Welcome to another podcast, can you believe we missed our own 20th Birthday?

Thank you to those of you who were there at the start and are still tuning in.

As usual we have another great guest lined up for you. On this show we catch up with Lekeisha Pergolitti who returned from the World Boxing Championships in the UK with a silver medal. One of three medals the Australian women won. Lekeisha shares with us her journey in the sport and what she hopes for in the future.

In our topics under discussion Ashley asks how damaging it is for a sport or a competition to have its athletes and umpires going on social media asking for sponsorship. Does this actually undermine the sport or competition’s attempts to attract sponsors?

John turns his attention to the umpires and referees, and asks whether sport is heading down a path in which all decisions will ultimately be made by video rather than the eyes of an official? He also raises and intersting point in relation to the identity of officials in televised matches. What will the future look like in this area in many sports?

As mentioned our 20th birthday was last month. Let us know who you would like us to try and talk to in our 20th year and if you would like us to keep going for another ten years.

If you don’t want to miss a post or a podcast subscribe to Not The Footy Show on our home page. Almost 2000 people have. All you need do is insert your email address and then you will receive an email update whenever a new post or podcast is posted. Rest assured we will not pass on your information! Also please feel free to share your thoughts and the Podcast.

Remember you can email us with suggestions for topics to be discussed. If there is a topic or a guest that you would like us to feature, please contact us.

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Welcome to another podcast – our 562nd show – in this our 20th year!

As usual we are always looking for a different aspect of sport and in this show we believe we are talking about something that has been ignored for a very long time. Faye Sheridan from Healthy Her joins us to explain how with education athletes and coaches can understand a woman’s menstrual cycle so much better in order to minimise the impact on their performance. As women’s sport becomes more professional are these athletes being given the best advice when it comes to playing on through their menstrual cycle? Is the awareness there amongst the coaching staff within many of the elite set ups? If the coaches are not being educated on this are the players themselves being given acces to information that could have a huge impact not only in their sporting lives,

In our topics under discussion Ashley looks at how once again we have witnessed a goalkeeper taking a water bottle onto the pitch with notes on the opposition’s penalty-takers on it. The opposing goalkeeper has allegedly thrown the water bottle away. Once again the media have jumped upon the story. Is it in the spirit of the game to throw the bottle away? Or is it in the right spirit to take such notes out onto the pitch? Is it time that the aurthorities stop this and make players go back to having to memorise such information?

John touches on the NBA protest about pay. He looks at how long a period of time it has taken for English footballers to be paid the astronomical wages they are paid today, arguing that it takes time to establish sports, and sporting teams and competitions. Very few start off being paid vast sums of money in their first few years. Today is it about how well they play or how many followers they have and how much attention they can attract whic translates into revenue?

As mentioned this year we celebrate 20 years. Let us know who you would like us to try and talk to in our 20th year and if you would like us to keep going for another ten years.

If you don’t want to miss a post or a podcast subscribe to Not The Footy Show on our home page. Almost 2000 people have. All you need do is insert your email address and then you will receive an email update whenever a new post or podcast is posted. Rest assured we will not pass on your information! Also please feel free to share your thoughts and the Podcast.

Remember you can email us with suggestions for topics to be discussed. If there is a topic or a guest that you would like us to feature, please contact us.

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Welcome to another podcast in this our 20th year!

As usual we are always looking for guests with a story to tell, and our special guest on this edition certainly has one. In this slightly longer than normal show we catch up with Tony Merrick who is a movement coach. What is a movement coach we hear you ask? Tony is a former rugby league player and a strength and conditioning coach who joins us to talk about his journey and how he has ended being a specialist trainer and coach who now looks at how the body works and the areas that individuals need to look at working on to live a healthier life. (Total Movement)

In our topics under discussion Ashley looks at how South Africa claimed the World Test Championship and broke the cartel at the top of cricket by beating Australia, meaning only one of those top three teams of India, Australia and England have claimed the title in three years. Not surprisingly there are now rumours that they want to change the format. It would appear that the current format does need a tweak but should it really be split in half? How long can this event last if these top three continue to find they are not playing in the final or winning the Championship?

In our topics under discussion Ashley looks at the decision of relocating a brand as it is announced that the North Sydney Bears brand will become the Perth Bears on the other side of the country. John believes this is a wise move, and there is a great opportunity for success. Will the existing brand assure success comes quicker to the club? What will be the impact on Perth Glory and the Western Force? Will the marketing be there to carry the carry the team forward?

John touches on the topic that no sport wants to address which is concussion in sport and the very sad outcomes we are witnessing. He asks when will sport genuinely address this issue. Incidentally the book Ashley refers to is “A Delicate Game” by Hana Walker-Brown, this is a very informative read on this subject. This book covered many aspects that lead to concussion and the affects that result. John asks whether the statistic that suicide is most common amongst ex professional cricketers is still the case? Would these contact sports now have eclipsed Cricket?

As mentioned this year we celebrate 20 years. Let us know who you would like us to try and talk to in our 20th year and if you would like us to keep going for another ten years.

If you don’t want to miss a post or a podcast subscribe to Not The Footy Show on our home page. Almost 2000 people have. All you need do is insert your email address and then you will receive an email update whenever a new post or podcast is posted. Rest assured we will not pass on your information! Also please feel free to share your thoughts and the Podcast.

Remember you can email us with suggestions for topics to be discussed. If there is a topic or a guest that you would like us to feature, please contact us.

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Welcome to our 560th show in our 20th year, and again we have a slightly longer show but we hope that it will fly by as you listen in to our special guests.

On this show we catch up Olympian and now President of Australian Athletics Jane Flemming to talk about why Australia’s athletes are really beginning to shine and what is being done to maintain that success. Along with Jane is Brian Miller who is one of the Vice Presidents of Athletics Australia. These really are exciting times for the as success generates interest and with passionate individuals driving the sport one really does believe that there is a very bright future ahead.

In our topics under discussion Ashley looks at the decision of relocating a brand as it is announced that the North Sydney Bears brand will become the Perth Bears on the other side of the country. John believes this is a wise move, and there is a great opportunity for success. Will the existing brand assure success comes quicker to the club? What will be the impact on Perth Glory and the Western Force? Will the marketing be there to carry the carry the team forward?

John was on a roll and he raised the topic of the Stawell Gift Handicap sprint and the calls by some media to change the rules because Gout Gout did not make the final. After this he moves onto the matter of the Brisbane Stadium for the 2032 and the legacy it will leave for a sport that is not even an Olympic sport. This leads to the review of Optus Stadium and how the taxpayers are paying for events held there and how bad a venue it is for rectangular sports.

As mentioned this year we celebrate 20 years. Let us know who you would like us to try and talk to in our 20th year and if you would like us to keep going for another ten years.

If you don’t want to miss a post or a podcast subscribe to Not The Footy Show on our home page. Almost 2000 people have. All you need do is insert your email address and then you will receive an email update whenever a new post or podcast is posted. Rest assured we will not pass on your information! Also please feel free to share your thoughts and the Podcast.

Remember you can email us with suggestions for topics to be discussed. If there is a topic or a guest that you would like us to feature, please contact us.

Find all our podcasts on iTunes

Welcome to our 559th show in our 20th year, which is slightly longer than normal as it is a show that incredibly features a sport we haven’t covered previously. .

On this show we catch up with Belinda Green who only took up Para Ice Hockey at the age of 46 and has found a new passion in her life. Australia is a newcomer to the sport but is looking to send a team to international championships and hopes to qualify for the Winter Olympics but the journey to achieve those dreams is going to be costly, so the sport is looking for anyone who can help them alleviate some of those costs.

In our topics under discussion John looks at the election of Kirsty Coventry as the new President of the IOC. While the populist choice was Lord Coe, does Coventry’s election confirm how out of touch the IOC’s Executive Council is? The spotlight is now on Coventry as the first woman and the first African to be elected to the IOC Presidency, will she change tack, or will those who elected her prevent her from bringing about change?

In his topic under discussion Ashley decides to take on a subject that is bound to offend some. He asks whether simply not wishing to watch a woman’s sporting event makes a man a misogynist. Are those who are throwing this word around actually misandrists? How much are the accusation of misogyny by many damaging the image of women’s sport? John being a musician compares sporting rewards with musical rewards and how it is accepted in this field that in order to reap the rewards it comes down purely and simply to talent.

This year we celebrate 20 years. Let us know who you would like us to try and talk to in our 20th year and if you would like us to keep going for another ten years.

If you don’t want to miss a post or a podcast subscribe to Not The Footy Show on our home page. Almost 2000 people have. All you need do is insert your email address and then you will receive an email update whenever a new post or podcast is posted. Rest assured we will not pass on your information! Also please feel free to share your thoughts and the Podcast.

Remember you can email us with suggestions for topics to be discussed. If there is a topic or a guest that you would like us to feature, please contact us.

Find all our podcasts on iTunes

This podcast is recorded outside, as our regular studio is being rebuilt, but we still have plenty to discuss in our new environment.

On this podcast we catch up with Claire Abbott from Elite Pole Coaching. Claire sent nine athletes to the Australian Pole Sports Federation National Championships and all her athletes medalled. This saw seven qualify for the World Championships in Sweden. Here they again produced some outstanding results. Over 600 competitors from 45 countries descended on Sweden, and the Australians won a first ever gold medal in Artistic Pole, a gold in Para Pole, a silver and had four 4th places and a 5th. Of those only the Para Pole athlete was not coached by Claire.

Sadly in 2025 many of these athletes are unlikely to make it to the World Championships in Argentina, as the cost of attending the national championships in Newcastle, New South Wales, and then having to fund themselves to South America is going to be prohibitive from a cost perspective. That is unless anyone comes on board as a sponsor. Any one interested?

In our topics under discussion, John asks is sport eating itself with so much sport being played and broadcast? Are they trying to convince us the viewers that every game is in fact better than it really is? With cricket Commentators shouting every time something happens it is becoming difficult to watch. How much are people trying to sell us sport with “legends” and claims of higher viewership than they are really achieving? Are sports too reliant on television revenue?

Having heard the news that the Broad Street Amateur Boxing Club in London may have to close its doors after 138 years Ashley asks are our local councils doing enough to support community sport, or is their focus too skewed towards professional and sometimes privately owned clubs? Is the focus on the wrong areas?

A quick reminder that next year Not The Footy Show will celebrate 20 years. Let us know who you would like us to try and talk to in our 20th year and if you would like us to keep going for another ten years.

If you don’t want to miss a post or a podcast subscribe to Not The Footy Show on our home page. Almost 2000 people have. All you need do is insert your email address and then you will receive an email update whenever a new post or podcast is posted. Rest assured we will not pass on your information! Also please feel free to share your thoughts and the Podcast.

Remember you can email us with suggestions for topics to be discussed. If there is a topic or a guest that you would like us to feature, please contact us.

Find all our podcasts on iTunes

In the past week the world of Hockey has been focussed on India and the rebirth of the Hockey India League. It is a challenge to launch such a league, but to resurrect a competition comes with a whole set of different challenges.

On this podcast we catch up with one of the men who was tasked with relaunching the League, Ravneet Gill whose company Big Bang Marketing have the exclusive commercial rights to the League. Hopefully this conversation will give fans a greater insight into the challenges faced and the plans moving forward in future years. With the Men’s and Women’s auction having taken place fans can now look forward to the competition starting in late December.

In our topics under discussion, Ashley raises two that came up in discussion at a wake. Should Australia’s famous baggy green cap be reserved only to the Australian men’s cricket team? The two were in agreement on this one! Also, should T20 players be given full international recognition, or should T20 representation be the equivalent of A internationals? John throws up another issue in terms of the duration of games and the size of the playing surface.

John looks ahead at the 2032 Olympic Games scheduled for Brisbane and asks what is going on? He asks has Australia been sold a pup? Has there been enough thought behind Brisbane putting their hand up to host the Olympic Games, what will be the final cost to the city?

Next year Not The Footy Show will celebrate 20 years. Let us know who you would like us to try and talk to in our 20th year and if you would like us to keep going for another ten years.

If you don’t want to miss a post or a podcast subscribe to Not The Footy Show on our home page. Almost 2000 people have. All you need do is insert your email address and then you will receive an email update whenever a new post or podcast is posted. Rest assured we will not pass on your information! Also please feel free to share your thoughts and the Podcast.

Remember you can email us with suggestions for topics to be discussed. If there is a topic or a guest that you would like us to feature, please contact us.

Find all our podcasts on iTunes

Thank you to everyone who tuned into the last show which was one of our most listened to Podcasts, and hopefully has changed the way you approach life or even coaching.

If you enjoyed that podcast we are confident that you will really enjoy listening to our special guest on this show, Brian Miller who has attended 11 Olympic Games but was in Paris in a different role than usual. Under discussion is the value of an Olympic medal and whether team sport get a bad wrap as they are only worth one medal. Brian in his role as a board member of Athletics Australia also discusses Australia’s second best ever performance in Track and Field in Paris.

In our topics under discussion, John asks if the Olympics are forgotten now that they have gone, and is the Paralympic Games suffering by following the event? Should the two be working closer together to maximise the exposure for our athletes? John also questions the ‘defection’ of Australian Olympic medallist Matt Richardson after Paris to compete for Great Britain, the land of his birth.

Ashley carries on from a point made by Brian that all sports need to be aware of the lure of the mighty dollar as other sports look to poach talented athletes and then up-skill them to suit that particular sport. This being currently very prevalent in Women’s sports. How many talented sports people switch from their first love and end up excelling in another sport?

Another question that is thrown up is should juniors be training at 5.30 in the morning?

Ashley would like to apologise that he said Phil Neale played for Bradford City, when he played for Lincoln City!

If you don’t want to miss a post or a podcast subscribe to Not The Footy Show on our home page. Almost 2000 people have. All you need do is insert your email address and then you will receive an email update whenever a new post or podcast is posted. Rest assured we will not pass on your information! Also please feel free to share your thoughts and the Podcast.

Remember you can email us with suggestions for topics to be discussed. If there is a topic or a guest that you would like us to feature, please contact us.

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First of all apologies for the time between podcasts but a family bereavement too priority. So this show is slightly longer than normal. We are sure that you will find that it was well worth the wait as we have a fantastic guest lined up who is asking you to Unthink, and chaneg teh way you do things in life, but that could easily be transferred to sport.

That special guest is Great Britain Olympian and Hockey medallist Sarah Thomas. Sarah has transitioned into the business world and along with German hockey international Janne Muller Weiland and Ross McClelland has set up a compnay called Unthink a company that has been Shortlisted for Start-Up Entrepreneur of the Year 2024 in Great Britain.

The company was born out of the Covid pandemic and is now making great inroads into the business world and is trying to change the traditional learning processes, hence the name. In our conversation we look at how having been involved in sport at the highest level and in a team environment this could well be introduced in a high performance environment. The whole idea of changing the way things are done in business is proving refreshing. Trust and respcect for those you work with have come to the fore, and the fact that you do not have to like them. It is a really refreshing approach, and after listening we are sure that you are going to want to go on the dirt tracks rather than the highway.

In the topics under discussion John and Ashley look back at the Olympics and being of an older generation both felt like many that this year’s event was lacking something. Was it simply that there are too many events and it is almost impossible to stay across them all? Was it the actual coverage we as viewers were shown? Ashley touches on the success of African athletes, and how many are not representing African nations. Breakdancing also is discussed and how many in the sport did not want it to be a part of the Olympic Games, and Rachel Gunn’s academic paper is well worth aread on this topic. Also a white ball on a blue pitch in sulight was never a good idea.

John then looks at the commercial that was running in Australia to convince the public that they need to stand up to the Government in relation to anti-siphoning regulations. Is this really a push for the people of Australia or one purely for the TV Stations to make more money.

If you don’t want to miss a post or a podcast subscribe to Not The Footy Show on our home page. Almost 2000 people have. All you need do is insert your email address and then you will receive an email update whenever a new post or podcast is posted. Rest assured we will not pass on your information! Also please feel free to share your thoughts and the Podcast.

Remember you can email us with suggestions for topics to be discussed. If there is a topic or a guest that you would like us to feature, please contact us.

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In this show our special guest is author Lucas Gillard who talks about his latest book “George Best Down Under.” The book looks at the four main trips that the great Northern Ireland and Manchester United player made to Australia and how each was so very different in terms of where he was in his life and his career, and also how he was received. Copies can be purchased online here .

In the topics under discussion Ashley looks at the way talent is being identified today via trials rather than coaches actually scouting talent. To make matters worse in some sports the administrators are charging players who wish to attend trials for state representative teams, and then when selected they are again expected to pay to represent their state. Is this right? If a State cannot afford to heavily subsidise such teams surely they should not attempt to field a side in that age group? Equally worrying is hearing that three sports board members have delayed the announcement of a State team being announced because their child has not been selected. Does this who area need to be looked at and a better model put in place?

After cracking one of his best quips John turns his attention to Olympic selection and how only two are chosen when multiple athletes have achieved a qualifying time. Once again the Court of Arbitration for Sport is once again going to be busy, but should they be? Do the athletes need to understand the rules or is it the sport that needs to make the process clearer. Or are such events about having the best in the world competing or is it more important to have representatives from around the world competing even though they are not the top competitors in their sport? Does it really matter where an athlete comes from, surely they can inspire people in other nations apart from their own?

If you don’t want to miss a post or a podcast subscribe to Not The Footy Show on our home page. Almost 2000 people have. All you need do is insert your email address and then you will receive an email update whenever a new post or podcast is posted. Rest assured we will not pass on your information! Also please feel free to share your thoughts and the Podcast.

Remember you can email us with suggestions for topics to be discussed. If there is a topic or a guest that you would like us to feature, please contact us.

Find all our podcasts on iTunes