The Coaching Lab Playbook

How do you help thousands of coaches improve when most are volunteers with one training night a week?

George Robinson, Coach Development Manager at Basketball Queensland, joins us to unpack what really changes coaching behaviour, why courses alone don't stick, and how to build a culture of learning across an entire state.

Practical lessons for coach developers, club leaders and coaches in any sport.

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Denny Yau is Head of Football at a school and a UEFA certified coach with over 14 years in education, teaching students from six to sixteen. His coaching journey has also taken him through grassroots, elite youth academies and semi-professional football.

Denny believes young people only truly learn and perform when they feel seen, safe and sparked. As Head of Football, he builds programmes where the classroom and the pitch work together, giving special attention to the players who struggle, have faced failure or are simply waiting to be heard.

In this episode, Denny shares how he creates a school football culture where every student has a place, a purpose and a home.

Want to bring more game-realistic, player-centred learning into your sessions? Check out MatchPlay Cards and give every player the chance to learn the game by playing it.

Josh Arnold, Head of Community Football at Auckland FC, shares how the three Ps: people, places and programmes, can transform football communities. Drawing on his experience with Bloomsbury Football Foundation in London, Josh explores what it takes to create inclusive environments, develop people and build programmes that make a lasting impact beyond the pitch.

What does it actually look like to use MatchPlay Cards inside a Premier League academy?

In this episode, Jack Rolfe is joined once again by Sam Jones, Academy Coach at AFC Bournemouth and former Academy Coach at Southampton FC, to go behind the scenes of how MatchPlay Cards are used to create more engaging, representative and player-centred training sessions.

Rather than simply adding fun, Sam explains how the cards help coaches design practices that encourage decision-making, increase game realism and create better learning opportunities. Together, Jack and Sam unpack practical examples from academy football, discuss how constraints influence player behaviour, and explore why the smallest tweaks can often have the biggest impact.

Whether you coach in grassroots football, schools or the professional game, this episode is full of ideas you can take straight onto the training pitch to design better games and develop smarter players.

What does great coaching look like inside a Premier League academy?

In this episode, Jack Rolfe sits down with Sam Jones, Lead Academy Coach at AFC Bournemouth, to explore the realities of developing young players in one of England's leading academy environments. With a background in sport psychology and coach development, Sam shares how relationships, intentional practice and reflective coaching shape player development far beyond technical and tactical outcomes.

Together, they discuss:

• Why the best academy coaches focus on learning, not just winning.
• Creating training sessions that develop decision-makers rather than robots.
• The role of psychology in everyday coaching conversations.
• How reflection accelerates both player and coach development.
• What grassroots and school coaches can learn from the professional game.

School of Hard Knocks (SOHK) empowers young people to realise their full potential through sport, helping create a society where every child has an equal opportunity to succeed.

Discover practical coaching resources, workshops and MatchPlay Cards at The Coaching Lab

Discover more coaching resources, workshops, and MatchPlay Cards at The Coaching Lab.

In this episode of The Coaching Lab Playbook Podcast, Jack sits down with Anthony Lands to discuss what great coach education looks like in practice.

Anthony shares why understanding people and their lived experiences matters more than simply delivering content, how we can keep young people at the centre of sport, and why creating enjoyable sporting experiences should be the goal of every coach.

The conversation also explores how tools like MatchPlay Cards can help shift coach behaviours, encourage reflection, and turn learning into action.

In this episode, we explore what it really means to make sport about the players. Max shares his philosophy on ownership, decision-making, leadership and creating a team culture where athletes are empowered rather than controlled.

We also dive into how Spain are preparing for the World Cup, balancing experienced internationals with emerging talent, and why the best coaches spend less time providing answers and more time creating the conditions for learning.

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Max Caldas is one of the most respected coaches in world hockey. A two-time FIH Coach of the Year and current head coach of the Spanish Men's National Team, Max has built a reputation for creating high-performance environments where players take ownership, think for themselves and thrive under pressure. Under his leadership, Spain has re-established itself amongst the world's elite and secured qualification for the 2026 Hockey World Cup.

A must-listen for coaches, teachers and leaders who want to create environments where people take responsibility, grow and perform at their best.

🎧 Learn more at The Coaching Lab

In this episode of The Coaching Lab Playbook, we debrief a recent day working with Chris Clayton-Smith and his staff team. We unpack the realities of developing a consistent, confident coaching approach across a department, what stood out, what challenged staff, and what actually drives change beyond a one-off workshop.

If you’re looking to build more aligned, engaging school sport… we’re now working with schools and clubs globally, get in touch to explore how we can support your team - [email protected]