philosophy_20

I speak with Dr John Stoszkowski and Dr Danny Massaro in this episode.

Danny is widely recognised as one of the best squash coaches in the United Kingdom. He coached his wife, world champion, Laura Massaro, for over 10 years, guiding her to world number 1.

Danny is a lecturer in Sports Coaching at the University of Central Lancashire. And just completed his PhD.

John was, up until very recently, a senior Lecturer at the University of Central Lancashire, leading a range of modules on the BSc Sports Coaching and Performance, BA Sports Coaching and Development, and MSc Sports Coaching programmes. In recognition of his contributions to teaching, John is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

He is research active with a particular interest in coach learning. John has just launched Think Space Academy, a new online cohort-based course.

We discuss the importance of critical thinking in sporting environments.

I’m delighted to welcome Dr Mustafa Sarkar back on the show. Mustafa is Associate Professor of Sport and Performance Psychology at Nottingham Trent University. His main area of research is on individual, team and organisational resilience in elite sport.

Mustafa has a background in teaching and research with most of his research focusing on the psychology of sporting and performance excellence, specifically looking at resilience in high achievers in sport and business. Mustafa also works with coaches and organisations helping them to develop resilience in athletes and teams.

We talk about a brilliant paper that Mustafa has contributed to which discusses psychological safety in sport.

In a Physiotutors first, we were lucky enough to have Paul Venner live with us at the Physiotutors HQ to discuss Ultimate Instability - a tool used worldwide in elite sport and rehabilitation centres around the globe. In addition we talk to Paul about his approach to training with athletes - training methods and approaches that he utilises with Olympic athletes leading to increased learning speed and skill development with the utilisation of the Frans Bosch method! Tune in to find out more! 

Det er ingen hemmelighed at Rusland systematisk har dopet deres atleter fra helt centralt hold. Bevisbyrden og antallet af forseelser er så stort at WADA nu forsøger at sanktionere alle russiske atleter igen. Vi har Antidoping Danmarks direktør Michael Ask bag mikrofonen til at gøre os klogere på hvad udfaldet af denne sag mon bliver. Vi når også at snakke lidt mere om den aktuelle situationen med beskyldningerne om organiseret doping i vægtløftning fra dokumentaren "der Herr der Heber".

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