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:
Maximising the use of GPS to understand athlete performance and fatigue with Amber Rowell, Aaron Coutts and Mathieu Lacome
#Bitesize - An athlete and coach’s view of an ACL rehab process with Alan Murdoch and Anthony Watson
Building a sports science department from the ground up: From “one-man bands” to large organisations with Teofe Ziemnicki
#Bitesize - How to use velocity loss to maximise adaptation with Dan Baker
Jump training and the specificity myth in athlete development with Håkan Andersson
#Bitesize - Training and testing agility versus change of direction with Shawn Myszka, Tom Dos’Santos and Ian Jeffreys
How to use the warm up as a movement screen and revolutionising technique analysis with computer vision and artificial intelligence with Jonas Dodoo
#Bitesize - Creating change of direction drills that transfer to the field with Shawn Myszka
Resisted speed training: Effects on mechanics, how to programme it and its impact on sprint performance with Jason Hettler, George Petrakos and Hakan Anderrson
#Bitesize - Using resisted speed training with youth athletes with Micheál Cahill
Understanding what we need to change to improve acceleration, and how we go about coaching it with James Wild
#Bitesize - How to increase eccentric strength which transfers to improved deceleration with Joey Guarascio
Analysing England rugby player Anthony Watson’s ACL rehab and how he got faster than ever with Alan Murdoch and Anthony Watson
#Bitesize - The most effective ways to use blood flow restriction training to increase strength with Stephen Patterson
Getting athletes fast on short timeframes and creating a long term speed system with Les Spellman
#Bitesize - Using isometric training to get specific with exercise selection with Danny Lum
Testing deceleration, reducing injury risk during cutting and maximising the use of the 1080 sprint with Ola Eriksrud
#Bitesize - Which assessments to use during the RTP process from athletic hip and groin injuries with Enda King
Testing and training the foot for rehabilitation and improving sports performance (part 2)
#Bitesize - Testing and training the calf to reduce injury risk with Colin Griffin
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