University of Staffordshire's Performing Under Pressure Podcast

Nicky Forster has had a career in professional football spanning over 700 games and has scored over 200 goals for clubs including Reading, Brighton and Hove Albion, Brentford, and Birmingham City to name a few. He now works as a goal setting coach and keynote speaker (https://nickyforster.com).

Dr Paul Mansell and Professor Matt Slater hear Nicky's thoughts on leadership, staying motivating in the demanding climate of professional football, and the use of goal setting strategies to aid adherence to a target. Nicky describes some effective leaders that he has experienced in his career and how he uses elements of their leadership in his own work.

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Robbie Udberg is the former Head of Player Development and Performance at Chelsea Women FC and now is the Co-Director of CHX Challenge and CHX Performance. Having had more than a decade of experience in performance at the top level of the game, he is well placed to describe the role of leadership in performing under pressure.

Speaking with host Dr Paul Mansell, Robbie explains the importance of the design of the physical space at an organisation and how this can foster togetherness. He worked alongside current USA women's national team manager Emma Hayes. As one of the most respected leaders in the game, Robbie shares insight into what makes Emma a great leader. We also discuss how to enhance togetherness through psychological work.

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Danny Schofield is our guest on this episode. Joining us all the way from Australia where he is currently coaching in the A-League and Asian Champions League, Danny explains some of the key features of his coaching style to Dr Paul Mansell and Sam Westley. Danny also has experience of coaching in the UK and is the former Head Coach of Huddersfield Town and Doncaster Rovers. Danny draws on his experience as an ex-professional footballer, amassing over 400 career appearances at clubs including Huddersfield Town, Millwall, Rotherham United and Yeovil.

In this episode, we discuss the culture Danny is helping to create at Central Coast Mariners and how he aims to maximise half-time. He describes his use of visualisation in his career, how to deal with the difficulty of losing his job and how to involve players who are suffering with long-term injuries. We also hear about how Danny is getting on with his MSc in Sport and Exercise Psychology.

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Adam Evans is the CEO of Staffordshire Football Association - an organisation with over 1,700 teams, 30,000 players and 800 referees. An episode focused very much on leadership and culture, Adam explains to Professor Matt Slater and Dr Paul Mansell about how he is creating a culture that can drive the organisation forward.

Using Matt's experience in leadership and togetherness, a social identity lens is applied to the conversation. Adam sees the organisation's role as important in terms of 'serving the game'. Staffordshire FA are led by their values which are based upon 'active verbs' rather than 'dead nouns'. Adam explains how he is able to make difficult decisions such as recruiting the right people, and the trio discuss the power of reflection in effective leadership.

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Joining Dr Paul Mansell for this episode is Luton Town and Scotland forward Jacob Brown. Jacob is approaching 300 professional appearances including spells at Barnsley, Chesterfield and Stoke City.

Recorded at Luton Town's training ground, Jacob is very candid about how psychology influences his performance. He reflects on how a serious injury changed the way he thought about his career beyond being a footballer, and how he is using education and business interests to aid his personal development.

Jacob bravely opens up about some recent struggles off the pitch. He explains how this affected him on the pitch and how he was able to move forward from this issue. Jacob uses a multitude of strategies to put him in the best place to perform well including gratitude, breathwork, and utilising support from those closest to him.

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Professor Andy Lane is our guest in the studio as we discuss his applied work and research in performance and wellbeing in athletes. Joining hosts Dr Paul Mansell and Dr Karla Drew, we discuss self-efficacy in performance, how to cope psychologically with endurance events, and the importance of creating interest and engagement in applied work.

Based at The University of Wolverhampton, Andy describes some of the highlights and challenges he has experienced when working with athletes from sailors to boxers. The trio also discuss the importance of good-quality research.

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In this episode, Dr Paul Mansell is joined by sport psychology academic and practitioner Dr Sofie Kent. Sofie is a Senior Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Psychology at Leeds Beckett University and has an excellent track record of publishing peer-reviewed articles about performing under pressure.

Sofie's published work includes topics such as assessing performance under pressure, career transitions such as loan transfers, and the experiences of romantic partners in elite sport. For instance, Sofie outlines how romantic partners are often overlooked in elite sport, the difficulties they face on a personal level, and how clubs can support them as a integral component in their partner's lives.

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Mackenzie Cherry is our guest in this special international episode of the Performing Under Pressure podcast that was recorded at the University of Porto. Mackenzie is a defender for Portuguese top-flight outfit Valadares Gaia. A team looking to challenge the traditional big teams in women's football in Portugal such as Benfica, Mackenzie describes her journey from college football in America to Portugal via Iceland to Dr Paul Mansell.

A highly reflective guest, Mackenzie provides a range of useful perspectives about performance. She outlines her self-talk that helps her to deal with mistakes, the importance of working on your psychology even when things are going well, and how it is possible to have fun even when the nerves are kicking in. As an international athlete living in Portugal, Mackenzie tells us the importance of a group being inclusive and how social bonding exercises can play a role in this.

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Melissa Dhillon is a performance psychologist and owner of Athletes in the Zone. She has experience of working with Aston Villa FC, Birmingham City FC, Salford City FC, the LTA and with corporate clients such as Julius Baer and Circle Rehabilitation. In this episode, she reveals to Dr Paul Mansell some of the strategies she finds to be effective when working with athletes, and how this might differ to working in an occupational setting.

The discussion includes the importance of intuition, responding to adversity, staying focused under pressure and working with parents. Melissa also shares how she is able to make the seemingly intangible components of her work more tangible!

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Lee Burch is the Manager of Rugby Borough Women Football Club. Aiming for promotion to the second tier of women's football, Rugby Borough are an upwardly mobile club, typified by their progress on and off the pitch. Lee has managed in the Women's Super League and the Championship and is a UEFA A License holder.

Speaking with Dr Paul Mansell and Dr Katie Sparks, Lee describes how he uses routines to allow him to perform under pressure. The trio also discuss the role of half-time, how a sense of family is created at Rugby Borough, how to prepare for games that carry extra importance, and how injured players remain part of the squad even when they are unavailable for selection. Lee champions the role of constant learning and embraces CPD opportunities in the game. On a lighter note, there is a also a discussion about the best sort of crisps!

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