The Talent Equation Podcast

Chris Panayiotou is the Global Technical Director for Rush Soccer, a worldwide soccer coaching network that has 50,000 players across the globe. Chris is originally from the UK and has been based in America for a number of years and has committed his coaching career to supporting other coaches within the Rush Community to improve and develop to provide the best possible experience for children in their programmes. In this conversation we reflect on our learning from the 'Future of Coaching' conference which we both attended over the weekend and Chris also shares some valuable insights into his approach and methodology which has seen him named as one of the top coaches in America by the Positive Coaching Alliance. EnjoyLink to Chris's Peom called 'Football Done' herehttps://youtu.be/vP9uSGPx_kAEnd of Average Book https://www.amazon.co.uk/End-Average-Succeed-Values-Sameness/dp/0062358367http://www.varush.com/

This week's podcast is the final one of 2018...hasn't the year flown by!! For this episode I asked some of the guests I have had on the show over the year to drop by for a little Christmas sin dig so that they could share their reflections and learnings from the year. It is a bit of a crazy whirlwind of a conversation with people coming and going and we cover a lot of ground but there is some gold in these reflections. I hope you enjoy it and have a fantastic Christmas and an amazing New Year. Thanks Stuart

This week's podcast is another experiment in sound recording. I am travelling in my car, Mark has just come out of the gym, Juan is in his office at school and John has just got back from taking the children to school. But we still managed to record a conversation!! You join us as we are planning our forthcoming conference 'The Future of Coaching' as we finalise how we are going to be delivering the sessions and running the conference as well as discussing some of the themes that we will be covering. We then delve into a couple of hot topics that are facing many of the coaches that we work with and explore some of the ways in which we can address them. It is a great conversation and has really whetted my appetite for the discussions to come in the New Year!!Tickets can be booked for the event through the link below.https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-future-of-coaching-with-john-osullivan-stuart-armstrong-mark-bennett-mbe-tickets-49934657906

Andrew Gillott describes himself as a Coach Developer. I would describe him as a genius learning architect. Andrew has been instrumental in leading and creating opportunities for coaches to learn and develop and his passion for learning and development has meant that he has led some of the most innovative and creative programmes of development for coaches up and down the UK talent system. In this conversation we explore the inevitable 'drills v games' debate, how he uses an ecological approach to help coaches to appreciate their effect on athletes and why context is important when understanding the behaviour of coaches. Hope you enjoy

Dr Amanda Visek is a researcher from George Washington University in the U.S as well as being an active sports coach and someone who is passionate about the role that sport can play to improve children's lives. Her research provides a fascinating look into what makes sport fun for children and the results will surprise you. In this super interesting conversation we delve into the way that she gathered the information and then used 'concept mapping' techniques to provide a visual reference as to the key elements of fun for children. She then shares some of her latest unpublished research that compares how parents and coaches rank certain elements and how this is not necessarily aligned to the way children rank things!! The research can be found here https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4201634/A presentation on the fun maps with visuals can be found here https://appliedsportpsych.org/site/assets/files/14874/visek.pdfI hope you enjoy the conversation

Scott McNeill is a Performance Coach Developer for GB Hockey, a Performance Director for the Canoe Association of Northern Ireland as well as a mentor for the Premier League. He has been part of a group of people that have led a transformation within GB Field Hockey to redevelop the player development system in line with the principles of Ecological Dynamics. In this fascinating conversation, Scott describes the journey of bringing about this change within the sport and some of the key pillars of embedding these concepts and ideas into the psyche of the playing and coaching community. While this discussion explores how this is done on a whole sport scale, the ideas and approaches that are shared by Scott apply to anybody looking to foster a player centred environment which allows players to thrive and develop. Even though I have been on this journey with Scott and his colleagues as a coach and coach developer, I still found the conversation fascinating and insightful. I know you will too!!Enjoy!!

Richard Shorter has spent his life committed to supporting families to improve their communication and relationship dynamics. He set us www.non-perfectdad.co.uk to provide a space for sporting parents to help to navigate the dynamic world of sport for young people. In this illuminating and energising conversation Richard unloads 20 years of knowledge about the challenges of parenting into an hour and a half conversation that is rich with valuable ideas! Many of these ideas have been encapsulated in Richard's new book 'Conversations for the Journey - 40 ways to build sporting character' which can be purchased at his website using a special promo code especially for Talent Equation subscribers. Use the link below to get your discount. https://non-perfectdad.co.uk/talentequation/The book has been really useful for me in the few short weeks that it has been in my possession so I can't recommend it highly enough. Hope you enjoy as much as I did!!

Sergio Lara-Barcial has committed his life to improving the coaching experience for young people. As a coach, researcher and policy maker he is working hard to give himself and others more opportunities to learn, develop and improve. In this conversation we discuss his role as a national team coach and how he had to find strategies to ensure that the stress didn't affect him. He shares his research into the characteristics of serial winning coaches and he also shares the insights into his latest project...a global campaign and movement called 'icoachkids' designed to improve the sports experience for children by supporting coaches to be the best they can be. Sergio is a genuinely inspirational figure in the word of coaching...i know you will enjoy listening to his story as much as I did. Find out more about icoachkids and take the pledge at www.icoachkids.eu

Jack Shakespeare is the head of UK Active Kid a 'not for profit health body' that is focused on tackling the growing epidemic of inactivity among young people in the UK. In this conversation Jack and I explore the ways that they are taking a 'socio-ecological' approach to creating communities and environments that support young people into a more physically active life. This is a fascinating conversation with a passionate and skilful operator working to achieve some pretty extraordinary things. I hope you enjoy.

Sam Jarman is an ex professional golfer he is now a golf coach but his interests and knowledge go far wider than a single sport. I would describe Sam as a 'Human Experience Specialist'. In this episode we get deep into an exploration of what makes us human and how we operate in the world. Sam blows apart some common held ideas about how experience shapes us and proposes some ideas that could have profound insights as to how we can better support young people on their journeys through life and sport. This episode made my head hurt...it still makes my head hurt!! There is a lot in here and it is pretty dense...it's not for the fainthearted but it is worth the ride as there are some key ideas in here that could re-frame the way we think and act in a youth sports context. Good Luck!!

Debbie Sayers is one of the founders of Salisbury Rovers. A youth football club that has taken the concept of 'child centred' sport to a new level. In this fascinating conversation we discover how the club came about, the approach that the coaches have taken to ensure that the children are benefiting from the best experience possible and why they have opted out of formal competition structures in order to protect the integrity of their child centred philosophy. This is a group of people that deserve great admiration for the commitment and dedication that they display and the conversation demonstrates a truly fascinating story about perseverance and commitment to a cause. Hope you enjoy...------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------There are a couple of conferences coming up in the new year to learn from some of of my guests on the podcast. Go to http://www.thetalentequation.co.uk/events to find out more.

Dr Don Vinson is a researcher and lecturer at Worcester University in England. He is also a practising coach who is working with the U16 England national girls hockey team and a damn fine bloke!! I dropped by to Don's office as i happened to be in his neck of the woods and was fortunate enough to find out that he had a free space open up in his diary and could spend some time with me talking about our combined passions...helping young people be the best versions of themselves, helping coaches to be better, researching and understanding the theories behind what makes us who we are and coach the way we coach. We really get into the weeds in this one but come up for air now and again to bring the ideas to life from a practical perspective. Hope you enjoy!!

It's national Parents in Sport week!! https://thecpsu.org.uk/upcoming-events/parents-in-sport-week-2018/So it is only fitting that I had a conversation with Gordon MacLelland of Working with Parents in Sport https://www.parentsinsport.co.uk. In this conversation I am actually being a sport parent and recording the podcast on my phone while watching my son play his first game of 'proper football' (this gets me into trouble so stay listening until the end to hear me try and make amends with my son for not paying enough attention to his first game....bad Dad!!!)Gordon and I explore the challenges of being a sports parent, we also look into how parents can navigate the increasingly competitive and ruthless world of talent identification as well as looking into some practical ideas around how coaches can build better relationships with parents. If you can cope with the sounds of enthusiastic parents in the background and my occasion outburst as my son does something good in the game then I am sure that you will ge

David Hinchliffe is back...and this time he has a list of topics to talk about!! In this episode we cover a lot of ground including, why English batsmen can't play spin bowling, the difference between teaching and coaching, why sport is still undervalued in society, why competition is killing children's sport. I will warn you now...it's a bit of a rant fest!!Hope you enjoy it.

Peter Prickett is a coach that is passionate about the role that games can play in the child's sports experience. So much so that he has written a book that is dedicated to playing games. But not just any games...specifically 3 v 3 games as he believes that they offer the most representative football experience and provide the richest opportunities for learning. In this super interesting conversation we cover...- How 40 different 3 v 3 games could become 140- His views on the development of creativity in players- How his club has turned the tables and ask the coaches to do trials and get the kids to select them if they are suitable- Why paying coaches is the model that they have adoptedThere is a lot of interesting stuff in here. I hope you enjoy. Peter's Book can be pre ordered on Amazon here https://www.amazon.co.uk/Developing-Skill-Guide-Soccer-Coaching-ebook/dp/B07H957SYD/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1537296772&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=peter+prickett+3+v+3Come to the 'Future of Coaching' event with

Nick Heard is a teacher and coach that has committed to being the best he can be for his students and his athletes. He set up www.relentless-optimism.com in an attempt to convey a message to those in tasked with supporting young people to explore their potential are also striving to be the best they can be. Nick took time out of his holiday (you can hear the coffee machine in the background) to have this conversation with me where we explore how young people interact with their environment and deal with challenges, setbacks and those well meaning but misguided adults (us!) that are causing more problems than they are solving. I very much enjoyed this discussion, I hope you do too!!

Dr Suzanne Brown is a clinical psychologist who is fascinated by the dynamics of human development. She is exploring the challenges faced by young athletes and supporting coaches and other leaders to develop environments where young people can thrive instead of just survive. In this fascinating conversation we discuss...- Why emotions are not a bad thing. It's just that society has labelled them as good and bad- The key ingredients of a nurturing sporting culture - The changes that take place in the adolescent brain and what you need to know about how to address them- How ecological psychology is a framework for developing positive development experiences in sportIt is a really interesting discussion, I'm sure you will find it as fascinating as I did. Enjoy

Russell (Rusty) Earnshaw is back and this time he is with his partner in coaching John (Fletch) Fletcher. Together they make up two thirds of 'The Magic Academy' along with a secret partner they refer to as 'Magic Stig'. As you might expect, the guys and I cover a lot of ground in this one including: - How the guys are taking a 'games based' approach to coach development using challenge cards. - How this podcast with Amy Price https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/playing-clumsy-pig-using-sandbox-in-fishtank-conversation/id1209549739?i=1000408126686&mt=2 inspired the gamification of coaching and coach development- How they devised the CARDS approach and how they bring it to life in their coaching- How they use a principle of 'beating the game' to help players develop awarenessThis is a fascinating romp through the minds of two of the most creative minds in coaching and coach development. I am sure you will enjoy it as much as I did.

Shane Pill describes himself as an 'accidental academic'. He is a PE teacher and coach who found himself in the world of academia and has spent his career studying various pedagogical approaches to learning in sport and PE. In this fascinating conversation we discuss: - Why Shane advocates a 'pragmatic' approach to coaching that he calls 'Sport Literacy'. - The difference between a game and an 'open drill' (it's still a game in my book!).- Arnold's 'in-through-about' model of learning in sport.- The difference between 'guided discovery', 'divergent discovery' and 'convergent discovery'. It is a conversation that challenged some of my thinking...I hope it does for you too! Enjoy!!As always, if you like the podcast and are enjoying the podcast, I am hoping that you might support it. You can do this for free by leaving a review or telling your friends about it on social media. If you would like to support further then you can become a Patron by clicking on the Patreon link https://www.patreon.com/thetalentequati

I don't think it would be hyperbolic to describe Ted Kroeten as a pioneer. His approach to player development is one of the purest examples of adopting an ecological, child centred approach to how young people experience sport I have ever heard. The programme is called 'Joy of the people' www.joyofthepeople.org and it provides over 1500 hours of free play opportunities for children per week at no cost.In this episode we discuss...- How the concept came about and the journey to establishing JOTP from idea to reality- The challenges that have been faced in establishing a model like this- The principles behind the approach and the way that the coaches facilitate learning- The successes that they have seen and the way that the children are developingIt is a genuinely fascinating and inspiring story that I know you will learn a lot from. Hope you enjoy