A Wee Bit of Everything

A Wee Bit of Everything: Ep 17 - Interview with Commonwealth Games Volleyball player Seain Cook by Lewis Cleland

This week on the show we are joined by team Scotland and team GB Gymnast, Shannon Archer. Shannon's passion for gymnastics started when she was only 4 years old. As a result of her commitment, work ethic and discipline she has made to the elite level in the sport where she has represented her country at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in 2018 where she managed to get a top 10 finish for her performance.

On today's episode, Shannon covers what a week of training looks like for her on the build up to a competition, how she trains her body to remain flexible and the importance of this and how she manages her anxiety prior to performing on the beam. We also find out what makes a high quality Gymnastics performance.

It's inspiring for us to see how disciplined Shannon is with her training and how much work is required to stay in peak condition for gymnastics. It seems there really is no substitute for hard work and consistency.

This week on the podcast, Dr Andrew Murray speaks to us about the importance of doing the basics consistently well when it comes to training and how there really is no substitute for it. In this episode, Andrew shares his experiences of the extreme endurance challenges he completed where he ran from John O'Groats to the Sahara desert and completed an ultra marathon in all 7 continents in under a week.

This week we have the pleasure of interviewing Ross McKelvie who is a Scottish Beach Volleyball player. Ross talks us through his training during the volleyball season and the different approaches he uses to achieve and maintain optimal performance within his sport. He also talks to us about the impact the social factor of communication has on his performance in Volleyball and how crucial this is for a successful performance.

Jamie McBrearty joins us on the show today to talk about his journey as a growth mindset consultant and Football coach. Jamie works with Dundee Football Club and coaches the under 14 squad. It is very interesting to hear how he uses a growth mindset teaching model to develop young footballers physically and mentally.

A Wee Bit of Everything: Ep 12 Part 2 - Interview with Strathclyde Sirens Netballer Nicola McCleery by Lewis Cleland

In part 1 of this episode Nicola talks to us about her upbringing and her journey to playing Netball at the top level. She talks tells us about her training methods and the main aspects of fitness she looks to develop playing as a Wing Attack in Netball. She give us an insight into the different fitness tests the team carries out and the technology used to analyse their performance in training and competition.

On the podcast this week we have Aaron Anderson who is a fellow PE teacher and friend. Aaron talks to us about all things Higher PE and offers some top tips that can be easily implemented into your practice with your own classes. He gives a clear breakdown of how he delivers and structures the course. Aaron also touches on cooperative learning and a strategy he uses at the start of the year to install a growth mindset culture within his classes. Aaron's knowledge surrounding this area of the curriculum is second to none and we hope you'll take as much from this as we did.

This is the final part of our interview with UFC fighter Paul Craig. In this episode we delve into the four factors that can impact your performance in sport (Mental, Emotional, Social and Physical). Paul gives us a personal insight into how the emotional factor (Fear and Anger)can impact his performance at the top level, and the strategies he implements to manage these emotions for optimal performance.

In Part 2 of this interview with Paul he goes into depth about his training. We pick his brains about the methods he and his coaches use to gather information on his current performance levels and how he uses this to prepare for an upcoming fight. He also talks to us about how important specificity through his training is to maximising performance potential in sport. We also ask Paul about the methods he uses to monitor his training to ensure he is on track when hitting his goals.