I met Anthony on a course a few years ago.  He's a really great person to spend time with and he has had a fascinating journey to become Lead U18 Coach at Charlton Athletic.  We discuss how Academy Manager Steve Avory has influenced him as well as life in a typical with the 18s and Anthony's experiences so far on the UEFA Pro Licence with the FAI.

Joining me this week is former Motherwell, Preston North End and Hibernian player Chris Humphrey.  We catch up about his early experiences of football; the coaches who shaped him as a player and how he has found the transition from playing to coaching.

I've had the privilege to coach with Matt in a couple of roles.  He's without doubt one of the very best coaches I've worked with.  Matt is currently Head of Coaching at Preston North End.  I've learnt a lot from him over the years and I'm sure this episode will inspire some thought. 

Effective recruitment is key to any football club.  Martin Carter is Head of Academy Recruitment at Middlesbrough.  He is one of the leading talent identification operators in the country and he shares his thoughts on this fascinating but complex aspect of professional football.  We discuss the key principles he works off when scouting players; the qualities he looks for in players to adapt to the evolving modern game and his key learnings from the journey of Nathan Wood - Boro's youngest ever debutant.

This week's episode features Newcastle United first team coach Ben Dawson.  Ben has had a really interesting career to date including undertaking a football scholarship in America, working for The Football Association as a coach developer and coaching at Newcastle United in various roles including leading the 23s and shaping the academy as a Head of Coaching.  There's loads of great insight and I'm sure you'll take something away to help you in your own role supporting players.

This week's guest is UEFA Pro Licence Holder, Kevin Nicholson.  Kevin was one of the youngest coaches ever to attain the Pro Licence and has enjoyed a fascinating career to date that has seen him coach at a number of professional clubs.  Kevin currently works for the highly regarded company, Double Pass where he supports club, coach and player development all around the world.  We discuss his pathway; his experiences of South American football and his findings from his research project on 'The First 100 Days' in coaching and management.

This week's guest is Stirling Albion Head of Youth Coaching, Niall Marshall.  Niall is highly experienced coach who has had a variety of experiences in grassroots, women and girls elite pathways and coaching pro youth football in Scotland.  We'll be discussing his ideas on connecting with players; learnings from the UEFA A Licence with the Scottish FA and his beliefs on working with players.  Niall's positivity is infectious so if you need a boost and love coaching this is a great listen!

Steve Healy coaches at Premier League club Leicester City.  Alongside working in their Category One academy, Steve is also the Head Coach of the Thai International Academy, a key project of the club's owners.  We discuss how his extensive experience has prepared him for the challenges of this role and how the programme has evolved since it's inception.  We also discuss the influence of Brendan Rodgers at the club and Steve's experience of coaching recent Premier League break through players: Luke Thomas & Sidnei Tavares.  

This week's guest is Lewis Craig.  Lewis is one of the brightest coaches involved in academy football.  Starting at Burnley F.C. where he was a scholar, Lewis has worked at a range of clubs and held full time roles throughout the development pathway.  In this podcast we discuss who influenced his development; lessons learnt from coaching Callum Styles and how helped to develop a title winning U18s team at Salford City from scratch!

For over 20 years Simon Hartley has helped athletes and business people enhance their mental game.  He has worked with gold medalists, world record holders and multiple championship winning teams.  Simon has operated at the highest levels of professional sport, including spells in professional golf, football, tennis, motor sport and with Great British Olympians.

We'll be discussing a range of topics including how to develop mental toughness; what you can do to help an athlete rediscover their confidence and whether or not character is fixed or able to change.

If you are interested in discovering more Simon has a free online programme focused on mental toughness and the five step model in the book, Mqster Mental Toughness.  Please see the link below:

https://be-world-class.com/mental-toughness-in-five-steps/

You could also give Simon a follow on Twitter: @worldclasssimon