Following eight years leading the "personal" side of professional and academy football, both male and female, at Brighton & Hove Albion, Sue Parris now works mainly with elite athletes, and their support networks, facilitating their emotional and mental health development. Recently she co authored a paper alongside Paul Mortimer called "The Boy in the Man’s Mask" which is the analysis of a collection of voices from inside the football Academy environment, U18s, U23s and staff, who shared their experiences with through face-to-face interviews. The results of which were intriguing to say the least.

What we discussed included;

- Unique characteristics of young footballers in comparison to their sporting peers.

- Is there a misunderstanding of what development means in academy environments?

- The fear and anxiety which young players feel living in the future.

- At what level does the prevention work need to be done?

- Should the role of coach be redefined?

- What is the side of football which comes to threaten to destroy what we love?

Timestamps;

00:00 - 12:23 - Research

12:24 - 22:03 - "Fear in Football"

22:04 - 26:56 - Coaching Cultures

26:57 - 36:17 - Unheard Voices

36:18 - 45:05 - Pre-Care

45:06 - 52:07 - Future

52:08 - 54:26 - Advice

Sue's LinkedIn; https://www.linkedin.com/in/sue-parris-b2120666/