The Talent Equation Podcast

A few days ago I became another year older!!Like lost of us of a certain age, these events are greeted with a mixture of happiness (as my wife and children give me some lovely presents and spoil me a bit) and despair (at the relentless march of time!!). This year was all good and was made even better by the fact that 3 of my good friends in the world of coaching and children's sport took time out of their schedules to join me for a chat about all of the things that we are all so passionate about. What a brilliant way to spend my birthday...I hope you enjoy the discussion!!

By popular demand....Mark Bennett is back!In this episode we discuss how you define excellence with athletes and the process of reviewing to maximise influence with players. We get into a lot of detail on this one and get deep exploring this very important aspect of performance coaching. In the episode we cover...- Maximising the impact of our time with players - How to make ourselves redundant by enabling the players to lead themselves - Using 'The rule of 3' to transition players to full ownership of their learning environment - Establishing unacceptable, acceptable and exceptional behaviours and actions as a guide for creating a performance culture - A framework to guide players self review processThis is a meaty one!!Enjoy If you would like these podcasts beamed into your inbox sign up for the newsletter and never miss an episode http://www.thetalentequation.co.uk/sign-up-for-our-newsletter

Nick Ruddock is a busy guy! He is travelling all across the world providing coaching advice and coach education for gymnastics clubs and global federations. He is widely regarded as one of the leading coaches in his field but his journey is not a typical one. In this episode we discuss...- How he spent £8,000 on his initial coach education - Why he thinks that coaches should own their own learning and stop waiting for the system to feed them- Why coaches are magnetised to learning all the wrong things- Why he thinks that the UK underachieves when it comes to talent development - His views on talent transfer and how more coaches should let go of their ego and enable their athletes to progress There is plenty to get stuck into here...Enjoy

Dan Cottrell is an extremely experienced coach with over 25 years at the coal face. He has been writing and discussing coaching for over a decade as the editor of Rugby Coach Weekly, an online magazine for rugby coaches which has allowed him to learn from some of the game's best practitioners. Dan came to the podcast with a specific question about the best way to coach kids when there is an element of safety that needs to be attended to. Needless to say...we didn't stay entirely on topic but the conversation was richer for it. In the podcast we cover...- Why Dan believes that children shouldn't play organised sport younger than age 10- How he uses 'free time' to enable children to truly 'play' without adult intervention- How he uses games to let children learn key movements - Intervention strategies to guide learning and ensure safety- Insights from some of the worlds best coaches and coach developersThis is a conversation rich with information for those trying to improve what they do on a weekend with youngs

Dr Ian Renshaw is widely regarded as one of the founding fathers of the constraints led approach to developing skill in sport. His research and publications have had a profound effect on the sports coaching world and opened the eyes of many coaches to an alternative approach to developing players. In this episode we discuss...- How Ian helped his son Matthew to develop skills in Cricket using a constraints led approach which culminated in him representing his country as a senior international - Ian's thoughts on competition in kids sport and how it is driving coaches to use methods that aren't allowing children to fully explore their skill potential- Why he thinks that most coach education is sub optimal and doesn't help coaches learnAnd so much more...I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did.

A slight change of pace in this episode. I am joined by regular contributor, Nick Levett who unloads his brain with me on all manner of topics related to the youth port experience. In this episode we cover: - What is the point of coaching for kids? Is it actually doing them any good? - Is adult risk aversion ruining play for children.- Why formal competition for youngsters should be banned.- Why adult conceptions of what should feature in a child's sport experience may be destroying their enjoyment and harming their chances of progression. - Practical methods to enable children to develop skills through games using an approach called 'Playperation' And so much more....Hope you enjoyPlease join the debate at http://www.thetalentequation.co.uk/sign-up-for-our-newsletter

Alan Keane coaches the England boys U18 basketball team. Alan Keane has been on a journey! I know it's a cliche but if ever the phrase was applicable it with Alan. In this remarkably honest and refreshingly candid conversation Alan shares his transformation from being a coach that only cared about results, tactics, techniques and compliance to becoming a coach that cares about the person, their learning, their development and their ownership of the process of development. Highlights from the discussion include: - Alan's developmental journey and how he has a 'triangle of influences' that guide his learning. - How he had to get more vulnerable than he thought possible to expand his horizons- How he called a time out and only said 3 words "talk to me"- How letting the players guide their timeouts led to transformational insights (from the quietest player on the team)- His experiences of taking what he had learned into his work environment as a teacher and the unbelievable results for the teachers and the pupils

Joe Baker is a professor at the school of kinesiology and life sciences at York University in Toronto, Canada. He is one of the most respected and well published researchers in the field of expertise, talent development and lifelong physical activity. In 2013 Joe was a key player in contributing to a the creation of a consensus statement on talent for English Rugby. This document went on to become a central pillar in bringing about a lot of change throughout the talent system for young rugby players in England. In this fascinating conversation we cover a lot of ground including...- Joe's take on the 10,000 hours of deliberate practice debate.- His theory that deliberate practice may assist in the talent identification process. - How 'confirmation bias' can affect our decision making and leave talented athletes deselected.- His surprising research that shows that experienced coaches aren't necessarily better than ordinary people at identifying talent.- Why he doesn't have much time for coaches that think that

Nick Hill is probably one of the most committed coaches to his personal development that I have ever met. His quest for continuous improvement has taken him to all corners of the globe from Brisbane, to Canterbury to Chile and the US. If coaching expertise was measured in air miles then this guy has to be in the premier league! Nick's career has seen him working in talent environments for most of his career and his dedication to his craft really shines through in this episode. In this conversation we discuss...- How being coached by Brian Ashton while representing England U19s was a turning point in his career. Driving him to become a coach and do it better than he had done before. - His journey from being a drill based, instructional coach to a players centred, game based coach. - How he overcame the language barrier while working in Chile by tapping into the 'language of rugby'- His methods for getting buy in from groups of players. - How he allows techniques to develop by being patient and using clever pra

This is the first in a series of 7 mini podcasts that I will be rolling out over the next few weeks 'in between' the main feature episodes. This episode looks at the role that compteition plays in stifling teh development of talent.

Ric Shuttleworth is a unique individual with an unparalleled wealth of knowledge and insight into skill acquisition and coaching. While Ric has a strong academic background and has worked within the sports science domain for a good part of his career, he is very much a practitioner and has spent most of his life on the sidelines working directly with athletes and coaches. Ric is currently working with elite coaches across a range of sports as a coach developer and he shares a series of high quality insights and 'knowledge bombs' that will really challenge the coaching and talent community to re-imagine the way that they develop the capabilities of the athletes they guide. In this episode we discuss...- How to avoid falling into the pitfall of 'comparative coaching' - Why trying to develop a 'shared mental model' can destroy creativity - Using a 'principles based' coaching approach- How coaches should be part of the learning system not in control of it- Why following a plan is the worst thing you can do- Eddie

Mark Bennett is someone that has had the most profound effect on my coaching, my parenting, my management style and my life. Mark is an expert people developer and has worked with people from all walks of life from elite sports coaches to teachers working in primary schools. His approach to helping people to follow a path of excellence is extremely powerful and I was really keen to make sure that he shares some of his insights with the Talent Community. In this great discussion we cover: - How to decide whether you are on a journey of performance and self improvement or on a journey of self delusion- How Mark tries to make himself redundant by ensuring that coaches and athletes make good behaviour choices whether he is there or not- Using 'covert tests' to help you ensure that learning has taken place- Why most coaches need to take 70% of the content out of their session plans- How to ensure that athletes make a commitment to the goals that they establish for themselvesThis is an episode that you won't want t

Reed Maltbie is a coach that takes his craft seriously. Alongside a lifetime of experience and ongoing learning he also has 2 masters degrees in Psychology and Child Development so when it comes to developing children in sport....he knows a thing or two!His passion for coaching and for the impact that a coach can have have on children led him to deliver a TED talk on the subject of communication which you can check out belowIn this great podcast episode Reed explains how he develops positive environments for young people to thrive within. We cover a lot of topics including: - The impact of words on people- How an email from a parent 'cut him in half' and nearly made him quit coaching - Strategies he uses to build positive relationships with parents including having a 'lollipop parent' patrolling the sidelines to manage behaviour- How 'the why' of coaching is the most important thing that a coach can have to help them navigate player and parental relationships- The 3 'V's' of communication - Visual, Verbal, Va

Dennis Hortin is the academy manager at AIK, one of Sweden's oldest and most respective professional football clubs. Mark O'Sullivan is a friend of the podcast and needs no introduction except to say that he has now joined AIK and is working within their coaching set up. In this brilliant discussion we learn more about why AIK has taken the brave step to back out of the crazy situation that has been emerging where football clubs are trying to select players younger ad younger to be part of their talent academy programme. AIK has been inspired by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and has decided that the best way to help develop players and take a truly 'player centred' approach is to make sure that the kids have a great experience free from pressure until at least the age of 13. It is an inspired move and one that all talent developers should take note of. This is a watershed moment and an opportunity for others to follow in their footsteps and end the crazy commodification of children in sport!

This conversation with Stuart Wilkinson challenged some of my thinking about optimal talent development approaches and made me consider if we can sometimes become too dogmatic in our thinking about a specific way to approach the development of young people in sport. Stuart has a rich background in talent development having worked in several professional club academies in Rugby League as well as working as a pathway manager for the National Governing Body. He is currently working as a lecturer in sports coaching at the University of Central Lancashire and is working towards his PhD in Talent Development. The conversation covers the following: - The 'synoptical approach' and how it can be used to create a more multi dimensional athlete way of developing young people- How the use of games that don't look like the sport can be effective in supporting development - Stuart's manual for talent developers that he is currently writing- Why using specialists from other sports can have limitations - Karl Newell's model

Stuart Morgan from www.stuartmorgangolf.com was the Director of Instruction at the International Junior Golf Academy in the USA. Stuart has spent his life helping young golfers to develop and has a wealth of knowledge to share with the talent community. We focus on the experiences he went through with developing a young female golfer called Emily Price and her journey of success towards several amateur titles and the way that the engagement with the family is all important. In the episode we cover: - How Stuart works with young players on the course and in context as mush as possible. Designing challenges and using constraints to challenge their skill set. - How the relationship with the parents is all important but the relationship is built in having clearly defined roles. - How a delayed specialisation model was used in Emliy's development. How keeping her away from the system until the right moment played an important role in her development. - Creating an ecological environment around her in order to deve

Doug Lemov has dedicated his life to helping young people to strive for the exceptional. His work within Uncommon Schools has helped some of the most disadvantaged young people to achieve things within their lives that few thought would be possible. He understands a thing or two about unleashing potential. His quest to help students succeed led him to discover that the major factor in helping young people was the best teaching. He set about to find out what set apart the best teachers from the rest and decided to record the methods that these teachers adopted to share with others. The book 'Teach like a Champion' was born. In this episode we discuss: - How to use questioning really, really well. - How to avoid question fatigue - Why most CPD doesnt work- Why teacher training leaves teachers without the necessary skills to be excellent teachers- The ingredients of a high quality talent environment like uncommon schools

Loren Anderson is the head coach at Rise Volleyball (@risevolleyball www.risevolleyball.net). In this enthralling conversation Loren and I discuss our respective coaching journeys and share some of the challenges and joys of working in a non linear way with young people. In the episode we discuss: - Why coaches should be like gardeners and not like carpenters- A better use for timeouts - Why matches should be time off for the coach- Why kids who don't fit the mental model a coach has of the right kind of players with the right techniques usually get punished through less game time. - Why we want players that can solve problems not players that can repeat movementsI really enjoyed the conversation and I hope you do too!

Shawn Myszka aka @movementmiyagi on Twitter is a human movement specialist that has been using the ecological approach to the development of elite NFL players for the past 5 years. In this honest and illuminating discussion Shawn shares his journey from being a "biomechanics junkie", largely driven by physiology and technique towards an approach that develops athletic abilities through the creation of scenarios which challenge the athlete's movement in relation to the activities if others. It's a fascinating journey...

Danny Newcombe is Senior Lecturer in Sport Coaching and Physical Education at Oxford Brookes University as well as being Assistant Coach to the Wales Men's Hockey Team and coach to Southgate Hockey Club Men's first team in the England National Hockey League. He is a genuine 'pracademic' in that he has the theory and he puts it into practice as well. In this epidode we discuss...- The evolution of practice design from drills to games and everything in between - The 'practice design framework' and how you can use it to devise practices that have the optimal amount of chaos and instability to facilitate learning (link to practice design continuum here http://www.thetalentequation.co.uk/tools-resources)- How to ensure that you individualise your coaching by viewing each athlete as a different 'species'