In this episode, I discuss the art of defending with Cardiff City Centre Back Mark McGuinness, who has now completed over one hundred league appearances and represented the Republic of Ireland at the under nineteen and twenty-one International levels. Together, we delved into the importance of fundamental motor skills, their role as basic building blocks in long-term training processes, and how they underpin more complex sport-specific skills. Success in defending depends on multidimensional factors such as technical, tactical, psychological, and physical variables. 


We also addressed topics including playing out from defence, the significance of communication and organization, learning from mistakes, body positioning, maintaining focus, and winning individual and collective battles.