This episode is a continuation of our conversation with Wayne and Robin, where we discuss a wide range of topics related to the Sports Science field, as well as some of their personal endeavours as coaches.

From their shared vision of their Company, APA training systems, to the various experiences that have helped them in their own development, most importantly, the Power in Diversity.

Wayne & Robin delve a little deeper into the Sports Science and technical essentials involved in building a high performance culture to ensure robust athletic development, as well as an insight into their journey with the Indian hockey team, helping them win an Olympic medal after 41 years!

There’s a lot for everyone in this episode, especially if you are from a Sports Science and Performance background!

We’ve got an exciting episode ahead in conversation with Wayne Lombard and Robin Arkell - the Scientific advisors and SnC coaches of the Indian hockey teams.

In part 1 of this series, Wayne and Robin give us an insight into their respective backgrounds and the story behind their success at the Tokyo Olympics with the hockey teams.

We delve into the methods they have implemented while creating a high performance system to build better athletes. Wayne and Robin also discuss the importance of having a Purpose and how it may be used as a driving force to harness athletic performance on and off the field.

There’s a good mix of topics here and lots to take away from it, for everyone!

This episode is a continuation of our conversation with Terry - where he gives us an account of the work he is doing currently as the Technical director of South United FC. From building good habits in the kids at the academy, to the implementation of Sports Science methodology for measuring and tracking athletic performance on a regular basis.

Terry further goes on to talk about the adversity he experienced through injury and how he bounced back to complete a 25 year long career in professional football. The second half of this podcast has some great tips for coaches to help them with their approach to athletic development

There’s some great stuff here and we’re sure that Terry will keep you locked in!

2:00 - "I took all my learnings over the years and added the fitness"

3:05  - "First thing I’ve got to do - is get the buy-in from the players.”

3:45 - If you’re fit and agile, quick and strong - you can go a long way in any sport

4:30 The importance of diet and fuelling before training

5:20 - India is a wonderful full place with wonderful people, that’s why I'm still here."

7:24 - “if you haven’t got the base, down at the bottom, you’re never going to reach the top.”

8:30 - "For me it’s all about setting the scene."

8:58 - "Sports Science coming into India is paramount"

9:45 - “It’s about the athletes having the courage to take themselves out of the comfort zone, and listen and learn.”

10:45 - "Rule number 1 is - fun and enjoying it!"

10:50 - Current work and skill sets

11:40 - “It all starts off with your own self-respect and what is good for you.”

12:40 - “It’s not all about being an athlete, it is life in general- it’s about social skills”

12:55 - The first thing I do every morning is tidy my bed, because that sets the scene for my day.”

13:45 - “The ball is your best friend, you’ve got to love your ball.”

14:38 - The culture in India is improving now - more people getting into sports science, nutrition, etc

15:10 - “In the soccer schools, let’s bring the testing and measuring.”

16:52 - “When a company is spending a lot of money, you’ve got to get everything tested.”

19:23 -“If I had what there is in that room there (Invictus performance lab), I would’ve been back in 3 weeks.”

20:28 - Going through injury and career timeline

21:40 - "I had a good attitude and mind, I brought that with me all the time.”

“I went to Crystal Palace for about 3 months and played the best football I’ve ever played - at the age of 32.”

25:53 - "It’s about having the courage to be able to get out of a sticky situation.”

29:26 -“If you cannot be an athlete now, there’s something wrong with you.”

”I remember Roy Keane walking down the tunnel, when we played Man United, he turns around and says, “Tel where have you been?”

31:58 - "It’s about having fun but no matter what you do, you have got to look after yourself the best you can.”

32:35  - "I’m learning an awful lot at an institution like Invictus."

34:00 - I see a real big shift over the last 10-11 years in India.

34:30   - As a coach, make it interesting for yourself by learning about your player!"

35:23 - "If we educate the coaches and broaden their minds and vision - that’s when things improve on the field."

36:00 - Mirror it to their liking - individualising coach education

37:15 - “If the kids are engaged and having fun, there’s no need to shout at them.”

37:28 - At the end of the day, it is learning about the person.

38:15  - "Taking an interest in the staff you work around - it’s not I, it’s WE."

Our latest guest on the podcast is Mr Terry Phelan.

Terry is an ex-premier league footballer who also represented the Republic of Ireland, internationally. Terry played a key role in Ireland's 1994 FIFA World Cup run as well as playing a key part in Wimbledon’s 1988 FA Cup triumph with the infamous "Crazy Gang”. He has also coached and mentored teams in various parts of the world, drawing from his experiences as a professional in the UK, the United States and New Zealand.In the first part of this podcast, Terry gives us an insight into his career as well as highlighting the importance of fitness.

05:32 - You think to yourself - if you have a natural ability, what can you do with it?”

Multi-sport dev as a kid - gave him a broader vision and the FUNdamentals.

Never wasted natural talent in any of the sports

8:14 -“I was the only one in Salford wearing a City shirt, so I had to be fast and agile”

10:38 - “ If I have the natural gift and the fitness - let’s use it!”

11:55 - “The reason I took Martial arts was to keep me supple"

12:28 - It’s the enjoyment and fun while having an array of different sports and even competing at them.

13:52 - "We didn’t have a lot, but we had sports, and sports was the biggest thing.”

14:28 - "I always had something to fall back on - if not for football, I would have probably done athletics!”

15:58 - "I loved running, I would run everywhere - a lot like Forrest Gump!”

16:43 - At 13 years old - "When I have my trial match and I go down to Elland Road, I need to be better than anyone else and how am I going to do that? "

17:47 - "I never let my fitness drop - I learned by myself by doing what was good for me."

21:32 - "Going into the season, I was as fresh as a daisy!”

21:57 - "Something special was given to me and I wasn’t going to let myself down - that’s the number one!”

23:05 - "I started asking the physios - what can I do better; how can I do better?”

24:20 - "I used to go outside and do my own shadow play - no one asked me to do it, I just did it myself”

29:58 - If you’re given something, don’t misuse it - use it to the best of your abilities - learn and learn more.”

32:40 - "I’ve got to bring in whatever I’ve learnt and give it to other coaches.”

31:16 - "My goal - Can I help other people and get them better?"

33:46 - Athletes nowadays have all the resources, but misuse it because they don’t use their own self-respect and commitment. You have got to be accountable for it as a person, especially as an athlete.

35:00 - "I am an athlete, leave me; if I want to run all day long, let me run all day long!"

35:58 - "As I got older, I started looking at different aspects of everything and taking it to different parts of the world."

39:35 - "The only club I went to where I learnt the art of fitness, was at Fulham.”

41:10 - Story of the Sport Science set up at Fulham and how they ended up winning the Championship (2001)

43:15 - "What I learnt at Fulham, I brought it around the world.”

43:34 - The importance of courage!

Our next guest on the podcast is writer, educator and combat sports specialist, Mr Rama Reddy. He is well known in the industry as an instructor, educator, combat sports commentator and founder of MMA gyms and organisations. Rama has combined his passion for education and love for martial arts to create pedagogies for coaching and training the various combat sports.

In this episode, Rama discusses his journey into combat sports and the role that his background in education has played throughout.

He also delves into a new and interesting concept that he has been working on, called Athlete Psychographics. This concept represents various archetypes of athletes that can be applied across all sports and competition, and how that plays out in their approach to tactics, preparation and technique. This gives us an insight into how we may train the different archetypes as coaches and instructors.

We also discuss the effects of COVID on combat sports and the ways in which Rama and his team are getting around it.

Please refer to Rama's post on Instagram (@ramareddy.mma) for further details and an illustration of the Psychographics. Be sure to check out Rama's work on pedagogies and other content such as blogs and articles on a wide variety of topics based on martial arts and education. 

0:28 - Rama’s introduction and his journey into the Combat Sports industry.

03:12 - “Education is the tool that allows civilization to be civilization.”

10:35 - Rama’s venture into other sports and the importance of an athletic culture from a young age.

14:20 - Introduction to Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

15:20 - “I’ve always been interested by Conflict and Combat.” The primal aspect of grappling.

18:53 - Touching upon the misinterpretation of martial arts as violence.

19:12 - “Violence requires victimisation, it requires a lack of consent.” Love fighting, hate violence!

20:30 - Filler 

22:12 - Rama’s advent of creating pedagogical systems for coaches to understand how context plays a role in training.

27:50 The 4 Rs of Rama -  Relevance, Relationship, Rigour = Results.

29:02 - “If something is too easy - people get bored; if it’s too difficult - people get bored because it’s overwhelming.”

32:45 -  “The wrong technique at the right time, is the right technique.”

33:40 - An example of how a constraints-led approach can recreate relevant contexts in fighting.

37:50 - Athlete Psychographics (episode thumbnail) - Rama delves into the archetypes that he has developed by creating axes to better understand competitors.

*Please refer to the post on Rama’s Instagram page (@ramareddy.mma)

“The competitor (spike) is most likely to find the most effective way as quickly as possible.”

48:30 - What separates brawling from fighting.

51:44 - The other aspects of the Psychographic and how to perceive them as coaches.

56:20 - The effects of COVID on the industry and ways to get around it.

1:03:43 - Adding another axis to the Psychographic and how it can affect the pedagogy - building a 3 dimensional approach to it.

Our next guest on the show is Performance Coach, Mr Nimrod 'Mon' Brokman.

Mon is the co-founder of Behavioural Foresight - a company in the field of Behavioural Science and Psychology that provides a holistic approach to the health of body and mind.  In this episode, Rohan (Exercise Physiologist) and Gana (Sports Scientist), discuss with Mon about the various experiences that have shaped his approach while working with athletes and clients - from the encounters in the Israel Defense Forces and as a former professional athlete himself.

We also delve into the Flow state of mind and how the integration of ancient methodologies and modern technology can help us achieve this state of mind and improve our well being .

Overall we had a fun and insightful conversation and we thank Mon for his time and sharing his experience with us.

01:22 - Mon’s introduction and the story behind Behavioural Foresight. Exploration of the mind and its connection with the body. 

04:07 - "Sport is for your education and self-exploration."

04:59 - Mon's own journey as an athlete. The importance of responsibility and learning it through sports. The importance of a multi-sport environment as a child. 

14:14 - "Sports open up the many ways something can be learnt."  It gives us the confidence and self identity to overcome obstacles.

15:52 - Ability to handle stress - experiences in the military and how it helps Mon work with the athletes now. 

18:32 - "Whatever you know in life, you don't really know!"

20:32 - Main goal with every client - "If he or she can manage uncertainty, they can manage everything." 

22:15 - "The only way to expand your comfort zone, is to enjoy discomfort."

24:02 - "Once you are aware, what do you do with it?" Bringing about awareness and support it with discipline. 

25:55 - "A quick judgement shows a narrow perception." 

26:46 - The FLOW state of mind - Creating your own suffering and letting go. 

35:19 - Differences between the Eastern and Western methods of finding flow and applying them in various contexts. The importance of Science and Technology in  improving mental performance. 

38:17 - How Mon found a similarity between Vipassana and the Military.

43:51 - The strongest effect in mental performance. Activating a healing effect through perception. 

46:15 - How stress can be your friend and work for you in unimaginable ways 

47:48 - The 10,000 hour rule and an elaborate explanation of the FLOW state. 

50:05 - "To habituate something you can't cut out the struggle." 

50:48 - "Letting go is the most crucial phase."

54:38 - "If you let go of all past experiences and future hopes, your moment becomes more rich."

56:54 - The importance of recovery - keeping the quality of performance, high.

59:20 - Is more better? 

1:00:33 - "Less is more; the minimum to the maximum." How less we can do to make the biggest impact

Ninjutsu - the martial art where movement is done with bare intention.

 1:02:15 - "Most of us are trying to so much and finally end doing less." 

"Mind control is about doing less!" 

www.invictusperformancelab.com

www.mybefore.live

In part two of our conversation with Balu sir, we discuss the various mental and tactical factors involved in professional coaching and how it impacts the athlete on and off the court. He highlights the importance of instilling autonomy in children and how that translates to performance later on in their careers. 

Balu sir kept it light with a few memorable stories from the camps and tours whilst also providing an insight into the importance of coaching education and a few ways in which the art of coaching can be established to translate into high performance on the court. 

There is something for everyone in this podcast and we hope you enjoy it! Thanks and stay tuned!

01:10 - The key assessments made to address specific needs for the athlete - tactical, mental or technical.

01:56 - "I try to change a technical part through tactical intention." 

05:55 - Mindset changes on and off the court - "Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde" 

10:32 - Creating situations in practice by simulating game-like scenarios and addressing the multiple psychological factors.

11:55 - The difference between Clinical and Sports Psychology. The importance of travel for an athlete's mental development.

19:05 - Exposure and the effect of experiential learning in instilling autonomy in a junior athlete. 

21:55 - A short story from tour featuring Rohan Bopanna! 

25:15 - Experience with S&C coach  Christian Bosse and the importance of an integrative set -up for player development.

30:45 - "The children see the coaches talking in the same language and voice, which made everybody comfortable and work towards the same goal."

31:00 - Stories from camps and the tour! 

36:32 - The long term athletic development program. Creating a tournament structure and multiple facets of training.  

41:35 - Methods implemented during long weeks on tour and the importance of keeping it light! Alternative methods of bringing about independence and decision-making. 

42:55 - "You're good with this rubbish, you talk a lot of nonsense." 

50:00 - An account of the light atmosphere maintained during the camps and tours.

51:35 - IMPORTANT - The significance of coaching education. "Coaching is a combination of Science and Art!"

1:02:50 - Allowing the kids to be creative and being their own genius.

1:03:35 - "We only help tennis players get better, champions are made by themselves." 

01:05:40 - "Actually I was very intense off-court when I started coaching." 

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Our next guest on the podcast is renowned Indian tennis coach, Mr Balachandran Manikkath. Popularly known as Balu sir to the Indian tennis fraternity, he has coached many successful tennis players over the years - Rohan Bopanna and Radhika Tulpule in the past and is currently working with top Indian players, most notably, men’s national champion Nikki Poonacha and Davis Cup players - Prajnesh Gunneswaran and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan.

Balu sir is a former National doubles champion himself and is also an international travel coach, accompanying the top Indian tennis players at various ITF and ATP tournaments, including the Grand Slams. His passion lies in creating future tennis stars with the integration of strength and conditioning, education and long term athletic development. This integrative approach to high performance and the robust experience of coaching top players has made him a well acclaimed coach in professional tennis around the globe.

In part 1, the topics discussed range from Balu sir's personal introduction to tennis, the evolution of the sport, the importance of creating the right environment for youth development and building a diverse technical vocabulary in tennis players. This conversation provides a deep insight into a coach's perspective and the intricacies involved in developing tennis stars of the future.  

Please stay tuned for part 2 of this podcast, coming up in our next episode. Thanks!

2:00 - Balu Sir's introduction. 

3:53 - Starting out as a tennis player and the influence others had on him.

7:06 - The role of a family as a support system and establishing personal independence in the children.

13:39 - The evolution of tennis  and the importance of access to information.

17:30 - What to look for in a child, assessing future potential and sustaining interest.

20:31 - Diversification of youth sports and exposure to multiple sports at a young age. 

32:07 - The importance of variation in the technical arsenal of a successful tennis player. 

35:55 - The advent of video analysis of tennis matches and the gaps to be filled.

49:20 - The sport personality pyramid. "They are children who play tennis, not tennis players who are also your children."

51:24 - Link between practice and the perseverance in a match. Importance of training and pushing through discomfort.

54:15 - Significance of an integrative support system for athletes . The need for development of data in India.

Our first guest on the show is senior Karnataka state and Indian women's cricketer, Vanitha VR. 

Well known for her explosive batting style and lively personality, Vanitha was eager to delve into everything that has shaped her into the person she is now - from her early days, to the injuries and setbacks that she has overcome and learnt from as well as the continuous reinvention of herself!

Our host, director and high performance coach at Invictus, Varun Shetty, discusses with Vanitha about the various factors behind high performance in modern athletes and some common misconceptions about training and nutrition.

We dive deep into the mindset that Vanitha has formed through her vast experience and her boundless pursuit of high performance. She also  provides an account of what's next in store for her as well as the influence that mentors have had throughout her career. 

During this insightful conversation, you will come across the following :-

2:50 - Vanitha the cricketer. Overcoming the adversities during development. Self confidence and leadership. 

10:40 - "Ultimate athletes" - setbacks, comebacks and success. The role of responsibilities in Vanitha's career.

15:25 - Forming the mindset, common misconceptions of training and the boons of the internet.

20:50 - Deep dive into Vanitha's childhood and what made her a "naturally talented" athlete.

29:25 - The "mind of a beginner". - living in the moment and continuous reinvention. 

38:34 - Aesthetics vs Performance - the effect of training and nutrition on high performance.

51:16 - The bright side of the lockdown and coping with a pandemic. 

56:01 - A surprise! - learning to be bold and her attitude towards learning.

1:00:47 - What's next for Vanitha - future plans and building awareness.

1:06:00 - Gratitude towards mentors and their influence on her career.