I’m delighted to speak with coach developer and coach, Stephen Maxwell this week. Stephen is the Coach Education Manager at Cricket Ireland, where he supports coaches and coach developers.

Stephen has been coaching for approximately 22 years. He is currently the Senior Men's Football Manager at Thomas Davis GAA (Gaelic Athletic Association) Club. Previously, he coached the Dublin Senior GAA Team – helping them win the All-Ireland Championship in 2023.

Stephen is the founder and creator of No Other Game Around which specialises in coach development, team training and the technical and personal development of individual athletes.

I am honoured to be joined again by high-performance consultant, Lisa Alexander, in this episode. Lisa works with coaches, teams and organisations to create winning and success-driven environments.

Lisa is one of the most successful coaches in Australian sport. As the Head Coach of the Australian Diamonds, the Australian National Netball Team, Lisa lead the team to multiple wins including a Commonwealth Gold Medal.

In 2021 Lisa received the Order of Australia, the highest recognition for outstanding achievement and service in the Australian honours system, for her significant service to netball at the elite level.

We speak about Lisa’s long career as Head Coach of the Diamonds. How she went about establishing a true person-centred environment; the parallels between teaching and coaching; getting to know your team and directive vs non-directive coaching.

I’m delighted to speak with Jonathan Pendlebury this week. Jonathan is the U18 Head Coach and Pathway Development Coach at the Rugby Football Union (RFU), the national governing body for rugby union in England.

Jonathan oversees player development for the U17 and U18 year old (men) in the programmes and pathways of the RFU and the Premiership Rugby (PRL) Regional Academies in England.

Jonathan is qualified to RFU Level 4 coaching award. He has experience coaching and working with all age groups and abilities from junior to senior.

Prior to his position at the RFU, Jonathan worked at Wasps Rugby and with Yorkshire Carnegie as Academy Manager, building upon the experience he gained as a professional rugby player of ten years, having represented Premiership and Championship clubs until 2012.

Jonathan has also completed a BSc (Hon) degree in Sport Coaching with Leeds Beckett, achieving first class honours. He also has a MSc in Sport Coaching.

I’m delighted to speak with Patrick “Paddy” Ryan this week. Paddy is Chief Coach of Cambridge University Boat Club (CUBC) for the women’s programme.

Paddy has a wealth of rowing experience, having first started as a rower himself in his native Australia. After a move to the UK, he joined the Thames Rowing Club. Paddy also spent six years at London Youth Rowing (LYR) helping the small charity grow to a London-wide group, supporting thousands of teenagers every year.

Paddy began his career at CUBC in 2013 as assistant coach of the women’s programme, bringing his considerable knowledge from his rowing experiences, and most importantly, his recipe for ‘knowing how to win’. In 2021 Paddy became the CUBC chief coach for the Women’s programme.

His career highlights include, as an athlete, winning Wyfold Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta, winning the first Blondie Race in 2016 as Assistant Coach and then as Chief Coach, working with the winning 2022, 2023, and 2024 Blue Boat.

Paddy and I speak in depth about the culture he has created at CUBC.

I’m delighted to speak with basketball coach and qualified teacher, Alan Keane this week.

Alan is a performance basketball coach with a focus on meeting the needs of the people he works with. He is the Great Britain U20 National Team Basketball Head Coach.

Alan is also co-founder of MVMT sports, a mission-driven business for people who believe sport should be a movement for good (not bad). MVMT provides training, support and tools for coaches who want to be difference-makers. The MVMT brand champions coaches who put people before winning.

Alan is currently undertaking a Professional Doctorate in Coaching Science. He researches current strategies, motivations and evaluator approaches used by coaches, and intervention strategies to develop self-regulated learners.

Alan has won numerous coaching and teaching awards including: Great Britain National Team Coach, England Commonwealth Games Coach, Sky Sports Living for Sport Outstanding Contribution by a Teacher Award Nominee, Chris Morgan Coach of The Year Winner, and Sky Sports Teacher of The Year Finalist.

I’m delighted to speak with mentor, speaker and author, Dr Richard Young this week. Richard works with leaders and experts to help them uncover sustained competitive advantage.

Richard consults internationally to help people build sustainable performance systems and achieve faster. He works with Olympic sports, professional sports, national coaches, and former elite athletes.

Richard has been involved with nine Olympics as an athlete, coach, researcher, technologist and leader working across more than 30 sports for three countries focused on Olympic performance.

Richard has a PhD in physiology, medical science and biomedical engineering. Richard is also the founder of a number of international performance programs including, the Technology and Innovation for GB and NZ, and the Performance Knowledge & Learning program for NZ Olympic, Winter Olympic and Paralympic teams.

Richard has researched the differences between medallists and non-medallist athletes, coaches, support staff and organisations across 5 Olympic cycles and identified the behaviour and system differences between those who achieve and those who don’t.

I’m delighted to welcome back Adam Miles to the show this week. Adam is joined by Rob Walter, the Head Coach for the South African White Ball team in this episode.

Rob holds a degree in Human Movement Sciences. He started his coaching career as conditioning and fielding coach for the Proteas, the South African National Cricket Team. During this time, he also worked in the Indian Premier League for Pune Warriors and Delhi Daredevils. Rob was then Head Coach of the Titans Cricket Team in South Africa before pursuing head coach roles in New Zealand. He was Head Coach of Otago Cricket for 5 seasons before taking up the same role for Central Districts Cricket for almost 2 seasons. In 2023 Rob was named the ODI and T20 Coach of the Proteas.

Adam currently works as a psychologist in Primary Care. He is also team psychologist at Otago Cricket and Southern Steel in the New Zealand Netball League. Adam was previously Assistant Coach at Otago Cricket, working closely with Rob to develop a mental skills programme at the Club. Prior to this, Adam was manager of talent development and player pathway at Otago Cricket Association. Adam also coached New Zealand first class cricket team, Otago Volts.

Adam moved from the UK to New Zealand on a PhD scholarship in Sport Psychology at the University of Otago exploring Life Skills Development in Elite Athletes.

I’m delighted to speak with Derek O’Riordan this week. Derek is Partnership Manager for Sport Scotland, the national agency for sport in Scotland. Derek works with governing bodies to support their investment for development.

Derek is also a lecturer in sport management and coaching at the University of Stirling and a coach developer working in situ with coaches. Derek also coaches Rugby Union in the Premiership in Scotland.

Derek and I discuss his experiences as a coach and coach developer, including: the intricacies of coach development – the differences between education and development; what healthy involvement in sport can look like for children; the role of deliberate practice; the use of attentional cues for learning and performance.