The Athlete Development Show

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After experiencing a magic moment playing golf when everything seemed to click and his performance excelled, my guest in this episode began a research journey into psychological states of peak performance.

You may have heard athletes talk about being 'in the zone'. It's a time when you're so engrossed in the task at hand that you lose track of time, become supremely confident, and nothing can stop you from putting out your best performance. You just need to 'let it happen'. Heck, you've probably, at some point, even experienced it yourself.

The scientific term for this feeling is called 'flow', and my guest on the show today, Associate Professor Christian Swann (@cswannpsych), studies it.

But it turns out there's another mind state that can also induce peak performance. It's called 'clutch', and is much more about 'making it happen'. Clutch is also an idea Christian studies.

In this conversation, Christian describes exactly what flow and clutch are, and how you can help your athlete get into them.

You can check out Christian's research here. 

Kia ora! 

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We all need to feel like we belong to something. And in a world that is, right now, full of more uncertainty and struggle than ever, nothing is more important.

This conversation is with performance coach, speaker and international number #1 bestselling author, Owen Eastwood.

Owen works with high performing groups in sport and business, including the English Football team, the South African cricket team and the New Zealand All Blacks, to build environments where everyone can be the best version of themselves.

In his new book, Belonging, Owen weaves together insights from homo sapiens' evolutionary story and ancestral wisdom with experiences from his own work in elite contemporary environments. He draws on the idea of Whakapapa to maximise a team's performance and enhance everybody's moment in the sun. 

I love how Owen expresses his ideas on Belonging so eloquently and I think you will, too.
 
Kia ora! 

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Andy Milne (@carmelhealth) is a teacher, creator, TEDx Speaker and father of two young boys. Originally from England, Andy taught physical education in London for 12 years before moving to America in 2008, where he now teaches Kinetic Wellness and Health at New Trier High School, just north of Chicago. 

Andy received his BA (hons) in Sports & Recreation at Staffordshire University and his Post Graduate Certificate in Education at Exeter University. In 2017 he earned the award for the National Health Teacher of the Year. 

In this conversation, Andy and I discuss what it means to be creative, the skills of health, why relationships are so important, developing empathy, the power of community, and much more.
 
Kia ora! 

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Erin Bowerman (@dancestrength_nz) is a movement specialist working in dance. She holds a Masters Degree from AUT University, where she carried out her research at the Australian Ballet School in conjunction with High Performance Sport New Zealand looking at the risk factors for overuse injuries in elite adolescent ballet dancers.

Erin works as a strength coach for the New Zealand Dance Company and the New Zealand Youth Ballet Company. From 2016-2018, she was based in London where she coached at the Royal Ballet School White Lodge and the National Centre for Circus Arts.

In this conversation, Erin shares her story of personal dancing failure to transformation in dancer development.  Please enjoy the show. Kia ora!

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 James Mortimer (@jamesmortimernz) is a former national hurdles and sprint athlete, having represented New Zealand at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia.

James now coaches a group of some of our fastest athletes, including Zoe Hobbs, who recently ran 11.08 seconds at the Athletics World Championships in the US to set a new New Zealand record. He also works at Diocesan School for Girls in Auckland where he manages day to day operations of a portfolio of sports from Year 7-13 level.

As James puts it, "speed kills", and in this conversation, he shares his approach to developing it. 

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Coach, writer, educator, pioneer in skill acquisition and deliciously inquisitive guy Austin Einhorn (@apiros.team) rejoins me for another episode of The Curious Mind.

In this one we discuss being a reflective coach, building rapport with your athletes, important questions to develop your awareness, parenting, Austin's new course and much, much more.

If you enjoy the podcast, please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. It takes less than 60 seconds and really helps us keep producing the show. We also love hearing your feedback!

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Tom Willmott (@tomwillmott) is the head coach of the park and pipe program at Snow Sports New Zealand. Tom leads a team of coaches that looks after ~20 athletes from the very elite, including winter olympic gold medalists Zoi Sadowski-Synnott and Nico Porteous, to 11 and 12 year olds in the national development programme.

Tom is a former snowboard competitor and national champion, has a Professional Doctorate in Elite Performance, a Master’s degree in Physical Education and a Bachelor’s degree in Sports Coaching.

In this episode we discuss:

• Tom's deep connection with the mountains;
• The feeling of 'flow' and why Tom loves to chase it;
• Month long summer holidays camping and traveling though Europe as a kid;
• Coaching and studying all over the world;
• The evolution of snowboarding;
•  How to coach risk-taking;
• Designing learning environment to optimise progression;
• The School of Shred
• Tom's reflective practice; and
• More.

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Jamie Salter (@jay_salter) is a researcher and senior lecturer in sport science and Injury at York St John University where he delivers theory and practical based sessions to undergraduate and postgraduate students in the areas of injury prevention, rehabilitation and strength and conditioning.

Jamie is also an accredited Strength and Conditioning coach and Sport Scientist and has worked in physical preparation roles with youth and adult athletes at Barnsley FC, Middlesbrough FC, York City Knights RLFC and GB Goalball. 

Jamie's PhD, which dig into in our conversation, investigated how biological maturation impacts responses to training load and injury in adolescent football.

We also cover:

• Developing rapport;
• Jamie's coaching and teaching philosophy;
• Development versus performance;
• Balance; 
• The problems with too much structure;
• And much more.

Please enjoy the show.

If you enjoy the podcast, please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. It takes less than 60 seconds and really helps me keep producing the show. I also love hearing your feedback!

Sign up for Craig's free weekly newsletter by scrolling down. It's full of research-backed, practical ideas for helping youth athletes defend against injury, overtraining and burning out.

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On the show today I chat with Shaun Matthews, Community Coaching Advisor at Harbour Sport.

We dig into:

• The importance of a coaching philosophy;
• What Shaun has learnt about talent;
• Coaching mindset;
• Developing self-reliant learners;
• Balance; 
• And much more.

Please enjoy the show.

If you enjoy the podcast, please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts. It takes less than 60 seconds and really helps me keep producing the show. I also love hearing your feedback!

Sign up for Craig's free weekly newsletter by scrolling down. It's full of research-backed, practical ideas for helping youth athletes defend against injury, overtraining and burning out.

Follow Craig:

Instagram: instagram.com/drcraigharrison/
Facebook: facebook.com/drcraigharrison
Twitter: twitter.com/drcraigharrison

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Youth sport coaches are undervalued.

In this conversation, Dr Vince Minjares (@PlayerLearning) tells us why and how we can go about changing it.

Vince leads game and coach development at Harbour Basketball, on the North Shore of Auckland, and holds a PhD in Coaching and Pedagogy.

Please enjoy the show.

Kia ora!

If you enjoy the podcast, please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts. It takes less than 60 seconds and really helps me keep producing the show. I also love hearing your feedback!

Sign up for Craig's free weekly newsletter by scrolling down. It's full of research-backed, practical ideas for helping youth athletes defend against injury, overtraining and burning out.

Follow Craig:

Instagram: instagram.com/drcraigharrison/
Facebook: facebook.com/drcraigharrison
Twitter: twitter.com/drcraigharrison

Support the show