The podcast features Aaron Walsh, a mental skills performance expert, discussing the importance and integration of mental skills in sports performance. Aaron, with a background in sports and a passion for understanding performance, delves into the mental aspects that differentiate successful athletes from others. His journey, which includes experiences in the US and New Zealand, highlights the significance of mental skills in sports, particularly in high-pressure situations.
Walsh emphasizes that while physical and technical skills are crucial, the mental aspect often becomes the differentiating factor at the highest levels of sport. He categorizes sports into those where athletes initiate movement and those where they respond to it, noting that sports requiring initiation of movement, like golf or penalty kicks in football, have a higher mental demand. Walsh argues that mental skills should be treated like any other skill, with a focus on knowledge, tools, and support for development.
He also touches on the role of mental skills in team environments, stressing the importance of integrating mental skills into coaching, recruitment, and training decisions. Walsh criticizes the common approach of only addressing mental skills when athletes underperform, advocating instead for a proactive and integrated approach.
If you're someone who wants to develop a rounded programme that involves more than just sets and reps, this episode is for you.
Main talking points:
#Bitesize - Using fixed resistance machines in-season with Cory Schlesinger
Agility training, problems with change of direction testing & game speed with Ian Jeffreys (Coach Educator & Academic Director, Setanta College)
#Bitesize - Understanding the menstrual cycle to optimise performance with Georgie Bruinvels
Gaining mobility and flexibility for sports performance with Vernon Griffith (Performance Coach)
#Bitesize - Benefits and downsides to eccentric training with John Wagle
Warm ups and cool downs; maximising our impact as coaches with Rett Larson (Strength & Conditioning Coach at German Women’s Volleyball Team)
#Bitesize - Recommendations for training athletes during growth spurts with Sean Cumming
Deciphering, understanding and optimising athlete movement efficiency with Matt Jordan
#Bitesize -The underpinning characteristics of speed with Stu McMillan
Creating a framework to maximise jumping and landing training with athletes with Dana Agar-Newman and Jeremy Sheppard
#Bitesize - Choosing the most appropriate recovery methods with Robin Thorpe
Speed, agility and social media gurus; reflections from 53 years coaching with Vern Gambetta (Coach and Founder of GAIN Network)
#Bitesize - Assessing and managing athletes through an ACL rehabilitation with Enda King
Creating and developing a high school strength and conditioning programme with Joey Berles (JJ Pearce High School)
#Bitesize - The function of tendons and how to best train them with Keith Baar
Enhancing change of direction speed and agility in the real world with Molly Binetti (University of South Carolina)
#Bitesize - What makes a good S&C coach with Eddie Jones
Nordic hamstring exercise; can we trust the evidence and should we use it (?) with Rod Whiteley (Physiotherapist at Aspetar)
#Bitesize - Programming plyometrics and jump training with Boo Schexnayder
Anaerobic speed reserve; maximising training prescription (part 2) with Gareth Sandford (Physiologist, Canada Athletics)
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