Supporting Champions

Supporting Champions

Steve Ingham

Steve Ingham, performance scientists, leader and author, explores the science, art, purpose and origins of high-performance. Steve interviews and discusses these concepts with the people who have been there and done it, whether it’s achieving at the highest level, been the driving force in making remarkable performance happen or those who have explored and researched aspects of human performance in real-depth.

160: Parenting Talent with Valeria Eckardt

160: Parenting Talent with Valeria Eckardt

🎙️ Parenting Talent | Supporting Champions Podcast In this episode, Dr. Steve Ingham welcomes Valeria Eckardt to explore the vital yet complex role of parents in youth sports. Parents are more than just supporters—they shape a child's sporting experience as role models, interpreters, and motivators. But where’s the line between support and pressure? How can parents communicate effectively with young athletes? Valeria shares insights into emotional intelligence in sports parenting, the impact of

Feb 24, • 58:17

160: Parenting Talent with Valeria Eckardt

160: Parenting Talent with Valeria Eckardt

Use code 'SC10' for 10% off all Supporting Champions Courses https://www.supportingchampions.co.uk/onlinecourse/ 🎙️ Parenting Talent | Supporting Champions Podcast In this episode, Dr. Steve Ingham welcomes Valeria Eckardt to explore the vital yet complex role of parents in youth sports. Parents are more than just supporters—they shape a child's sporting experience as role models, interpreters, and motivators. But where’s the line between support and pressure? How can parents communicate effect

Feb 19, • 1:00:24

159: How to train for, prime and preserve power in performance with Liam Kilduff

159: How to train for, prime and preserve power in performance with Liam Kilduff

In this episode, Steve Ingham sits down with Liam to dive into the cutting-edge science behind athletic performance. From strength training and speed development to the critical role of muscle temperature, this conversation covers everything you need to know about optimising performance for elite athletes. Discover how post activation potentiation (PAP) can prime athletes for competition, why recovery is often underestimated, and how individualised training programs lead to better results. Liam

Feb 5, • 50:24

158: Brilliant basics and innovative nutrition for endurance, strength and size with Prof Graeme Close

158: Brilliant basics and innovative nutrition for endurance, strength and size with Prof Graeme Close

🎙️ Welcome to the Supporting Champions Podcast! In this episode, Dr. Steve Ingham is joined by Professor Graeme Close, a leading expert in sports nutrition and human physiology. From his early days as a professional rugby league player to becoming a trusted advisor for England Rugby, Graeme shares his incredible journey and offers valuable insights into the science behind elite performance. We dive deep into the fundamentals of sports nutrition, the role of mentorship in academic success, and t

Jan 22, • 1:22:52

157: How to be more productive using flow states with Dr Sue Jackson

157: How to be more productive using flow states with Dr Sue Jackson

🎙️ Welcome to the Supporting Champions Podcast!   In this episode, Dr. Steve Ingham sits down with Sue Jackson, a renowned psychologist and expert in the field of flow and optimal performance. Sue shares her incredible journey in sports psychology, including her collaboration with Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, the pioneer behind the flow concept.   Together, we explore the fascinating world of flow—an optimal psychological state where we are fully immersed in a task—and its impact on performance, pe

Jan 8, • 59:05

156:  Dr Ali Sanders on high performance in the helicopter emergency services

156: Dr Ali Sanders on high performance in the helicopter emergency services

In this episode of the Supporting Champions Podcast, I sit down with the incredible Dr Ali Sanders, whose journey seamlessly bridges two worlds of extreme performance: Olympic rowing and emergency medicine. Ali’s story is one of grit, adaptability, and relentless dedication. From discovering rowing by chance at university to competing at the Olympic Games, Ali has always embraced high-pressure challenges. She shares how those experiences laid the foundation for her work as a consultant in emerge

Dec 18, 2024 • 1:07:32

155: David Bishop on interval training, mitochondria and training stressors

155: David Bishop on interval training, mitochondria and training stressors

In this episode, I'm joined by David Bishop, a leading researcher specializing in exercise physiology at the University of Western Australia. David takes us through his unexpected journey from a physical education teacher to becoming a renowned expert in muscle metabolism and exercise physiology. During our conversation, David delves into how training at various intensities impacts mitochondrial adaptations, which are crucial for enhancing athletic performance. We explore the critical balance b

Dec 4, 2024 • 1:05:43

154: Troy Taylor on the state of strength training and what it tells us about our habits

154: Troy Taylor on the state of strength training and what it tells us about our habits

Welcome to another exciting episode of the Supporting Champions Podcast. Today, I am thrilled to be joined by Troy Taylor, Senior Director of Performance at Tonal and a distinguished leader in the field of sports performance. With a career spanning elite sports organizations, including his role as the former High-Performance Director for U.S. Ski & Snowboard, Troy brings a wealth of experience and cutting-edge insights into optimizing athlete performance. In this episode, we dive deep into the e

Nov 20, 2024 • 54:58

153: Chris Shambrook on Lessons from Sport and Business

153: Chris Shambrook on Lessons from Sport and Business

Today I’m delighted to welcome a legend in the world of sports psychology, Chris Shambrook. With over two decades of experience in high-performance psychology, Chris has worked with elite athletes, including the GB Rowing Team, where he’s been pivotal in helping athletes achieve their peak performance on the world stage. In this episode, we dive into Chris’s unique approaches to mental resilience, the subtle art of supporting champions through their highs and lows, and the practical tools he use

Nov 6, 2024 • 1:01:08

152: Shona Halson on the Realities of Recovery

152: Shona Halson on the Realities of Recovery

This week, I’m thrilled to have the brilliant Dr. Shona Halson join me. Shona is an expert in athlete recovery and a former Senior Physiologist at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS), where she spent over 15 years researching and shaping the field of athlete recovery. She has worked with elite athletes, including the Australian Olympic team, to optimize their performance through evidence-based recovery strategies. In this episode, we dive deep into the science of recovery—what actually works

Oct 23, 2024 • 1:12:58

151: Bryony Page on Olympic Gold

151: Bryony Page on Olympic Gold

In this episode of The Supporting Champions Podcast, I’m thrilled to welcome Olympic gold medallist and trampolining sensation, Bryony Page! Bryony's journey from overcoming self-doubt to standing atop the podium in Tokyo is nothing short of extraordinary. We dive deep into her mindset, training approaches, and the resilience it took to become a record breaker in her sport. Join me as we explore how Bryony turned her dreams into reality, the highs and lows of elite competition, and what drives h

Oct 9, 2024 • 1:18:39

150: Ben Rosenblatt on Elite Physical Performance

150: Ben Rosenblatt on Elite Physical Performance

In this week’s instalment I speak with Dr Ben Rosenblatt, founder of 292 performance and former S&C coach for England men’s football and GB women’s hockey. 292 performance is a multidisciplinary performance consultancy that offers support to elite athletes across a range of facets such as S&C, nutrition and psychology. Through his career, Ben has consulted and imparted his knowledge on individuals and organisations such as the premier league, Olympic associations and international milita

Sep 25, 2024 • 1:01:50

149: Paolo Menaspa on Applied Research in Elite Sport

149: Paolo Menaspa on Applied Research in Elite Sport

This week on the podcast I sit down with Paolo Menaspa. Paolo is the Chief Science Officer at the Australian Institute of Sport, where he has led teams responsible for research & development, quality assurance, athlete performance health, and REST.    Palo has a vast experience in the world of sport, supporting athletes through multiple Olympic cycles across multiple events. With a focus on cycling, Paolo has supported the national coaches and the performance support team developing solution

Sep 11, 2024 • 1:04:47

148: Jo Harrison on performance lifestyle, transitions and well-being

148: Jo Harrison on performance lifestyle, transitions and well-being

In this week's episode I speak with Jo Harrison, the Head of Performance Lifestyle Services at the UK Sports Institute and Founder of WinWell.org Jo plays a pivotal role in athlete welfare and life beyond sport, and has been a key influence in this shift of focus over recent years. Jo possesses over 20 years worth of experience at the elite level of British sport and has consistently championed the holistic approach to athlete support.  From her experiences within sport, Jo has co-founded 'WinWe

Aug 21, 2024 • 1:08:41

147: Stafford Murray on analysis and innovation

147: Stafford Murray on analysis and innovation

On this week’s podcast I speak to Stafford Murray Stafford is the former Head of Performance Analysis at the English Institute of Sport, Director of Innovation at High Performance Sport New Zealand and now Head of Analysis at England and Wales Cricket Board. Stafford is a true pioneer in the world of performance analysis and innovation, having been at the forefront of evolving the discipline from match analysis and notation analysis to carving out the discipline of performance analysis. He has s

Aug 7, 2024 • 50:31

146: Mark England on Leading at the Olympics

146: Mark England on Leading at the Olympics

In this episode of the Supporting Champions Podcast, we sit down with Mark England, Director of Sport Services at the British Olympic Association and Chef de Mission for Team GB across multiple Olympic Games. With a storied career that includes leading Britain to historic successes at the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Games, Mark shares his extensive experience in Olympic leadership and team preparation. Show Notes: Introduction to Mark England: Introduction to Mark’s role with the British Olympic Ass

Jul 24, 2024 • 1:05:09

145: Geir Jordet on the pressure and performance of penalty shoot-outs

145: Geir Jordet on the pressure and performance of penalty shoot-outs

Today, I’m joined by Geir Jordet, the world's leading expert on the psychology of penalties and author of "Pressure: Lessons from the Psychology of the Penalty Shootout." Geir brings an extensive background in sports psychology, with a focus on high-pressure performances in football. He has studied and published analyses on every major penalty shootout in soccer since 1976, so is ideally placed to  offer insights into the critical moments that define sports outcomes, and how these insights apply

Jul 5, 2024 • 1:03:16

144: Tim Jones on performance coaching and leadership

144: Tim Jones on performance coaching and leadership

In this insightful episode I speak to with Tim Jones, the Associate Performance Director at British Swimming. A former Olympic athlete in the grueling 200m butterfly, Tim has transitioned from elite swimming to coaching, and now to a leadership role that spans multiple sports disciplines. With extensive experience across swimming, athletics, and gymnastics, Tim discusses his journey and the critical elements of leading high-performance teams in today’s competitive sports environment. Show Notes:

Jun 26, 2024 • 1:12:02

143: Sam Marcora on the psychobiology of fatigue and perception of effort

143: Sam Marcora on the psychobiology of fatigue and perception of effort

Welcome to the Supporting Champions podcast, hosted by performance scientist Dr Steve Ingham. In this episode, Steve is joined by Professor Sam Marcora, a leading researcher whose psychobiological model has revolutionized our understanding of training and performance. Together, they delve into the fascinating intersection of psychology and physiology, focusing on how mental fatigue impacts physical performance. Sam shares groundbreaking insights into the role of perception of effort and how both

Jun 12, 2024 • 1:31:49

142: Iñigo Mujika on peaking, tapering and working in different systems

142: Iñigo Mujika on peaking, tapering and working in different systems

In today’s episode I’m delighted host Iñigo Mujika. It is no exaggeration to say that Inigo is one of the World’s leading applied physiologists with a particular specialism in endurance training, tapering, and peaking strategies and has an extensive background working with elite athletes across various sports. In this episode, Iñigo shares insights from his career, discussing the characteristics of effective and less effective teams he's been a part of and his approach to balancing real-time dat

May 29, 2024 • 1:43:55

141: Stephen Seiler on the future of sport science

141: Stephen Seiler on the future of sport science

Today, I’m joined by Stephen Seiler, a renowned expert in sports science, to explore the integration of technology in sports performance, education, and health. Stephen brings a wealth of knowledge from his extensive research into the physiological aspects of endurance training and his insights into the optimal use of technology in enhancing athlete performance. In our conversation, we discuss the double-edged sword of technological advancements in sports. We cover how wearable devices and artif

May 15, 2024 • 1:28:19

140: Mehdi Kordi on focussing on what matters

140: Mehdi Kordi on focussing on what matters

In this episode, we spotlight the journey and insights of Mehdi Kordi. With a rich and varied background, from biomedical science, to aerospace physiology, to accountancy, to mice in the Andes (yes you heard me correctly), then ultimately into a career in sports science and eventually coaching at the elite end of cycling. First Mehdi was at British Cycling as the sports scientist and hen coach at British Cycling, working with the Para team to Tokyo Games.  Then Mehdi moved onto the Dutch Nationa

May 1, 2024 • 1:19:11

139: Paul Z Jackson on solutions focus

139: Paul Z Jackson on solutions focus

Welcome back to the Supporting Champions Podcast. Today, we're exploring the transformative power of focusing on solutions, not problems, with the insightful Paul Z Jackson. From his early days as a comedy writer and improvisation teacher to becoming a pivotal figure in the world of applied improvisation, Paul's journey is as fascinating as it is varied. His work, especially the acclaimed book 'The Solutions Focus,' co-authored with Mark McKergow, has been a beacon for many, including myself, si

Apr 17, 2024 • 1:09:15

138: Meike Bartels on Wellbeing

138: Meike Bartels on Wellbeing

In this episode I speak to Meike Bartels, a renowned researcher in wellbeing and happiness. Meike's research work uncovers the layers that contribute to our sense of fulfilment, exploring how genetics, environment, and personal habits intertwine to shape our happiness. In our conversation, Meike highlights that wellbeing is an evolving state, influenced by positive surroundings and actions. We discuss the differences between eudemonic and hedonic wellbeing, the genetic basis of happiness, and th

Apr 3, 2024 • 1:01:14

137: Stuart Biddle on Exercise and Mental Health

137: Stuart Biddle on Exercise and Mental Health

In this episode, we're joined by Prof Stuart Biddle, a leading figure in the psychology of physical activity, based at the University of Southern Queensland. Stuart's extensive work in exercise science and psychology provides groundbreaking insights into how exercise impacts our wellbeing. Our discussion today spans Stuart's illustrious career, from his early days contributing to the foundational layers of exercise science to his current work, which includes a significant focus on the mental hea

Mar 20, 2024 • 1:09:30

136: Andrew Rogers on Mental Health Development

136: Andrew Rogers on Mental Health Development

Joining me this week is Andrew Rogers, a Chartered Consultant Clinical & Forensic Psychologist with over two decades of experience spanning elite sport, business, healthcare, prison services and more. As co-director of Changing Minds UK, Andrew brings a real wealth of knowledge on the psychological aspects of high performance, resilience, and emotional wellbeing. In our conversation, we focus on mental health for sports performers, exploring the unique challenges they face and how coaches an

Mar 5, 2024 • 1:40:04

135: David Robson on The Intelligence Trap

135: David Robson on The Intelligence Trap

In this episode I speak to David Robson, an award-winning science journalist. David's insightful exploration into the realms of cognitive psychology and human behaviour, particularly in his books 'The Intelligence Trap' and 'The Expectation Effect,' offers a fresh perspective on how our minds work, especially in high-performance environments. David's journey in science journalism has led him to uncover fascinating aspects of human intelligence and the surprising pitfalls that even the brightest

Feb 21, 2024 • 1:31:43

134: Dr Alison Maitland & Jenna Ashford on Drop The Struggle

134: Dr Alison Maitland & Jenna Ashford on Drop The Struggle

In this episode, we're exploring the themes of mindfulness, acceptance, and actionable confidence with authors Dr. Alison Maitland and Jenna Ashford, as they discuss their latest book, 'Drop the Struggle.' This thought-provoking work challenges readers to embrace discomfort, engage with the present, and focus on what truly matters. Alison and Jenna bring a wealth of experience to the table, and they start by sharing their backgrounds, providing context for the insights that follow. The book's ce

Feb 7, 2024 • 1:07:11

133: James Collins on applied nutrition

133: James Collins on applied nutrition

In our latest episode of Supporting Champions, we had the opportunity to engage in a fascinating conversation with James Collins, recognised as a leading Sport & Exercise Nutritionist. In elite sport he has worked with Team GB Olympic teams and athletes over three Olympic Games. He joined Arsenal Football Club in 2010, where he spent seven seasons as the club’s first performance nutritionist. He has worked as a consultant with England Football, France Football (2018 World Cup winners), and i

Jan 24, 2024 • 1:08:40

132: Amy Edmondson on the right kind of wrong

132: Amy Edmondson on the right kind of wrong

In this episode of Supporting Champions, we're joined by Amy Edmondson, the Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at Harvard Business School and a leading authority on psychological safety. We delve into her new book, "The Right Kind of Wrong," a title that intriguingly challenges our perceptions of failure. Our conversation begins with Amy's sharing her expertise on creating environments that foster growth, development, and performance. Amy's perspective is particularly timely, as the

Jan 10, 2024 • 56:19

131: Cody Royle on coaching coaches

131: Cody Royle on coaching coaches

In this week's episode, I'm excited to welcome back Cody Royle, author of "A Second Set of Eyes," for an in-depth discussion about the need for coaches to have coaches. We explore the often-unspoken emotional and psychological challenges coaches face, delving into themes like masculinity, individualism, and the necessity of a strong support network. The conversation, as you'd expect from anything Cody communicates is rich with insight, exploring fascinating insights about the unique traits that

Dec 19, 2023 • 1:21:08

130: Athlete Now - Holly Calvert and Nicole Booth on developing a platform for athlete services

130: Athlete Now - Holly Calvert and Nicole Booth on developing a platform for athlete services

In this episode I speak with, Holly Calvert and Nicole Booth, the co-founders of Athlete Now. This innovative platform is revolutionising the way athletes access expert performance support, from nutritionists and physiologists to essential services like insurance and legal support. Simultaneously, it's a game-changer for practitioners, offering them a space to showcase their services and connect with athletes in need. Before we dive into our conversation, I want to share a personal note. I've jo

Dec 6, 2023 • 1:08:12

129: Dan Abrahams on the psychology of team dynamics

129: Dan Abrahams on the psychology of team dynamics

In this episode of the Supporting Champions Podcast, we're joined by Dan Abrahams, a highly respected sports psychologist known for his insightful and practical approach to team dynamics and performance psychology. Our discussion offers a deep dive into the psychological elements that are crucial for team success, making this episode a valuable listen for coaches, athletes, and leaders alike. We explore a range of topics including the creation of environments that foster psychological developmen

Nov 21, 2023 • 1:45:54

128: Ben Sporer on Output

128: Ben Sporer on Output

In this episode, we're joined by Ben Sporer, a Canadian sports physiologist whose recent work challenges traditional notions of success in high-performance sports. His book introduces the concept of focusing on 'output'—the aspects of performance within our control—rather than 'outcome,' which is often subject to variables beyond our influence. Throughout our conversation, Ben breaks down the components of output, including physiological indicators, performance metrics, and psychological states,

Nov 8, 2023 • 1:21:08

127: Mustafa Sarkar on resilience

127: Mustafa Sarkar on resilience

Today we're diving deep into a topic that's not just timely but also timeless: resilience. Our guest is Mustafa Sarkar, an expert in the psychology of resilience, particularly in the context of sports and high-performance environments. Mustafa's work has been pivotal in helping us understand what resilience is—and perhaps just as importantly, what it isn't. Whether you're an athlete, a coach, or anyone striving for excellence, understanding the nuances of resilience can be a game-changer.  In to

Oct 25, 2023 • 1:15:55

126: Brad Schoenfeld on muscle growth and challenging practice with evidence

126: Brad Schoenfeld on muscle growth and challenging practice with evidence

Today, we're venturing into the ever-evolving world of strength, power, and muscle growth. I'm thrilled to introduce our guest, Brad Schoenfeld, who hails from Lehman College  in New York and is a luminary in the field of strength and conditioning. Brad is not just an academic, he is an applied scientist and advisor. But in his work he is true to the principles of science in that while he advises people based on sound principles, as evidenced in the literature, if that evidence evolves his advic

Oct 11, 2023 • 49:14

125: Sophia Jowett on the coach - athlete relationship

125: Sophia Jowett on the coach - athlete relationship

Please take the time to fill in our survey about performance staff skills https://www.supportingchampions.co.uk/skills/   In today’s episode we’re exploring a topic that sits at the very heart of performance, yet is often overlooked: the coach-athlete relationship. And I couldn't think of anyone better to discuss this with than our guest, Sophia Jowett.  Sophia is a leading expert in the field, known for her extensive research and innovative models that explore the dynamics between coaches and a

Sep 27, 2023 • 1:17:37

124: David Slemen on recruiting staff into performance teams

124: David Slemen on recruiting staff into performance teams

"PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO FILL IN OUR SKILLS SURVEY" https://www.supportingchampions.co.uk/skills/   Welcome back to the podcast proper! In this week's episode, we're tackling a subject that's crucial but often not given the attention it deserves: the recruitment process within high-performance teams. Our guest, David Slemen, is uniquely qualified to shed light on this topic. David is the founder of Elite Performance Partners, a consultancy that specializes in identifying and placing exceptional

Sep 13, 2023 • 1:01:19

What it takes to work well in sport: I discuss our major new survey with Jamie Pringle

What it takes to work well in sport: I discuss our major new survey with Jamie Pringle

This week we're launching a major new survey. We've teamed up with Jamie Pringle to create one of the must comprehensive surveys about "what it takes to be successful as support practitioner". Please take 30 mins of your time to contribute to the survey. SURVEY  *** Academics, Professionals and Students - WE NEED YOU TO HELP US HELP THE INDUSTRY!*** In this discussion, Jamie and I talk through what the survey is, why we are working on it, how we believe it will help create clarity for those recr

Sep 7, 2023 • 27:58

123: Michael Johnson on serial winning, challenges and preparing to peak

123: Michael Johnson on serial winning, challenges and preparing to peak

This week’s guest is Michael Johnson. Michael will not need an introduction to many of you, but for those who are not aware of one of the greatest athletes of all time and for those who want a recap here are a few highlights. Michael has won gold medals in 200, 400m and 4 x 400 at the Goodwill games. He took gold medals at the 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999 World Championships and golds the 1992, 1996 and 2000 Olympics Games. Unforgettably, Michael broke the world 200m record in an astonishing tim

May 10, 2023 • 1:20:31

122: Nigel Adkins on the demands on the modern football manager

122: Nigel Adkins on the demands on the modern football manager

This week's guest is Nigel Adkins. Nigel is a former professional football player, coach and manager. He's also trained as a physiotherapist, so not only does he have experience of playing coaching but also has been part of the backroom staff too. Nigel is sharing, describing, and supporting others through the demands placed upon modern managers. He is passionate about helping others realise that the managers identity, worth and health should not necessarily be impacted upon due to the role of c

Apr 28, 2023 • 41:16

121: Brendan Cropley and Zoe Knowles on Reflective Practice

121: Brendan Cropley and Zoe Knowles on Reflective Practice

This week’s guests are Zoe Knowles and Brendan Cropley Zoe is a Professor of Engagement and Learning at Liverpool John Moores University and Brendan is Professor of Sport Coaching at University of South Wales; and both are sports psychologists by trade. They are also pioneers for reflective practice in sport and have been moving this field forward together with a band of researchers and applied scientists and they’ve recently released the 2nd Ed of Reflective Practice in the Sport and Exercise S

Apr 12, 2023 • 1:23:53

120: Sian Allen on wearable technology

120: Sian Allen on wearable technology

This week’s guest is Sian Allen. Sian is a vastly experienced performance scientist having worked at the English, Scottish and New Zealand Institute of Sports. Sian received her PhD in Statistical Modelling of Sports Performance from Aukland University of Technology, while working with British and New Zealand swimming teams. Sian headed up the performance intelligence work for the New Zealand Sorts system, carving out data informed insights into how, what, where, when and who new Zealand athlete

Mar 29, 2023 • 50:24

119: Jean Gomes leading self and others

119: Jean Gomes leading self and others

This week’s guest is Jean Gomes. Jean is a New York best-selling author and a business consultant to 100s of CEOs and businesses. He is CEO and founder of Outside who utilise the latest research to support and develop wellbeing, leadership and organisational culture. His clients over the years include Google, Nike, Schneider, BMW, Tik Tok, but also includes the Lawn Tennis Association, UK Sport and Manchester City. In his new book ‘Leading in a Non-Linear World’ Jean delves into the latest resea

Mar 15, 2023 • 1:07:29

118: Mark Burnley on training zones

118: Mark Burnley on training zones

This week’s guest is Dr Mark Burnley Mark is an exercise physiologist by trade, currently an academic at Loughborough University, having previously been at Brighton, Aberystwyth, Kent and Wolverhampton. Mark’s background is in oxygen uptake kinetics, having undertaken much of the pioneering work on priming - which I’ve used extensively in my work with athletes. Much of Mark’s work has centred around the concept of Critical Power and the physiological landmarks that distinguish different exercise

Mar 1, 2023 • 1:51:43

117:  Costas Karageorghis on music and performance

117: Costas Karageorghis on music and performance

This week’s guest is Costas Karageorghis Costas is a professor of sports psychology at Brunel University. I first knew of Costas, many years ago as “Piano Man”, as he was sat at the piano in a bar at a BASES conference, skilfully and joyfully playing away entertaining conference attendees. Only the next day did I find out that that music was his specialist topic. Since, Costas has become renowned for his research on the effects of music on exercise and sports performance. In Costas’ book Applyin

Feb 14, 2023 • 1:14:30

116: Kate Hays on the psychology of the Lionesses

116: Kate Hays on the psychology of the Lionesses

This week’s guest is Dr Kate Hays Kate is Head of Women's Performance Psychology at The English FA Kate is just about as richly experienced a practitioner and leader in sports psychology as you are likely to meet. Kate has worked on the Front line in Olympic sport, in particular in the sport of diving, working with Olympic Champion Tom Daley; she has worked in professional rugby at Harlequins RFC and as a leader Kate was the Head of Psychology at the English Institute of Sport. In this conversat

Feb 2, 2023 • 43:07

115: Joe Baker on the tyranny of talent

115: Joe Baker on the tyranny of talent

This week’s guest is Joe Baker Joe is a Professor at the School of Kinesiology and Health Science at York University in Toronto Joe’s work specialises in optimal human development, largely to understand how someone gets to, and stays at, the highest levels of performance. This means he works in the areas of skill acquisition, talent identification and athlete development. He has recently written a book called the Tyranny of Talent, which pokes and probes of the ideas of what talent is, how it is

Jan 18, 2023 • 1:13:27

114: Christian Swann on using goals effectively

114: Christian Swann on using goals effectively

Happy New Year! This week’s guest is Christian Swann. Christian is an associate professor at Southern Cross University and specialises in research around goal setting and mental health. In Christian’s early research he noticed an interesting observation. While working with elite golfers he asked them what sort of goals they set for themselves. To his surprise the types of goals they set didn’t conform with the typical, off-the-shelf literature, such as outcome specific goals. This led him to del

Jan 4, 2023 • 1:31:47

113: Nick Tiller on harnessing scepticism

113: Nick Tiller on harnessing scepticism

Nick is a senior research fellow in Exercise Physiology at Harbor UCLA Medical Centre. For over a decade, Nick has been scrutinizing the commercial health and wellness industry through the critical lens of scientific skepticism. Where he finds nonsense he has called it out, campaigned for a stronger stance against snake oil, bogus claims and myths. Nick is also the author of The Skeptic's Guide to Sports Science which we discuss in this conversation. The book was named one of Book Authority's "B

Dec 14, 2022 • 1:44:24

112: Lucy Gossage on triathlon, training and supporting cancer patients

112: Lucy Gossage on triathlon, training and supporting cancer patients

This week’s guest is Dr Lucy Gossage Lucy is a triathlete and doctor and on underpinning that a phenomenal person. Lucy started her career almost by accident, just trying out in triathlon for fun, then got the bug, entering her first ironman and steadily realising that she could go pro and taking 12 Ironman titles. In between swimming, biking and running, Lucy studied medicine at Cambridge, where she also undertook PhD in kidney cancer and is now a consultant oncologist at Nottingham University

Nov 30, 2022 • 1:30:06

111: Andy McNab on special forces performance

111: Andy McNab on special forces performance

This week's guest is Andy McNab Andy McNab is perhaps the most recognisable name of any special forces operator in the world. Andy served in the Royal Green Jackets in Northern Ireland where he was awarded the Military medal for gallantry, he entered the Special Air Services in 1984 and worked on both covert and overt operations including and drug operations in the Middle East and Far East, South and Central America and Northern Ireland Andy is best know for commanding an 8 man SAS patrol design

Nov 16, 2022 • 1:37:20

110: Ryan King on operating in complexity

110: Ryan King on operating in complexity

This week's guest is Ryan King. Ryan is a strength and conditioning coach by trade. He has a background working at the EIS and England FA. In addition to his conditioning work Ryan has led numerous teams, for example managing the women’s pathway team, the performance support team and the innovation work at the FA. Ryan is now a performance strategist at Kitman labs and a performance consultant for his own business Blended Intelligence. But beyond the job titles is the way Ryan works which is hi

Nov 2, 2022 • 1:00:18

109: Tom Geraghty on psychological safety

109: Tom Geraghty on psychological safety

This week’s guest is Tom Geraghty Tom runs a business that supports and coaches people and teams in the area of psychological safety. He has created a reputation in this niche, through his work, his online contributions and a very impactful newsletter each week. Tom hasn’t come at this topic through what you might think is the traditional and formal psychological route, but from the position of a worker in an environment seeing how leaders misuse their position, create caustic environments and m

Oct 19, 2022 • 1:08:59

108: Jenny Coe and Amy Whitehead on myths of sports coaching

108: Jenny Coe and Amy Whitehead on myths of sports coaching

I have two guests for you this week, Jenny Coe and Dr Amy Whitehead Jenny Coe is former international basketball player for Ireland and has spent her working career developing coaches and players, first at UK coaching and now working as a Head of Performance and Wellbeing with West Ham Women’s Football Team. Jenny also runs her own company Impact the Game a company that supports coaches and athletes in the area of sports psychology. Amy is a Reader in Sport Psychology and Coaching at Liverpool J

Oct 5, 2022 • 1:16:55

107: Colin Lewin on the evolution of the support team in football

107: Colin Lewin on the evolution of the support team in football

This week's guest is Colin Lewin  Colin was Arsenal Football Club’s physiotherapist from 2005 to 2018 - making that 22 years of front line medical support in elite football. Acting both as a physio and later as Head of Medical Services, Colin oversaw the creation of Arsenal’s outstanding purpose-built medical facilities in 2012 the £17 million player performance centre and implementing the Research & Development arm to the medical team. Colin now runs the Lewin Clinic in Essex with and consults

Sep 20, 2022 • 1:00:45

106: Abbie Eaton on women’s motor racing, injury and pushing boundaries

106: Abbie Eaton on women’s motor racing, injury and pushing boundaries

Abbie Eaton is a racing driver having competed in a range of Series’ including the Mazda supercup, Super 2 series, 2 x British Champion and notably in the W series. She is also a test driver on the series The Grand tour. In this discussion Abbie talks about carving out a career as a woman in a male dominated sport, she shares her drive, personal ambitions to not only compete but to manage everything, from sponsors, to training, recovering from serious injury, to earning an income away from racin

Sep 7, 2022 • 43:46

105: David Joyce on decision making

105: David Joyce on decision making

This weeks guest is David Joyce. David is a physiotherapist by trade but over the last decade or so David has carved himself out as a strategic thinker, advisor, and developer of teams and leaders. He has learned his craft at the cold face in numerous systems based in Europe and Asia as a practitioner but his curiosity has led him to undertake some fascinating research in the area of strategic decision-making. And from this basis he has developed some real critical insights, informed by breadth

Aug 24, 2022 • 1:06:45

104: David Dunne on behaviour change and technology

104: David Dunne on behaviour change and technology

This week’s episode is with Dr David Dunne. I mentioned a few weeks ago in the reboot episode that I will continue to speak to scientists, applied practitioners, coaches and athletes and those outside of sport. But I also flagged that I want to speak with entrepreneurs and consultants, people who’ve created businesses or are consulting for their income. David is one such person. He is a doctoral  at Liverpool John Moores in the area of how behaviour influences carbohydrate intake. He has done so

Aug 10, 2022 • 1:02:20

103: Danny Kerry on performance leadership

103: Danny Kerry on performance leadership

103 Danny Kerry on performance leadership Today's episode is with Danny Kerry. Danny has led the GB field hockey teams for 17 years. He recently coached the men’s team to the Tokyo Olympics, and is perhaps best known for coaching the women’s team from 2005 to 2012 and again from 2014 to 2018 - leading them to a bronze in London and a wonderful gold medal at the Rio Olympics. What you hear from Danny is a thoughtful, considerate yet performance focused leader of people, willing to make the hard d

Jul 27, 2022 • 1:07:27

102: Vanessa Bohns on influence

102: Vanessa Bohns on influence

102: Vanessa Bohns on Influence Today’s episode is with Vanessa Bohns Professor of organisational behaviour at Cornell University. I spoke to Vanessa about her recent book “You have more influence than you think” with the subtitle of “How we underestimate our power of persuasion and why it matters”. I found this topic fascinating - because we spend so much time thinking about our ideas, interact with other people, trying to create change, while often being overly worried about what judgements pe

Jul 13, 2022 • 1:08:07

101: John Kiely on questioning conventions

101: John Kiely on questioning conventions

The podcast is BACK! We're delighted to be back and we've got some great conversations ahead for you! We've taken a bit of a break and now we're recording again Expect to hear from great scientist, coaches and athletes. Unique to the podcast we'll still be speaking those people outside of sport who are performers themselves or have insights that can inform what we do. We'll also be adding more voices from entrepreneurs out there; both business builder and consultants. We think the world has shif

Jun 29, 2022 • 1:13:44

The podcast returns on 29th June

The podcast returns on 29th June

We’ve had a little break from the podcast and now I’m delighted to say we’re back and have got lots of great interviews coming up. New episodes are uploaded on 29th June. Don't forget to subscribe on your podcast platform or Youtube   So what’s changed since we were away, well we haven’t changed things around too much. We’re still exploring all aspects of human performance, whether that is getting stronger, fitter, mentally more prepared, eating better, playing better - but also how we perform i

Jun 17, 2022 • 2:13

Steve reflects on 100 episodes with Jamie Pringle

Steve reflects on 100 episodes with Jamie Pringle

After 100 episodes over 4 years, I take a chance to reflect on the lessons learned from hosting the Supporting Champions podcast and speaking with some of the world's best performers, coaches, support staff, mainly from sport but also from a range of other performance fields too. I'm joined by my close colleague, friend and initial podcast guest Dr Jamie Pringle to help me reflect.   Episodes mentioned in the podcast Miss Val Kondos Field https://www.supportingchampions.co.uk/029-miss-val-on-coa

Nov 17, 2021 • 38:09

100: Sue Campbell on leadership and the power of sport

100: Sue Campbell on leadership and the power of sport

A very, very warm welcome to our 100th episode. Woo! A milestone for us having started the podcast just under 4 years ago. I truly hope you have enjoyed all the episodes. If you’ve listened to them all then kudos and thanks for being with us along the way. If you’re new in, then hello and I kind of envy you as there is a back catalogue just waiting for you to tune into. When I look back now only a few sections of the conversations are specific to time, and so the discussions are pretty evergreen

Nov 2, 2021 • 50:29

099: Mike Powell on records, rivalry and resilience

099: Mike Powell on records, rivalry and resilience

This week’s guest is one of the most outstanding athletes ever, Mike Powell. Mike has held the long jump world record for the last 30 years, taking the mark from the legendary Bob Beamon - who held it himself for 23  years. The record stands at 8.95 m or in old money 29 feet 4 and a bit inches. When I do keynote speeches, one of my favourite things to do is to measure out Mike’s record just to illustrate some of the extraordinary feats elite athletes are capable of and it never, never fails to a

Oct 20, 2021 • 1:10:17

098: Ben Ryan on culture

098: Ben Ryan on culture

This week’s guest is Ben Ryan. Ben coached the England Rugby Sevens team between 2007 and 2013. Ben then took a big leap of faith in taking up the head coach role with the Fijian team, leading them to Olympic gold at the Rio Olympics. In recognition of these achievements the IOC named Fiji as the best male team performance at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games and Ben was awarded the Companion of the Order of Fiji, the highest order attainable on the Islands. Ben’s book documenting his journey, Sevens h

Oct 6, 2021 • 59:47

097: Laurence Halsted on becoming a true athlete

097: Laurence Halsted on becoming a true athlete

This week’s guest is Laurence Halsted. Laurence is a former Olympic fencer, having competed at the London and Rio Olympics. Laurence retired after the Rio Olympics and is currently Performance Director of Danish Fencing.    Since retiring as an athlete Laurence has been supporting athletes in a bold new way to support the whole athlete, through holistic thinking, mentoring, developing self-awareness, care and mental health. He’s done this work with a company called The True Athlete Project and h

Sep 22, 2021 • 55:54

096 Martin Yelling on supporting young people with Stormbreak

096 Martin Yelling on supporting young people with Stormbreak

Martin Yelling is a former international runner, duathlete and ironman athlete and since retiring has, along with his partner Liz Yelling coached 1000s of athletes, and everyday folks to marathon and endurance achievements. Recently, Martin has set about creating a charitable organisation called Stormbreak. They have a purpose to; “... improve children’s mental health through movement, equipping them with sustainable, transferable skills and coping strategies to thrive during the complex demands

Sep 8, 2021 • 48:59

095: Duff Gibson on the Tao of Sport

095: Duff Gibson on the Tao of Sport

Duff Gibson won the Olympic gold medal in bob skeleton at the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics. He did so at the age of 39. Duff has an incredible story to tell about trying and trying again, testing himself in several different sports, in the pursuit of finding the one that would suit him and allow him to take a shot at being an olympian. Duff shares that exploration and with it the clear analysis of why he wasn’t suited to certain sports, ranging from physiology to politics. But this isn’t a tale o

Aug 25, 2021 • 1:00:11

094: Dan Bigham on reverse engineering performance

094: Dan Bigham on reverse engineering performance

Dan Bigham is an athlete of the highest order, principally in the disciplines of individual and team pursuit with multiple national and World cup titles. Recently Dan is taking a pop at Bradley Wiggins’ hour record too. But Dan has achieved this level of performance with a band of brothers who congregated together and plied their collective physical talents with a mindset of simply trying to ‘work performance out’. Dan is an engineer by training and spent numerous years working in motorsports an

Aug 11, 2021 • 1:14:46

093: Redgrave and Pinsent on their Olympic partnership

093: Redgrave and Pinsent on their Olympic partnership

Sir Steve Redgrave and Sir Matthew Pinsent are as successful a sporting duo as you’ll ever meet. Steve has won 5 gold medals at 5 successive games and is a 9 time world champion, Matt has won 4 Olympic golds and 10 world championships.  They were successful before Britain became good at sport, winning before the UK Olympic system grew sophisticated. But not just the occasional win - sustained and dominant winning. I had the privilege of working with Steve and Matt from 1998, supporting them, alo

Jul 28, 2021 • 1:26:03

092: Martin Buchheit & George Perry on ego in high performance

092: Martin Buchheit & George Perry on ego in high performance

In this week’s conversation I speak to Martin Buchheitt and George Perry authors of their upcoming book “Egoals” (a blend of Ego and goals), the subtitle being, “Exercising your ego in high-performance environments”. Martin has been a real leader in applied sports science and research particularly in team sports and George is a track coach and writer based in the US. They’ve teamed up to explore the notion of how we manage, utilise and harness our sense of self, identity and achievement in roles

Jul 14, 2021 • 58:47

091: Mike Hughes on analysing elite performance

091: Mike Hughes on analysing elite performance

This week I spoke to Mike Hughes. Mike is a Performance Analyst, having worked with some of the best teams in the world and developed them by providing understanding and insight based on deconstructing and exploring phenomena in training and performance. Mike and I worked alongside each other at the English institute of Sport, though on different teams, Mike worked with British cycling in the years that it went from mediocre to utterly dominant. He’s worked at Insight Analysis where he was assig

Jun 30, 2021 • 52:27

090: Mandy Hickson on jet fighter pilot performance

090: Mandy Hickson on jet fighter pilot performance

Mandy Hickson on jet fighter pilot performance   This week I spoke to Mandy Hickson. Mandy is a fighter pilot, having joined the Royal Air Force in 1994 and flew the Tornado GR4 on the front line, where she operated in hostile environments, including patrolling the ‘No Fly’ zone over Iraq. I was fascinated to discuss with Mandy about the physical and mental challenges of training to become a top fighter pilot. I was particularly interested how pilot’s like Mandy improve, what are the stages of

Jun 16, 2021 • 1:02:19

089: Steph Houghton on leading by example

089: Steph Houghton on leading by example

This week I spoke to Steph Houghton. Steph is the England Football Captain, having played for her country over 120 times. Steph has seen the women’s game evolve from amateur days, to the rise in popularity of the game in Britain and around the world, to the Women’s Super League and now the women’s game selling out stadia. During this time Steph has also had to evolve, adapt & respond to growing pressures of playing for her country, taking on the captaincy, World Cup finals successes and disappo

Jun 2, 2021 • 41:00

088: Cody Royle on the reality of being a Head Coach

088: Cody Royle on the reality of being a Head Coach

This week’s guest is Cody Royle. Cody is the head coach of Australian Football League Team Canada, the men's national program for Australian Rules football. Cody is also an author and I would say fast becoming recognised as a pioneering voice about a topic that previously just hasn’t been communicated - that is the reality of being a head coach. In his recent book, The Tough Stuff, he explores the challenges of coaching in elite sport, but specifically the dynamics and perspectives, the difficul

May 19, 2021 • 1:11:25

087: David Martin on the ecology of performance systems

087: David Martin on the ecology of performance systems

David Martin is a leading light in applied sports science. He was senior physiologist at the Australian Institute of Sport, where along with a number of brilliant minds, pioneered the application of science to elite performance. During the 1990s, as I was grappling with some fundamentals, David was breaking new ground and frankly doing work that the world hadn’t seen before. Their work was the benchmark of excellence that we looked to. In this conversation David and I reflect on our parallel uni

May 5, 2021 • 1:19:28

086: Kevin Dutton on learning from psychopaths

086: Kevin Dutton on learning from psychopaths

This week I speak to Kevin Dutton Professor of Psychology at Oxford University, who specialises in psychopaths. Kevin has written several books on the topic, for example The Wisdom of Psychopaths, Flipnosis, The Good Psychopaths Guide to Success and his recent book, Black and White Thinking all of which are illuminating because they unveil a world that is for many of us so alien, so peculiar, so grotesque, yet so close, so relevant and in some cases so familiar. Because as Kevin explains, many

Apr 21, 2021 • 1:38:06

085: Chris Thompson on persistence

085: Chris Thompson on persistence

This week’s guest is Chris Thompson, who at the age of 39 has qualified for the Tokyo Olympic marathon for Team GB. 'Thommo' as he is known didn’t suddenly spring to the top in a freak qualification, he has been knocking on the door for 20 years , keeping going, persisting, persevering, through a career full of challenges. Thommo crossed the line a Kew Garden’s in the qualification event with an outpouring of emotion, celebration and joy and in response the athletics community. Not only has Thom

Apr 7, 2021 • 1:05:27

084: Alistair Brownlee on a sub-7 hour Ironman triathlon

084: Alistair Brownlee on a sub-7 hour Ironman triathlon

This week’s guest is Alistair Brownlee. Alistair is a two time Olympic Champion, four time World and four time European Champion amongst many other honours in triathlon. But quite simply Alistair is one of the greatest racers in the history of the sport and probably across any sport in his generation.  After the Rio Olympics Alistair began racing over half and then full ironman triathlon distance. For those of you who need a reminder of the distance that’s 2.4-mile (3.86 km) swim, a 112-mile (18

Mar 24, 2021 • 1:07:22

COURSE ANNOUNCEMENT: Applied Performance Practitioner Skills Programme

COURSE ANNOUNCEMENT: Applied Performance Practitioner Skills Programme

Applied Performance Practitioner SKILLS Programme - COURSES ANNOUNCED I’m delighted to share with you details of the upcoming Applied Professional Practitioner Skills Programme. Bookings are open NOW and full details are here. Here I explain what the course is, who it's for, how it's unique (spoiler - it's applied in focus), everything you need to know.   0:00 Introduction 2:20 What the courses are all about 3:04 Why they're unique 4:50 The motivation behind the courses 13:10 Details about the N

Mar 17, 2021 • 26:12

083: Glyn Howatson on recovery and adaptation

083: Glyn Howatson on recovery and adaptation

This week’s guest is Glyn Howatson, Professor of Human & Applied Physiology at Northumbria University. Glyn’s specialist subject is recovery but its recovery with a purpose and that is to optimise neuromuscular adaptation. I spoke to Glyn to try to cut through some of the noise, make sense of an area that has to all intents and purposes exploded in interest over the last few decades. As you’ll hear from the conversation - recovery, training planning, and interventions are dependent on context, t

Mar 10, 2021 • 1:07:09

082: Daniel Lieberman on evolving to exercise

082: Daniel Lieberman on evolving to exercise

This week’s guest is Harvard University Professor of Biological Sciences, Dan Lieberman. If you’ve heard of Dan it will probably be in connection with his work around whether we are born to run, i.e. that a number of specific evolutionary adaptations that we as a species have acquired over time have enabled us to be really rather good at running for long distances. This hinted that our survival was aided by our ability to hunt by wearing animals down, known as the persistence hunting.  Dan has a

Feb 24, 2021 • 43:23

081: Ama Agbeze on belief

081: Ama Agbeze on belief

This week’s guest is Ama Agbeze, former England Netball captain. Ama Led the team to perhaps the England Teams's greatest success, winning the Commonwealth Gold medal. I was keen to ask Ama about her leadership of the team, what was different in the lead up, the preparation and in the moments of performing under the pressure of playing the hosts in 2018. I was also intrigued by Ama’s own individual style as the leader, what were her expectations and influences and how has Ama coped after the hi

Feb 10, 2021 • 1:09:09

080: Alan Murchison on Michelin star performance

080: Alan Murchison on Michelin star performance

In this episode I speak to Alan Murchison. Alan currently runs a business called the Performance Chef, providing support to a host of sports, teams and executives in providing their food, their fuel and flavours. Alan does this from a unique stand point of credibility as he is a chef, a Michelin starred chef - in fact in his heyday he ran the 10 in 8 Fine Dining Group, where he oversaw four Michelin starred restaurants. This is where we centre the discussion on entering into the world of fine di

Jan 27, 2021 • 1:48:11

079: Dan Cable on being exceptional

079: Dan Cable on being exceptional

This week I spoke to Dan Cable. Dan is a Professor Organisational Behaviour at London Business School specialising in research and teaching focus on change, organisational culture, leadership mindset. Dan has a new book out called Exceptional, which I must admit was my favourite read of 2020. You might assume from the title and from Dan’s background that the book is about aspiring, goals, striving higher - which I admit was why I got in touch with Dan to speak to him. But the book is so much mor

Jan 13, 2021 • 44:14

078: Lizzy Yarnold on talent, ownership of performance and team

078: Lizzy Yarnold on talent, ownership of performance and team

This week I speak with Lizzy Yarnold. Lizzy is double Olympic Champion in that chilled out sporting event Bob Skeleton. Lizzy was spotted through a talent identification scheme, selected to be part of the development team for skeleton racing and rose to competitive on the world stage, World Cup winner and took the Olympic gold in Sochi in 2014. Lizzy discusses the journey towards that gold, how she was able to channel some of the talents she already had, how she could focus under pressure and t

Dec 16, 2020 • 1:25:45

077: Stuart Worden of the Brit School on performance environments

077: Stuart Worden of the Brit School on performance environments

This week’s guest is Stuart Worden, Principal of the Brit School. The BRIT (British Record Industry Trust) School is a performing arts and technology school in Croydon, South London and free to attend. But this is no ordinary performing arts school. The alumni read like a who’s who of music, dance, film and production; Singers - Adele, The Feeling, Leona Lewis, Katie Melua, Jessie J,  Actors - Cush Jumbo, Tom Holland, Cleve September,  Dancers - Twist and Pulse,  Youtube comedians - Percelle Asc

Dec 2, 2020 • 1:12:00

076: Mark Williams on how the best learn to be better

076: Mark Williams on how the best learn to be better

This week’s guest is Professor Mark Williams who has spent his professional career understanding the neural and psychological aspects of acquiring skills and developing expertise. Mark has recently published a fascinating book called “The Best”. The subtitle of the book captures your attention though, “How elite athlete are made”. Now you might starting jumping to conclusions that the book tends towards the nurture side of nature vs nurture, but you’d be mistaken. Mark and his co-author Tim Wigm

Nov 18, 2020 • 1:01:27

075: Mark Richardson and Marcus Smith on drumming performance

075: Mark Richardson and Marcus Smith on drumming performance

This week we have two guests, Mark Richardson and Marcus Smith. Mark Richardson is the drummer for the band Skunk Anansie, a band that were figureheads of the Britrock explosion in the mid-nineties, with defining songs Weak and Hedonism and remain a highly influential band 25 years since they were formed. Dr Marcus Smith is Reader in Sport and Exercise Physiology at the University of Chichester, with background of supporting elite athletes, especially boxers to Olympic success but Marcus loves h

Nov 4, 2020 • 1:26:17

074: Peter Vint on data, culture and athlete development

074: Peter Vint on data, culture and athlete development

This week’s guest is Peter Vint. I’d got in touch with Peter with the full intention of discussing analytics, and the trend towards data and to fully explore the wave of interest, activity and investment in capture, understanding and use of information – and we do explore this especially as he has directed and delivered this function at the highest level at the USOC and in the Ineos sub 2 hour marathon project with Eliud Kipchoge. And now Peter is Chief of Sport at USA Volleyball – so has a much

Oct 21, 2020 • 41:50

073: Chris Rosimus on relationships in performance

073: Chris Rosimus on relationships in performance

This week’s guest is Chris Rosimus, Chris is the Head of Nutrition at the Football Association, leading all aspects of dietary provision to the England football teams. Prior to that Chris was nutritionist at England and Wales Cricket Board, English Institute of Sport and England Squash. What was fascinating about this conversation was the route that Chris followed, which you might consider unconventional, if there is such a thing as a conventional route. Chris essentially followed his passions a

Oct 7, 2020 • 1:14:50

072 Cath Bishop on The Long Win

072 Cath Bishop on The Long Win

Dr Cath Bishop competed as a rower at three Olympic Games, Atlanta, Sydney and Athens (and I had the privilege of working with Cath throughout her career), with highlights including winning the World Championships in 2003 and an Olympic silver medal in 2004. As a diplomat specialising in conflict issues, Cath was posted to Sarajevo, Bosnia, Basra and Iraq, as well as leading in Whitehall on the UK civilian contribution to conflicts around the world.  Cath has written a book, out on 13th October

Sep 23, 2020 • 1:17:14

071 Mark Webber on racing in formula one

071 Mark Webber on racing in formula one

This week’s guest former Formula One driver Mark Webber. During his career Mark won nine Formula one Grands Prix, finishing third on three occasions, while driving for Red Bull racing. Mark has also won the FIA World Endurance Championship with Porsche. In this interview I ask mark about how he’s making sense of his career now that he’s retired and hear all about a strange mix of feeling fortunate and experiencing the loss of his career. We discuss physically and mentally what he felt he was los

Sep 9, 2020 • 1:13:26

070 Stephen Seiler on how the best train

070 Stephen Seiler on how the best train

I would put this week’s guest into a very select place in the world of endurance, one that has combined four often distinct factors, first quality academic research, second in a topic that contributes to elite performance, third creates a paradigm shift that challenges how most of us think about training, and fourthly has been successfully applied to the non-elites, the serious amateur athletes or training for the general population. Professor Stephen Seiler’s has captured, described, cross-refe

Aug 26, 2020 • 2:09:37

069: Sebastien Foucan on pioneering free running

069: Sebastien Foucan on pioneering free running

In this week’s episode I speak to a true innovator, pioneer and superstar of human movement – Sebastien Foucan. Sebastien was one of the founding developers of the discipline of parkour and later Sebastien stretched his practice to develop free-running – creative, acrobatic, exploratory, jumping, vaulting, rolling, climbing and interacting with obstacles and environments. Sebastien was also Bond baddy, delivering his art form on the big screen in a breath taking chase sequence with Daniel Craig

Aug 12, 2020 • 1:00:06

068: Kit Holder on the art of performance

068: Kit Holder on the art of performance

This week’s guest is Kit Holder, first soloist at the Birmingham Royal Ballet. Kit has spent his whole career dancing, he came from a family of dancers, he went to the Royal Ballet School and has performed at the highest level on stage and now is a choreographer for the Birmingham company. There’s a number of interesting angles that I took from this interview, one that he is working to the direction of a new boss the world renowned Carlos Acosta – finding out how the style, manner and expectatio

Jul 29, 2020 • 1:29:23

067: Mel Marshall on evolving coaching

067: Mel Marshall on evolving coaching

This week’s guest is Mel Marshall. As a swimmer Mel made five Olympic finals at two Olympic games’ and she is one of the most decorated swimmers for England at the Commonwealth Games. You’re likely to know Mel as much for her reputation as an elite swimmer as the coach of perhaps the most dominant swimmer on the planet at the moment – the imperious Adam Peaty. Mel has coached Adam from his pre-teenage years taking him to the top of the Olympic podium in the 100m breaststroke at the Rio Olympics

Jul 15, 2020 • 59:51

066: Eva Carneiro on doing what is right

066: Eva Carneiro on doing what is right

Dr Eva Carneiro is this week’s guest (I will give you Eva’s introduction in two parts). Eva is a Sports Physician and was one of the first eight pioneering doctors recruited nationally to the UK Sports and Exercise Medicine Specialist Training Programme. She worked in the New South Wales Institute of Sport in Sydney and at the Olympic Medical Institute in London in the build up to the Beijing Olympics. Eva worked at Chelsea Football Club from 2009-2015. During her four seasons as First Team doct

Jul 1, 2020 • 1:07:56

065: Nick Levett on developing talent

065: Nick Levett on developing talent

Nick Levett on talent development Have you ever found yourself stood along side parents or coaches shouting and barking instructions to their child? Or have you ever found yourself bursting out with commands or subtly taking your child aside to say, “Just do this”. If we have done this or seen this or felt the urge to help but done so in a clumsy way – then we’ve been an influence (perhaps not positive) on a child’s interest in not only sport but on their willingness to try. This week’s guest is

Jun 17, 2020 • 1:15:27

064: Caspar Berry on risk

064: Caspar Berry on risk

Caspar Berry is a former professional poker player, having been the poker advisor on the James Bond movie Casino Royale. Caspar is now a speaker on risk, not only understanding this area from the principles of the game of poker, but it’s underpinned with an economics degree from Cambridge University. In this discussion we talk about the parallels between poker and what we’re experiencing through this viral pandemic – and there definitely are some. We talk about how to get good at poker which unv

Jun 3, 2020 • 1:02:40

063: Rob Pacey on creating content

063: Rob Pacey on creating content

In this episode I spoke to Rob Pacey. Rob runs one of the most successful podcasts in Sport, the aptly named Pacey performance podcast, which focuses on strength and conditioning and training. He has curated close to 300 episodes since 2015 featuring some of the leading names in aspects of conditioning. In this discussion I was curious to find out what inspired Rob to begin recording episodes, and how he took the plunge. What Rob didn’t have at the time was a reputation to lean upon, he just wen

May 20, 2020 • 57:03

062: Steve Ingham on new book The First Hurdle

062: Steve Ingham on new book The First Hurdle

I’m excited to share, in this special episode, 7 key principles from my new book The First Hurdle on applying and interviewing for jobs in sports performance (and the sub-text here too is for those doing the interviewing too). The First Hurdle is a guide to searching, applying and interviewing for jobs in sports performance and is now available to buy for kindle or other e-reader here https://supportingchampions.co.uk/downloads/ In this episode I share the motivations behind the book; a story ab

May 6, 2020 • 33:29

061: Stef Reid on challenge

061: Stef Reid on challenge

We hope you and those close to your are safe and well. In this episode I spoke to Stef Reid, three-time Paralympic medallist, World Champion long jumper. Stef is a remarkable lady irrespective of the fact that at 15 years old she lost her leg to the rotor blade of a motorboat. For she has amongst her sporting accomplishments, also been a semi-finalist in Masterchef UK, was the first Paralympian to model in Vogue magazine and is Vice president of UK Athletics. You may be wondering with the Para

Apr 22, 2020 • 1:22:10

060: Andrea Furst on change and uncertainty

060: Andrea Furst on change and uncertainty

In this episode I talk to Dr Andrea Furst, performance psychologist at Mental Notes. Andrea has had a highly successful career supporting some of the highest performing teams to the highest performances. She has worked in Australia, where she originates from, Singapore and now based in the UK. She has supported the Australian kayak team, Singapore sailing, GB Hockey and is widely sought after in professional sports and supporting business leaders. Andrea brings a really grounded, pragmatic appro

Apr 10, 2020 • 1:08:02

059: Louise Burke on keeping nutrition practical

059: Louise Burke on keeping nutrition practical

The next few special episodes of the podcast will break away from the normal regularity as we capture, produce and air some relevant content to the COVID-19 crisis. In this episode I talk to Professor Louise Burke, Chief of Nutrition Strategy at The Australian Institute of Sport, where she has led the nutrition support work for Australia since 1990. Louise is certainly one of the world’s leading dieticians, has been there and done it but uniquely has outstanding achievements in applied sport and

Apr 6, 2020 • 1:06:37

058: Phil Skiba on exercise and health during COVID-19 crisis

058: Phil Skiba on exercise and health during COVID-19 crisis

Phil Skiba on exercise and health during COVID-19 crisis The next few special episodes of the podcast will break away from the normal regularity as we capture, produce and air some relevant content to the COVID-19 crisis. In today’s special episode I talk to Dr Phil Skiba, Director of Sports Medicine for the Advocate Aurora Medical Group in Chicago, one of the largest in the United States and one of sharpest people I know – a true polymath, about the current crisis, his observations, his advice

Mar 27, 2020 • 57:35

057: James Cracknell on Endeavour

057: James Cracknell on Endeavour

057: James Cracknell on Endeavour   A note about Coronavrius We, individuals, groups, communities, society look up to sporting heroes, we revere and admire their dedication, their persistence, their focus, the sacrifices they make to make the most of their often rare genetics and to do so on the greatest performance stage. As the world battles Coronavirus, we’re all going to be required to make sacrifices that we’ve never made before in pursuit of applying ourselves, to the collective goal of pu

Mar 25, 2020 • 1:14:53

056: Malcolm Brown on a career in coaching and lessons from the Brownlees

056: Malcolm Brown on a career in coaching and lessons from the Brownlees

056: Malcolm Brown on a career in coaching and lessons from the Brownlees This episode’s guest is Malcolm Brown a Performance Coach based at the Leeds Triathlon Centre where he has partnered with Jack Maitland in coaching the Brownlee Brothers, that’s Alastair and Jonny – two of the greatest triathlon racers of all time.  He was previously the head endurance coach for UK Athletics, coaching athletes to international gold medals at Commonwealth, European, World and Olympic level Malcolm has journ

Mar 13, 2020 • 1:15:05

055: Lizzie Simmonds on transition

055: Lizzie Simmonds on transition

The dynamic of retirement, transitions and change for athletes is rightly receiving much greater attention as athletes speak up and openly about their experiences – none more so this episode’s guest Lizzie Simmonds. Former international backstroker, two time Olympian, European champion – Lizzie has taken it upon herself to  write and speak about her experiences since her retirement in 2018 and now mentoring others. Her blog, her speeches are some of the most candid, open, articulations of what i

Feb 26, 2020 • 1:30:38

054: Duncan French on mixed martial arts

054: Duncan French on mixed martial arts

Duncan French is the Vice President of the Ultimate Fighting Championships. Mixed martial arts is a sport that has had an accelerated rise into the public consciousness over the last couple of decades. It seems to have captured the imagination, created interest and intrigue about the unpredictability of the contest. And so has followed a professionalisation of the bouts, the events, and the support they receive. Duncan’s focus is to provide the very best support to the fighters, sometimes suppor

Feb 12, 2020 • 1:06:36

053: Susan Backhouse on eating and cheating

053: Susan Backhouse on eating and cheating

Sue Backhouse, Professor of psychology and nutrition at Leeds Beckett University is this week's guest. Sue is an expert in the complexity around two huge areas – eating and cheating. Everyone’s a nutritionist these days, everyone’s a psychologist and everyone has an opinion on the issue of doping. Three emotive, convoluted and noisy areas for Sue to tackle. What Sue’s research does is something quite unique, particularly so compared with a lot of reductionist studies that pare back all confoundi

Jan 29, 2020 • 1:25:16

052: Nik Diaper on the impact of Parasport

052: Nik Diaper on the impact of Parasport

This year we have the Olympic games – the World’s biggest sporting event. But in quick succession is the Paralympics, now the third largest sporting event. Some quip that the Olympics is the warm-up or the test event for the Paralympics. Well this week’s guest is one of the greatest stalwarts and servant of the Paralympics, my good friend and close colleague Nik Diaper. It’s difficult to overstate the impact that Nik has had on the domain of disabled sport, from the days when frankly very few pe

Jan 15, 2020 • 1:04:52

051: James Glover on intentionality

051: James Glover on intentionality

This week’s guest is business consultant James Glover. James is a world champion white-water rafter, former performance lifestyle practitioner and head of support for the sport of triathlon in Britain. In these sporting support roles James began to explore and research some deeper concepts of human performance and found himself drawing upon some emerging and quite powerful principles being applied to business people around the world in the area of well-being, sustaining our energy and achieving

Dec 18, 2019 • 1:13:57

050: Tom Williams, COO Parkrun, Marathon Talk host, on inspiring people to run

050: Tom Williams, COO Parkrun, Marathon Talk host, on inspiring people to run

Welcome to episode 50, a mini milestone for us and not long ago we've ticked over 50,000 downloads so thank you to all for tuning in and sharing what you've learnt from each episode - it encourages to keep producing more content for you. While we've hit some mini milestones, this week's guests has been part of some projects that have grown to become phenomenally successful. Tom Williams is Parkrun's Global Chief Operating Officer the incredible successful charity that provides free timed 5km run

Dec 4, 2019 • 1:06:35

049: Jason Laird on critical skills

049: Jason Laird on critical skills

Jason Laird has worked in Premiership football, ballet, judo and now gymnastics and as such is one of the most experienced physiotherapists in the UK. What I have always admired about Jason is his ability to get to the crux of a matter and begin to explore it, develop solutions and adapt. In this interview you’ll hear about Jason’s early passion for physiotherapy, we talk about doing the hard yards of professional experience, helping aspiring physios learn from his experience and mistakes, but

Nov 20, 2019 • 1:27:25

048: Dave Smith on choosing to live

048: Dave Smith on choosing to live

Dave Smith, Paralympic champion shares his emotional story intertwining sporting pursuit and cancer survival. This interview is a deep one, it’s a full existential exploration of what is important, how and what we pursue and the focus on what really matters in our lives. I had the truly humbling, moving and inspirational experience of speaking to Dave Smith to tell his utterly remarkable story of sporting endeavour, fighting cancer and choosing to live life. Show notes: Living with purpose, the

Nov 6, 2019 • 1:34:02

047: Josie Perry on the psychology of communication

047: Josie Perry on the psychology of communication

Performance psychologist Dr Josie Perry is this episode's guest. Josie has a successful consultancy service supporting endurance athletes, golfers tennis players, but she also has a rich background in communications. Originally a journalist, director of communications and public relations. Josie converted to psychology but what was fascinating about this interview was about the fusion of the two subjects of psychology and with that human behaviour, influencing and development, with the principle

Oct 23, 2019 • 1:14:08

046: Dawn Scott on supporting the USA women’s football team to successive World Cups

046: Dawn Scott on supporting the USA women’s football team to successive World Cups

Dawn Scott, High Performance Coach to the USA women’s national football team, who happen to have won two successive World cup titles and Olympic gold in 2012, is this episode's guest. In this interview you’ll hear about Dawn’s journey from her early days grafting away with women’s football, taking a lead role at the English FA and then taking the leap to working with the US team. Critically you’ll hear how it has been for Dawn under the spotlight of supporting the team under the big moments of

Oct 9, 2019 • 58:04

Special Announcement: Kickstart Performance Skills course is about to launch

Special Announcement: Kickstart Performance Skills course is about to launch

This is a special announcement: Our online course is about to launch.  It's called, 'Kickstart Performance Skills' and is aimed at undergraduate and masters students in sports and exercise aiming to work as a professional in sports and performance. The course launches on 7th October 2019, when I’m hosting a live webinar at 7pm GMT to show you the course content with live Q&A and provide you with an exclusive discount. Sign up now to find out more https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/138747

Oct 2, 2019 • 0:14

045: Nick Grantham on developing self, consultancy and performance

045: Nick Grantham on developing self, consultancy and performance

Nick Grantham, performance enhancement specialist and consultant, is this week's guest. Nick and I go way back to the mid 1990s and have worked alongside each other in the sphere of sports performance. Nick has worked with a range of elite teams, netball, gymnastics, basketball, premiership football, downhill mountain biking to name a few. Nick is also a leading light in taking an active role in developing content and advice for aspiring professionals and we’ve been increasingly aware that we sh

Sep 25, 2019 • 1:18:17

044: Neil Chugani on leading as a coxswain, in sport governance and at Google

044: Neil Chugani on leading as a coxswain, in sport governance and at Google

Neil Chugani was a coxswain and a good one too. He coxed the Oxford crew to success in the boat race in 1991, he was World Champion in the coxed pairs in 2001, where I met Neil for the first time as Matthew Pinsent and James Cracknell went for the double, double, both the coxed pairs followed by coxless pairs world championship finals in the space of two hours – a story I feature in my book How to Support a Champion. Neil shares the insight behind successfully leading, coaching, supporting a cre

Sep 11, 2019 • 55:09

043: Emma Hatton, West End star on sustaining performance

043: Emma Hatton, West End star on sustaining performance

Emma Hatton star of the West End talks about her career, Emma has starred in some of the biggest musicals and lead roles, Scaramouche in We will Rock You, Elphaba in Wicked, Eva Peron in Evita and recently Grizabella in Cats. We discuss Emma’s origins as an athlete, the pull of performing on stage, the art form that Emma performs and how she does that, the persistence and knock backs, sustaining performance from a physical and mental perspective. I got in touch with Emma because I had an inkling

Aug 28, 2019 • 1:53:48

042: Jessica Ennis-Hill on becoming World and Olympic Champion

042: Jessica Ennis-Hill on becoming World and Olympic Champion

Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill is triple World champion, Olympic champion, European Champion and British record holder in the heptathlon and World indoor champion in pentathlon. Perhaps more significantly Jess is an icon of British sport and global track and field athletics – as much for carrying the weight of expectations of a nation at the London Olympics in 2012. To give you an example a 4000m2 portrait of Jess was painted beside the Heathrow airport runway emblazoned with the message, welcome to ou

Aug 14, 2019 • 1:16:01

041: Hannah Critchlow on the science of fate

041: Hannah Critchlow on the science of fate

This week’s guest is Dr Hannah Critchlow, cellular and molecular neuroscientist at the University of Cambridge. Hannah has recently released her new book the ‘science of fate’, exploring whether our genetic code determines our path or instead whether our genetic code acts as a start point from which we get to choose who we become. I grabbed 15 mins with Hannah between sessions at the Cheltenham Science Festival and we had interesting conversation that covered a lot, explored some interesting con

Jul 31, 2019 • 19:43

040: Matt Dixon on customising training

040: Matt Dixon on customising training

Matt Dixon is a professional triathlon coach and founder of Purplepatch fitness. Matt is former professional triathlete and elite swimmer, now coach and has set up a highly successful performance training and coaching support business. Purple patch has a roster of numerous world class triathletes that Matt and his team of coaches have supported to hundreds of ironman and half ironman victories. But they also have a slogan of 'Performance Training for Time-Starved People' which is fascinating as

Jul 17, 2019 • 1:00:40

039: Emma Ross on the female athlete and equality in performance cultures

039: Emma Ross on the female athlete and equality in performance cultures

Joining us this week on the Supporting Champions podcast is Head of Physiology at the English Institute of Sport (EIS), Dr. Emma Ross. I first met Emma at a scientific conference in 2009 and she blew me away with her ability to communicate and translate complex ideas and concepts. A few years later I appointed Emma as Head of Physiology at the EIS and after moving on from the system in 2016, I have kept a close eye on how people and schemes of work progress, develop and grow. This is exactly wha

Jul 3, 2019 • 1:31:32

038: Tom Waller on the science of feel to optimise performance

038: Tom Waller on the science of feel to optimise performance

In this week’s episode I am joined by Dr. Tom Waller (Senior Vice President Whitespace, Innovation and R&D at lululemon athletica). After completing his PhD at Loughborough University in sports technologies, where I first met Tom, he went on to work at Progressive Sports Technologies and onto Speedo as Head of Aqualab at a time where skinsuits were at their peak at having an impact on world record swimming times. Now at lululemon athletica, Tom heads up a team of innovators and experts inventing

Jun 19, 2019 • 1:12:14

037: Nick Matthew on becoming world squash champion

037: Nick Matthew on becoming world squash champion

Nick Matthew is three-time British and three-time World squash champion, as well as being two-time Commonwealth champion and former world number one. In this discussion we explore Nick’s early rise into the sport, particularly the breakthroughs he made through grit and perseverance. We also delve into his insights from finding his ‘super strength’ with the help of Mark Bawden and how he could apply them against his opponents. From the discussion you will also get a sense of the importance of Nic

Jun 5, 2019 • 1:19:27

036: Gareth Sandford on working with the world’s best coaches

036: Gareth Sandford on working with the world’s best coaches

This week we are joined by Gareth Sandford, exercise physiologist at the Canadian Sports Institute. Gareth is just starting his post-doctoral studies and so in many ways you could say he is at the beginning of his career, having just wrapped up his PhD in New Zealand, but he certainly has some incredible insights to share! Yes, this story is one of studying hard, but the reason why I wanted to talk to Gareth was due to his ability to demonstrate enormous persistence in finding opportunities, cre

May 22, 2019 • 57:24

035: Trent Stellingwerff on nutrition and leadership

035: Trent Stellingwerff on nutrition and leadership

Trent Stellingwerff, sports nutritionist is this week's guest. Trent and Steve first met as coaches in Valencia at the 2008 World Indoor Championships and he has since had a glittering career in the sport and exercise sciences. Trent now currently works at the Canadian Sports Institute, leading the track and field nutrition support team and is also the institute’s lead for innovation and research. Trent is undoubtedly one of the leading applied performance practitioners in the world, not only fo

May 8, 2019 • 1:19:00

034: Steve Ingham on developing performance people

034: Steve Ingham on developing performance people

Podcast 034 Show Notes – Performance People In this week’s episode, Steve takes the reins on his own as he shares some perspectives about developing the next generation of performance people. Over the last few years Supporting Champions have been applying the lessons learnt in elite sport into other sports, business and education and one of the areas we keep observing/hearing about is the lack of skilled graduates. People and team development has therefore been a major area of work for us and ha

Apr 24, 2019 • 37:51

033: Antony Jinman, Polar Explorer on expeditions with purpose

033: Antony Jinman, Polar Explorer on expeditions with purpose

This week’s guest is polar explorer Antony Jinman, a former naval officer and mountain leader. Antony was the 12th Briton to ski to both the geographic north and south pole. In this interview Antony shares the ups and downs of his career, in particular coping and managing with depression. He shares with us some of the demands of designing, funding and managing an expedition off set against actually doing the training for it too. But if there is one message that comes through loud and clear in th

Apr 10, 2019 • 58:15

032: Joe Eisenmann on long term athlete development

032: Joe Eisenmann on long term athlete development

Joe Eisenmann joins me on the Supporting Champions podcast this week as we explore the area of long-term athletic development. We discuss his background in physiology, academia and applied practice and start off by discussing some of the fundamental principles of pedagogy and how important that is in academic and practical pursuits.  We then delve into some of the research Joe has conducted on lifestyle and health related behaviours and how they relate to markers of physical activity and long-te

Mar 27, 2019 • 57:15

031: Louise Minchin from the BBC Breakfast Sofa to GB Team Triathlete

031: Louise Minchin from the BBC Breakfast Sofa to GB Team Triathlete

BBC Breakfast's Louise Minchin on performing in broadcasting and as an age group triathlete for team GB. Louise is a journalist and former radio presenter and is best known as the anchor on BBC1's Breakfast programme - a unique job that welcomes the day in for many people. However, you may not know that Louise has had a sharp rise into competing for Great Britain in the age group Olympic distance triathlon. In this interview Louise shares with us the spark that started this recent foray into com

Mar 13, 2019 • 1:04:26

030: Katelyn Ohashi on finding joy in gymnastics

030: Katelyn Ohashi on finding joy in gymnastics

030: Katelyn Ohashi on finding joy in gymnastics   In this episode I talk to Katelyn Ohashi about that viral routine https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ic7RNS4Dfo Katelyn shares here journey through gymnastics Body shaming Writing and poetry Advice for my daughter Finding joy once again with Miss Val The details of her routine and what it meant to her.   Supporting Champions on Twitter www.twitter.com/support_champs Steve Ingham on Twitter www.twitter.com/ingham_steve Supporting Champions on Linke

Feb 27, 2019 • 49:32

029: Miss Val on coaching a positive culture in gymnastics

029: Miss Val on coaching a positive culture in gymnastics

In Part 1 of this Podcast Special we have Head Coach of UCLA Gymnastics and orchestrator of THAT viral gymnastics' routine by Katelyn Ohashi, Miss Val Kondos Field. Miss Val and I discussed; how she was a ballerina originally but transitioned into coaching in gymnastics, the culture of gymnastics in the United States and how it has gone rotten, we unpacked her philosophies that have been galvanised by real life experiences such as her battle with cancer, her book "Life is Short Don't Wait To Dan

Feb 20, 2019 • 1:52:08

028: Helen Jenkins on the highs and lows in triathlon

028: Helen Jenkins on the highs and lows in triathlon

Helen Jenkins is a two time World Triathlon Champion. In this interview Helen begins by discussing motherhood, her early career and the importance of early career influences such as the legendary coach Chris Jones and world champion Leanda Cave. We delve into her peak performance in San Diego, where Helen produced one of the most dominant triathlon performances in the last few decades, crushing a truly world class field. It is here where she shares the exhilaration of winning the ITU World Triat

Feb 6, 2019 • 58:09

027: Brad Dieter on effective consulting

027: Brad Dieter on effective consulting

Brad is a trained Exercise Physiologist, Molecular Biologist, and Biostatistician, but wasn’t in these specialist topics that the insights started to flow in the interview, it was much more about how we live, work, day-to-day performance habits, parallels and allegories from the world of human function and human performance that we ended up exploring. One key area though really emerged and that was the concept of consulting, and how Brad set up his consultancy, and working with others, Brad shar

Jan 23, 2019 • 49:07

026: Dame Katherine Grainger on persistence and resilience

026: Dame Katherine Grainger on persistence and resilience

Katherine is Great Britain’s most decorated female Olympic athlete. She won medals at 5 consecutive Olympic games in Sydney (2000), Athens (2004), Beijing (2008), London (2012) and Rio de Janeiro (2016), culminating in gold at our very own home games and a recording breaking fifth medal in Rio. To top off an incredible year, Dame Katherine Grainger was honoured in the 2017 New Year’s Honours List for her services to rowing and charity. Soon after Katherine was appointed Chair of UK Sport. In thi

Jan 9, 2019 • 46:49

025: Highlights of 2018 podcasts

025: Highlights of 2018 podcasts

I take a look back at some of the highlights from the last year of interviews and discussions about high performance. The show is grouped into 5 common themes across all of the episodes: early career experiences and getting started, working with others, embracing change, thriving and looking at the bigger picture in life and leadership. Show Notes  Get Started Emilie Thienot from Ep #5 on getting experience, creating opportunities and breakthrough. David Fletcher from Ep #6 on internships, study

Dec 19, 2018 • 36:56

024: Tim Harper from Saracens to Sub-Sahara, fiercely championing the underdog

024: Tim Harper from Saracens to Sub-Sahara, fiercely championing the underdog

This week Tim Harper from Harper Performance joins us to discuss moving out of elite performance support in the UK to create unique, locally driven solutions to performance problems in disadvantaged communities across the world. Tim and his social enterprise are on a mission to give sport back some of its purer spirit, to diversify thinking about preparation and performance and to fiercely champion the underdog. A short introduction to Tim Harper's career pathway in professional sport and Harper

Dec 5, 2018 • 46:11

023: Steve discusses sustaining high performance with Jamie Pringle and Rosie Mayes

023: Steve discusses sustaining high performance with Jamie Pringle and Rosie Mayes

Sustaining high performance: Steve Ingham is joined once again by Jamie Pringle from the Performance Science Distillery and Rosie Mayes from the EB Centre. So sustaining performance – this is an interesting one. The discussion this week covers a series of tensions we come across in order to sustain performance, both as athletes and as support staff. Yes, we all want to achieve something and do well, but if it’s a bit of flash in the pan then there’s a chance that there will be a void behind it.

Nov 21, 2018 • 37:23

022: Steve Ingham, Jamie Pringle, Rosie Mayes discuss stress adaptation

022: Steve Ingham, Jamie Pringle, Rosie Mayes discuss stress adaptation

Steve discusses the essential concept of stress - adaptation with Jamie Pringle, Rosie Mayes. We explore what a stimulus is and does and the factors that determine the effectiveness of a stimulus. We discuss the experiences and environments that mitigate any adaptive responses, exploring the concepts of individualisation and group responses from a physical and cognitive performance perspective and then broaden that application to work and business and the very concept of progression, the achieve

Nov 7, 2018 • 1:00:40

021: Tess Morris-Paterson on astronaut training

021: Tess Morris-Paterson on astronaut training

This week’s interview is with Tess Morris-Paterson. Tess was a sports scientist with Lucozade Sport, then at the Glaxo Smith Kline Human performance laboratory. Then about 18 months ago, she began to think about a new goal, one of becoming an astronaut.  In the interview Tess talks about the deep reflection and questions about self and identity that led to the decision to understand more about what it entailed, how she traverses risk through understanding the demands with meticulous detail and p

Oct 24, 2018 • 1:12:30

020: Harvey Galvin on change, transformation and adapting self

020: Harvey Galvin on change, transformation and adapting self

Harvey Galvin epitomises all that Supporting Champions represents, but he has no gold medal to show for his efforts, no affiliation with a top performer, in fact his story is one about not making it in his chosen field of sport. He tried and he tried again, he grafted, he applied entrepreneurial spirit, he made opportunities but it didn’t work out. During that time Harvey explored his purpose, what makes him happy, his drivers, the need to be adaptable and tenacious, the potential sacrifices and

Oct 10, 2018 • 1:03:40

019: Steve Ingham, Jamie Pringle, Rosie Mayes on lessons from working with elite performers

019: Steve Ingham, Jamie Pringle, Rosie Mayes on lessons from working with elite performers

Steve discusses lessons from the frontline of working with elite performers with Jamie Pringle, Rosie Mayes. We discuss the essentials of that initial engagement with elite athletes, what to do and what not to do. Getting clarity around your role and what you're working to so that you can prioritise. What clues you might be drawing from the environment, the culture that can help you connect with others and be more effective. Importantly we discuss how some of our behaviours, actions and the bond

Sep 26, 2018 • 35:26

018: Chrissie Wellington on becoming four time World Ironman Champion

018: Chrissie Wellington on becoming four time World Ironman Champion

Chrissie Wellington OBE four time World Ironman Triathlon Champion and holder of the three world ironman records shares her experiences of performing at the top end of world triathlon. In this interview Chrissie shares her journey into becoming professional, what it was like on the start line, during the races and crossing the finish line. Importantly Chrissie talks about what becoming World Champion meant to her and how she utilised it for greater good. Chrissie is a powerful, soulful and inspi

Sep 12, 2018 • 1:00:45

017: Tom Boother on running from Land’s End to John O’Groats

017: Tom Boother on running from Land’s End to John O’Groats

In 2016 Tom Boother ran (yes ran) from Land's End to John O'Groats (for the non-Brits, that's bottom left to top right of Great Britain). What is remarkable about Tom is that he classes himself as a non-athlete, and in fairness to his running speeds he isn't going to threaten Mo Farah anytime soon. BUT for me that is the remarkable thing about Tom, that he has found a way, through his own tenacity, courage, resilience and search for understanding. Inspired to question, "There must be more to lif

Aug 29, 2018 • 1:07:53

016: Barry Fudge on Heading up endurance

016: Barry Fudge on Heading up endurance

Dr Barry Fudge is Head of Endurance at British athletics and lead scientist for many outstanding endurance athletes like Sir Mo Farah. Barry has a PhD in exercise physiology which uniquely he undertook the majority of which in East Africa working with the richly talented Kenyan and Ethiopian teams, which at the time included Haile Gebrselassie and Kenenisa Bekele. Barry was actually my postdoctoral researcher back in 2007 and despite this is has gone on to achieve incredible amount. First as a p

Aug 15, 2018 • 40:24

015: Adam Conlon on performance on the frontline in warfare and disaster zones

015: Adam Conlon on performance on the frontline in warfare and disaster zones

Adam Conlon was a captain in the British Army, undertaking his officer training at the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst. He the entered the Royal Artillery, and is a veteran of two tours of Afghanistan. Adam talks about the development path from basic training to the heat of battle, where his job was in leading teams, calling the shots and co-ordinating the use of weapons on the battlefield. Adam shares the intense feeling of receiving volleys of fire from the Taliban, how he responded under

Aug 1, 2018 • 1:28:56

014: Kelly Sotherton on receiving her 4x400m medal ten years late

014: Kelly Sotherton on receiving her 4x400m medal ten years late

In this special podcast episode I talk to Kelly Sotherton just after receiving a retrospectively awarded Olympic medal for the 4x400m, ten years after the Beijing games.   Show notes Introduction to Kelly Sotherton and the award of 4x400m medal from the Beijing Olympics alongside Marilyn Okoro, Christine Ohuruogu and Nicola Sanders Background of how we developed 400m running performance from heptathlon training Sadness and hope. Sadness that athletes and countries resorted to cheating. Hope that

Jul 22, 2018 • 35:16

013: Lucy Balfour, Ballerina at Rambert on performance, competition and motherhood

013: Lucy Balfour, Ballerina at Rambert on performance, competition and motherhood

Lucy Balfour is a leading dancer at the world renowned contemporary dance company Ballet Rambert. Lucy trained at the International Ballet Academy in Christchurch, then spent ten years with the Royal New Zealand Ballet, before joining Rambert. In this episode, Lucy talks about the competitiveness of becoming a ballerina, the singular focus on realising her dream, with no back up plan. She talks about the pressure of selection and performing, maintaining self-identity throughout balanced by the p

Jul 18, 2018 • 48:49

012: Liz Stokoe on science and art of conversation

012: Liz Stokoe on science and art of conversation

In this episode I interview Professor Liz Stokoe, while we were both speaking at Cheltenham Science Festival. Liz is a Professor of Social Interaction at Loughborough University, specialising in conversational analysis. Liz shares her insights into the dynamics of conversation, some of the aggressive moves people make and how to manage these situations and what we can learn from delicate exchanges such as marriage guidance mediators and suicide negotiators. I really enjoyed this interview and fo

Jul 4, 2018 • 39:53

011: Jo Meek on ultra-endurance

011: Jo Meek on ultra-endurance

In this episode I talk to Jo Meek, aka the "Running Squirrel". Jo is one of the world's leading ultra-endurance runners. In 2013 Jo was 2nd woman across the line in the Marathon de Sables. In 2014 Jo was first in the Coastal Challenge in Costa Rica (a 225km run which she completed in 29h 17mins, 19s; 5th in Comrades marathon; 4th in the World 100km Champs. Jo has a 10km time of 34:36; a marathon time of 2:46; and a 100km time of 7hr 43mins. Jo offers a unique insight into managing training, disc

Jun 20, 2018 • 54:35

010: Toni Minichiello on communication with athletes

010: Toni Minichiello on communication with athletes

In this episode I talk to long standing colleague, coach and friend Toni Minichiello, coach to one of the World's greatest athletes Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill. I've worked with Toni since 2001 and while we've talked about everything and anything over the years, it was fascinating to capture his thoughts about the key area of communication, his thoughts, ideas, techniques and how they have evolved over the years;   Show notes Communication and conveying knowledge and ideas for maximum impact Gleanin

Jun 6, 2018 • 26:26

009: Yann Le Meur on Infographics

009: Yann Le Meur on Infographics

009 Yann Le Meur This week's episode features an interview with Dr Yann Le Meur, physiologist and creator of the infographic phenomenon. Yann Le Meur - training strategies - tennis/triathlon, improving fitness, sport science & Rodger Federer Studying Sport Science, PE teacher, exercise physiology/ Heat altitude training, recovery nutrition provided a breadth and grounding in sport. Synchronised swimming, modern pentathlon - working with national team and high level athletes Act as a chameleon! A

May 21, 2018 • 1:11:32

008: Rosie Mayes, Jamie Pringle join Steve Ingham to talk culture

008: Rosie Mayes, Jamie Pringle join Steve Ingham to talk culture

Episode 008 In this episode I am joined once again by Rosie Mayes, and Jamie Pringle to talk culture in high performance sport and in the wider world of business and education. Show notes Why are we talking about culture? Could you put culture on a dashboard of metrics? How quickly can you pick up on a culture? Whose responsibility is culture? Process review Culture as a determinant of performance Early experiences, environment culturing achievement If culture is poor how does it manifest in peo

May 10, 2018 • 1:14:20

007: Jenny Rogers on Coaching

007: Jenny Rogers on Coaching

Jenny Rogers: Coaching Episode 007 Show notes   Where it all started? Jenny’s teaching career and her ‘development itch!' Where did it all start? The BBC & finding Delia Smith! Where did the development of others start? Becoming commissioning editor for The Open College, Jenny’s introduction to consulting and organisational behaviour The beginnings of one to one work and executive coaching 20:00 Becoming a coach full-time and leaving the BBC What is the coaching that Jenny provides? “The slipper

Apr 23, 2018 • 1:07:41

006: David Fletcher on adversity

006: David Fletcher on adversity

Supporting Champions Podcast 006 David Fletcher In this episode I talk to David Fletcher about his career as a swimmer, researcher and expert in the area of adversity. Show notes; Early aspirations as a swimmer, but experiencing near misses as an athlete and academically Transfer of desire from swim background to early success in studies Father as a science role-model, searching and sharing academic papers Importance of internship in sporting environment Importance of breadth of experience beyon

Apr 3, 2018 • 1:11:39

005: Emilie Thienot on mindfulness

005: Emilie Thienot on mindfulness

005: Emilie Thienot on mindfulness Go out there, meet people, do something! Overtime if I want something I don’t give up because I know it will happen. If I work hard and smartly I will see results. Back to the UK, the UK system and the British Sailing team. The psychology of sailing, how do you support them? Freeing the mind to make good decisions. Unlocking potential - removing psychological barriers. Communication as a team - who do they want to be as a team, underpinning values and translati

Feb 24, 2018 • 53:18

Emilie Thienot 3 minute mindfulness coaching

Emilie Thienot 3 minute mindfulness coaching

Emilie Thienot coaches your mindfulness. For three minutes, sit back, listen in and be aware. Download this track to your phone, ready to play whenever you need it. If you like this, let us know!

Feb 24, 2018 • 0:03

004: Vern Gambetta on a career at the front line of coaching

004: Vern Gambetta on a career at the front line of coaching

004 Vern Gambetta on a career in coaching   Guru or legend?! How Vern got into sport Role models Be a generalist not a specialist It’s still the human body, what are the differences and similarities between the different sports? Maintaining an open-mindedness. Don’t make assumptions! Generations of young people with negligible physical literacy Training sessions - how do we get more out of what we do? How do you design somebody’s journey from youth to senior athlete? Avoiding early specialisatio

Feb 11, 2018 • 40:11

003: Rosie Mayes, Jamie Pringle join Steve Ingham to talk sustaining high performance

003: Rosie Mayes, Jamie Pringle join Steve Ingham to talk sustaining high performance

Steve Ingham, Jamie Pringle, Rosie Mayes, discuss the rise of UK High Performance System that has gone from 36th on the medal table in 1996 Olympics to 2nd at the Rio Olympics in 2016, becoming a global sporting superpower. This episode discusses what are the common trends in successful high performing systems and looks forward as to how performance can be sustained. What are the determining factors of a successful system? What are the things from other performance environments you would find wh

Jan 29, 2018 • 27:16

002: Rosie Mayes, Jamie Pringle join Steve Ingham to talk how a home Olympics gave focus

002: Rosie Mayes, Jamie Pringle join Steve Ingham to talk how a home Olympics gave focus

Episode #2 Panel Discussion (Part 2 of 3)   Steve Ingham, Jamie Pringle, Rosie Mayes, discuss the rise of Uk High Performance System that has gone from 36th on the medal table in 1996 Olympics to 2nd at the Rio Olympics in 2016, becoming a global sporting superpower.   This episode charts the necessary focus that came with the award of the home games, what challenges it brought and how the roles change under mounting pressure and resource. Show notes 4:01 July 6th 2005 London was awarded the Oly

Jan 17, 2018 • 29:39

001: Rosie Mayes, Jamie Pringle join Steve Ingham to discuss rise in performance sport in UK

001: Rosie Mayes, Jamie Pringle join Steve Ingham to discuss rise in performance sport in UK

Episode 001 Panel Discussion (Part 1 of 3) Steve Ingham, Jamie Pringle, Rosie Mayes, discuss the rise of Uk High Performance System that has gone from 36th on the medal table in 1996 Olympics to 2nd at the Rio Olympics in 2016, becoming a global sporting superpower. This episode charts the early origins of the UK beginning to find pockets of excellence, how the system emerged from losing and grew to develop its own identity, method and network. Show notes  UK High performance achievements  Where

Jan 2, 2018 • 23:32

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