The Talent Equation podcast is an 'exploration in human advancement'... mostly (but not exclusively) through the lens of sport and physical activity.
Each episode is an 'emergent conversation' with practitioners, parents, researchers, authors (or some combination of all three) taking a deep dive into the ways that people can help others to enhance their developmental journey in whatever field they are committed to.
These conversations are not mainstream - you will not hear ideas that are provided on standard education courses - they often fly in the face of convention - they will sometimes be controversial and provocative - the show is about doing things differently and doing different things.
The people who come on the show are innovators - they are trying to break new ground or swim against the tide of what they see as a broken culture or an ineffective system - what they say will prompt new thinking or new ideas.
All that is asked of the listener is to embrace the conversation with an open mind.
The Talent Equation podcast is an 'exploration in human advancement'... mostly (but not exclusively) through the lens of sport and physical activity. Each episode is an 'emergent conversation' with practitioners, parents, researchers, authors (or some combination of all three) taking a deep dive into the ways that people can help others to enhance their developmental journey in whatever field they are committed to. These conversations are not mainstream - you will not hear ideas that are provided on standard education courses - they often fly in the face of convention - they will sometimes be controversial and provocative - the show is about doing things differently and doing different things. The people who come on the show are innovators - they are trying to break new ground or swim against the tide of what they see as a broken culture or an ineffective system - what they say will prompt new thinking or new ideas. All that is asked of the listener is to embrace the conversation with an open mind.
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The Talent Equation podcast is an 'exploration in human advancement'... mostly (but not exclusively) through the lens of sport and physical activity.
Each episode is an 'emergent conversation' with practitioners, parents, researchers, authors (or some combination of all three) taking a deep dive into the ways that people can help others to enhance their developmental journey in whatever field they are committed to.
These conversations are not mainstream - you will not hear ideas that are provided on standard education courses - they often fly in the face of convention - they will sometimes be controversial and provocative - the show is about doing things differently and doing different things.
The people who come on the show are innovators - they are trying to break new ground or swim against the tide of what they see as a broken culture or an ineffective system - what they say will prompt new thinking or new ideas.
All that is asked of the listener is to embrace the conversation with an open mind.
The Talent Equation podcast is an 'exploration in human advancement'... mostly (but not exclusively) through the lens of sport and physical activity. Each episode is an 'emergent conversation' with practitioners, parents, researchers, authors (or some combination of all three) taking a deep dive into the ways that people can help others to enhance their developmental journey in whatever field they are committed to. These conversations are not mainstream - you will not hear ideas that are provided on standard education courses - they often fly in the face of convention - they will sometimes be controversial and provocative - the show is about doing things differently and doing different things. The people who come on the show are innovators - they are trying to break new ground or swim against the tide of what they see as a broken culture or an ineffective system - what they say will prompt new thinking or new ideas. All that is asked of the listener is to embrace the conversation with an open mind.
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Adrian Sapp is a basketball coach from Ontario in Canada. He runs a basketball programme called 'Eco Hoops' which states in it's mission statement...
"EcoHoops, driven by a mission to transform youth basketball, places the utmost emphasis on nurturing the whole child. Central to our philosophy is the mental and emotional well-being of every young athlete, ensuring a positive, safe, and joy-filled basketball experience."
I thought that I need to get Sdrian on to have a chat and explore his story.
We delve into the following topics:
- How Steph Curry is a product of envionemntal constraints.
- Adrian's challenges to get parents and other coaches to embrace the appoach.
- How discovering the ecological approach helped him go from being critical and miserable to engaging and joyful.
- How learning about Growth Mindset from his child's school homework acted as the 'gateway' to an ecological worldview.
Link to the https://ecohoopsdynamics.com/about
Link to the https://twitter.com/eco_hoops
I hope you enjoy.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-talent-equation-podcast--2186775/support.
Today, I am thrilled to welcome Phil Kearney back to the podcast. Phil is a renowned figure in the field of sports science, with a particular focus on skill acquisition and talent development. He brings a wealth of experience from his work as the course director for a master’s program in applied sports coaching at the University of Limerick in Ireland.
Key Takeaways:
- Impact of Coaches’ Beliefs: how coaches’ beliefs not only affect their coaching behaviors but also the transfer of life skills beyond the playing field. Phil underlines the necessity for coaches to critically assess their own beliefs and integrate evidence-based practices.
- Theoretical Understanding in Coaching: Understanding various coaching theories, such as ecological dynamics, cognitive psychology, and game-based methods, is essential for effective practice. Phil emphasizes the need for coaches to be well-versed in these theories to enhance their coaching styles.
- Professional judgement and decision making (PJDM) in coaching: we umpack this concept and debate it's value as a construct to support coaching practice.
Hope you enjoy
In this episode, we dive deep into the transformative world of talent development within England Hockey by welcoming back Brett Holland and Sean Kitson, two previous podcast guests and who share their experiences and approaches to nurturing young talent in the sport of field hockey.
Main Themes:
- The shift from a centralised system to a more flexible, decentralized approach, recognizing the individuality of athletes’ development paths.
- The challenges and benefits of non-linear athlete development, emphasizing the need for multiple entry points and pathways for young players.
- The significance of customising coaching strategies to suit individual needs and the deliberate actions taken to enhance talent development.
- A clear understanding of objectives across different environments, such as school clubs and junior academies.
- Integration of competition into training as a means to measure progress and the importance of competition in sports overall.
- The necessity for a collaborative effort in the talent development ecosystem, guided by a comprehensive talent system framework.
I hope you enjoy
Jordan Cassidy (MSc) has worked across the globe since September 2013, from Ireland, to Hong Kong, to the UK, and now in Brisbane, Australia. He has worked all over the world in roles such as a sports scientist, athletic development coach, and physical education teacher.
Jordan is currently conducting research in skill acquisition and coaching at Queensland University of Technology, while working as a coach and player development consultant for clubs and schools across Queensland.
Jordan and I get together to discuss a https://www.skilledathleticism.com/post/towards-an-existential-crisis-the-pragmatic-skill-acquisition-scientist he wrote at his website https://www.skilledathleticism.com which I was keen to unpack and explore. There are some 'headscratchers' in the article for me that I was keen to understand more and see where our point of agreement was.
I hope you see from this conversation that it is very possible to have different viewpoints and still have a productive conversation that moves our understanding further.
I hope you enjoy.
Andrea Enrich popped by to chat about his new book, '50 tipe sof rintelligent players - Vol 2'
It is brillient and full of really powerful insights for players of all invasion games. There are some specific elements to field hockey and stick based sports but most of it applies more generally.
We talk about
'Leading like Michael Jackson'
'Rutuals are not superstitions'
'Using Video Intelligenly'
'Visualise tragendies not commedies'
I hope you enjoy the conversation
A proper deep reflection about a massive failure trying to be child first with a large group and it’s impact on my interactions with a neurodiverse child that I am still reflecting on and trying to come to terms with!
Graeme McDowall holds an MPhil degree in Sports Coaching Education from the University of Birmingham. He is a lecturer at the SRUC in Scotland and an associate lecturer in Sport and Exercise with the Open University. Graeme is made a welcome return to the show to explore the opportunities and challenges of using 2 touch in training.
But before we get to that, we discuss his thoughts on golf coaching, how we can create better experiences by learning from the creative approaches of musicians and also some of the key insights from his new book 'The System' which explores the history of Scottish football and what it means for player development today.
Subscribe to Graeme's substack here https://mcdowall.substack.com/
Check out the new book https://amzn.to/3FsnEze
Also check out Graeme's other book - https://amzn.to/3FKcQNn
This week's guest is Andrew Sheaff, a swimming coach who has embraced the concept of non linear pedagogy and the constraints led approach in to his practice. So much so that he was invited by Professor Keith Davids to collaborate on ahttps://www.coachandrewsheaff.com/the-book all about the constraints led approach in swimming.
If you go onto Andrew's https://www.coachandrewsheaff.com/the-book you will see the following passage...
"It is extremely challenging to help swimmers to develop the skills to win races...
It's overwhelming to try to teach skills to every athlete, particlulalry when it seems like no on is listening...
And everything that's learned seems to disappear when it's time to start training, or when it really counts in the championship races that matter...
The solution isn't to get better at what you are doing...
You don't need new drills, you don't need new cues, you don't need an expensive new video system...
You need a different approach!"
I couldn't agree more!!
This is a fascinating conversation from a genuine coaching pioneer and innovator...a coaching outlier!
Dr Paul Gamble is the founder of 'https://informedinsport.com/' a platform dedicated to supporting talent developers with high quality information that help them to design better environments for young people to explore the limits of their potential (he's my kind of specialist!).
Paul joined me to talk about his latest book 'https://informedinsport.com/read-me'.
'Sports Parenting' takes a deep dive to explore how parents can best support young performers, whether they aspire to reach the highest level or simply wish to enjoy the positive social, developmental and life-long health aspects.
The book aims to provide readers with the knowledge to discern the best ways to support kids to negotiate the various challenges they face in their youth sports participation. Beyond supporting the aspiring high performer, an over-arching theme is how we can help kids to stay on the path and prevent them falling through the cracks along the way.
This is a great conversation that I found super inteesting. I hope you do too.
This episode features Christian Gompert an English Teacher and soccer coach from New Hampshire who is a long standing member of the Talent Equation 'Conclave' learning community.
It is recorded in my car as Christian and I were driving from one venue to the next as he was on the UK filming a documentary on the constraints led approach for a study he was conducting for his school.
The episode covers:
The constraints and opportunities in teaching and coaching, emphasizing the importance of achieving results for students while also fostering growth as a practitioner and learner.
Traditional expectations often mask the role of social and emotional learning in the educational process.
The ethical implications of different teaching methods and emphasizes the importance of a humane learning environment driven by intrinsic motivation.
Alternative approaches to learning are explored, highlighting the importance of creating enjoyable and engaging environments for both the teacher and the student.
We discuss strategies to motivate passive learners and the concept of incorporating student choice and voice into the classroom setting.
I hope you enjoy.
Stuart