The Way of Champions Podcast is brought to you by Changing the Game Project and hosted by Changing the Game founder John O'Sullivan. Each week we connect you with the top minds in sports, coaching, leadership, and building championship programs so you can take your athletes and teams to the next level.
Join Sport Psychologist, Dan Abrahams, on The Sport Psych Show as he aims to demystify sport psychology for players, coaches and parents by speaking with some of the most influential people in sports performance today. Dan is on a mission to learn more about how sport psychology philosophies, tools and techniques positively impact participation, progression and performance in sport. He wants to learn more about how to drive participation – what motivational tools engage players and inspire p ...
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Way of Champions Podcast


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#273 Dan Abrahams, Sport Psychologist, on Creating a Mental Framework, Stomping the ANTS, and Improving Your Inner Dialogue (replay)
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Dan Abrahams is a sport psychologist who works alongside individuals, teams, coaches and organizations globally. He is known for his passion to de-mystify sport psychology and for creating simple to use performance techniques. A former professional golfer and PGA qualified, Dan has a First Class Honors degree in Psychology and a Masters degree in S…
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#191 Dr Lee Hancock - Tools to Help Develop Talent
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I speak to Dr Lee Hancock in this week’s episode. Lee is a professor in kinesiology at California State University, Dominguez Hills. He is also a coach educator at the US Soccer Federation and the sport psychology coach for Canada Women’s Beach Volleyball team that competed in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio De Janeiro and Tokyo 2020. Lee is also the…
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#272 Jonah Oliver, Performance Psychologist, on Taking Positive Action, Building Capacity to Embrace Pressure, and Finding Your Why in Order to Perform Your Best
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Jonah Oliver (@jonah_oliver1) is one of Australia’s leading performance psychologists. Combining his training in sport psychology and neuroscience, Jonah brings a unique, simple and effective approach to facilitating peak performance. Over the past two decades he has worked with a wide variety of clients: ranging from professional golfers (caddying…
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#190 Prof Rosemary Purcell & Dr Courtney Walton - Promoting Mental Wellbeing in Sport
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I speak with Prof Rosemary Purcell & Dr Courtney Walton in this week’s episode. Rosie is Director of Knowledge Translation at Orygen. She is also the Deputy Head of Department of the Centre for Youth Mental Health at the University of Melbourne and a registered psychologist. Rosie has co-authored over 150 publications in the areas of youth mental h…
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#271: Dan Coyle, NYT Bestselling Author on Culture, Zero Tolerance for Brilliant Jerks, and Establishing a Playbook for Building Safety, Vulnerability, and Shared Purpose
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Daniel Coyle (@DanileCoyle) is the New York Times bestselling author of The Culture Code, The Talent Code, The Little Book of Talent, The Secret Race, Lance Armstrong’s War, and Hardball: A Season in the Projects. Coyle works as an advisor to the Cleveland Guardians of MLB, as well as numerous teams in sports, business and the military throughout t…
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The Sport Psych Show


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#189 Dr Desmond McEwan - Why Teamwork Breaks Down (and Ways to Fix it)
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I speak to Dr Desmond McEwan in this week’s episode. Desi is a Chartered Psychologist and Assistant Professor at the University of Bath. His research examines the psychology of human health and performance and he has a particular interest in teamwork, group dynamics, team effectiveness, psychological safety, goal setting, and behaviour change. Desi…
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#270 Mirelle van Rijbroek, US Soccer Director of Talent Identification for Girls, on Defining, Identifying and Developing Talent
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Mirelle van Rijbroek has been US Soccer's Director of Talent Identification for the Girls Program since 2017. van Rijbroek is a UEFA A Licensed coach, and began her coaching career in her native Netherlands working for clubs and the KNVB, as well as the head of Talent Identification, Talent Development, and Elite Performance for the Youth National …
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#188 Ross Ensor – Implementing a Game Sense Approach
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I’m delighted to speak to coach, researcher and educator, Ross Ensor in this week’s episode. Ross is a PhD researcher in Sports Coaching at Loughborough University. He has experience with grassroots, semi-professional, national and county squads, and as a Foundation Phase coach at Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (where he also worked in the p…
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#269: Dr Lee Hancock, Performance Psychologist, Discusses his New Book Talent Zones: 10 Tools to Help Kids Develop Their Talents
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Dr. Lee Hancock (@DrLeeHancock) is a professor, performance psychology coach, and program creator who works with students, athletes, coaches, educators, parents, organizations, and other high-level performers. Dr. Hancock earned his Master’s and Ph.D. from Arizona State University and is a tenured professor in kinesiology at California State Univer…
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#187 Dr Trish Jackman & Rebecca Hawkins - Exploring Motivation: Setting the Right Goals
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I speak with Dr Trish Jackman and Rebecca Hawkins in this episode. Both Trish and Rebecca are Senior Lecturers in Sport and Exercise Psychology at the University of Lincoln. Trish’s research focuses on optimal experiences in sport and exercise. This work seeks to understand the positive, rewarding experiences that athletes and exercisers have durin…
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#268 Mark Bennett Masterclass Part II: How to Implement the PDS System, Avoid Common Mistakes, and Engage Parents and Coaches in the Process of Creating the Needs Centered Environment
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In Part II of our Masterclass with Mark Bennett, founder of Performance Development Systems, we build upon last week's session and cover how to implement the PDS needs centered approach, how to avoid common mistakes, and how to engage fellow coaches and parents in the process. If you have come here first, we highly recommend starting with episode 2…
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#186 Dr Brandon Orr - Directing Attention and Being Task-Focused
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I speak to Dr Brandon Orr in this week’s episode. Brandon is a Sport and Performance Psychology Specialist with 20 years’ experience coaching, educating, and training individuals and teams in executive-corporate entities, sport and performance domains and Special Operations personnel. Brandon integrates evidence-based strategies for applied psychol…
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#267 Mark Bennett Masterclass Part I: Creating a Needs Based Coaching Environment, The Rule of 3, Developing Team Non-negotiables, and Getting Your Athletes to Take More Ownership of Training and Games ...
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This week we bring you Part I of a two episode masterclass with Mark Bennett (@PDScoach). Mark has been one of our most popular guests over the years, and has been training, coaching & mentoring individuals and teams since the early 90s, including world and Olympic champions, professional rugby teams, the Cleveland Indians of MLB, and Oklahoma Thun…
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#185 Dr Jerry Lynch - The Way of the Champion
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I’m delighted to speak to performance, leadership and coaching expert, Dr Jerry Lynch in this week’s episode. Jerry has been coaching for an incredible 58 years. Jerry helps people of all ages and abilities in all arenas of performance to develop the qualities of courage, integrity, fearlessness, tenacity, patience, persistence in order to overcome…
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#266 Chris Armas, Manchester United Asst Coach, Former Toronto FC and NY Red Bulls Head Coach, and US National Team Player on Connecting With Players, Building Culture and Style of Play, and Stoking the ...
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This week on the Way of Champions Podcast, we dive into the archives from episode 162 and welcome Chris Armas, currently the assistant coach at Manchester United in the English Premier league. Previously Chris has been the Head coach of Major League Soccer clubs Toronto FC and New York Red Bulls, winning the MLS Supporters Shield with the Red Bulls…
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#184 Dr Karen Treisman MBE - How to be More Trauma, Adversity and Culturally Informed
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I’m delighted to speak to Dr Karen Treisman MBE in this week’s episode. Karen is an award winning, highly specialised clinical psychologist and trauma specialist. Karen is the founder of Safe Hands and Thinking Minds which supports organisations to help them become more trauma, adversity and culturally informed at a language, policy, culture, and p…
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#265 Rob O'Neill: Former Navy SEAL and #1 NYT Bestselling Author Discusses his New Book on Overcoming Life's Greatest Challenges, High Performing Teams, and Mindset
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Rob O'Neill (www.RobertJONeill.com) is one of the country’s most highly decorated Navy SEAL combat veterans, involved in our nation’s most strategic military campaigns, including the mission to kill Osama Bin Laden. By the time he was honorably discharged after almost 17 years of service, O’Neill held combat leadership roles in over 400 missions ac…
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#183 Dr Stephen Harvey - Teaching Games for Understanding
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I’m delighted to speak to Dr Stephen Harvey in this week’s episode. Stephen is Professor in Sport Pedagogy at Ohio University. His research is focused on teacher/coach pedagogy and practice and its influence on student/player learning. Stephen is a former junior international field hockey coach and currently works with organisations such as USA fie…
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#264 Ed Coughlan, Dr Skill Acquisition, on Deliberate Practice, Session Design, and Using the ASPIRE and PEAQ Models of Coaching to Help Your Athletes Improve Faster
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Ed Coughlan (@DrSkillAcq) qualified as a sport scientist before specializing on the concept of practice-transfer in his PhD and subsequent research. He is a senior lecturer in applied sport psychology, expertise and coaching science at Munster Technological University, where he is a research lead in the domain of skill acquisition. Edward's work is…
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#182 Christian Swann – The Intricacies of Goal Setting
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I’m delighted to speak to Christian Swann in this week’s episode. Christian is Associate Professor in Psychology at Southern Cross University, Australia. Christian’s research areas are in goal setting, mental health, and the psychology of exceptional performance. We discuss a research article that Christian has written alongside a number of authors…
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#263 Brad Stevens, Boston Celtics President of Basketball Operations and Former Head Coach, on Authenticity, Vulnerability, and Body Language in Coaching
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Brad Stevens is the current President of Basketball Operations for the Boston Celtics of the NBA. Prior to that he was head coach of the Celtics, leading them to seven straight playoff appearances and building one of the top teams in the league. He rose to fame as head coach of Butler University, where he led the team to two NCAA Final Fours and se…
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#181 Dr Colum Cronin – Care in Sport Coaching
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I’m delighted to speak to Dr Colum Cronin in this episode. Colum is Senior Lecturer in Physical Education and Sport Coaching at Liverpool John Moores University. Colum’s research concerns youth sport coaching, coach education and coaching in community contexts. Colum has worked with a number of sporting organisations such as the Football Associatio…
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#262 Bringing Humanity Back Into Coaching with Cara Cocchiarella, Author of Winning Well
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Cara Cocchiarella is a professor in Health and Physical Education at Clark College in Vancouver, Washington and the author of the brand new book Winning Well. She has a Doctoral degree in Educational Leadership, a Master’s degree in Health and Human Performance, and a Bachelor’s degree in Health and Human Performance and Spanish. She earned all of …
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#180 Prof Kristoffer Henriksen – Being ‘All In’: 6 Ways To Help Athletes Succeed
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I’m delighted to speak to Prof Kristoffer Henriksen in this week’s episode. Kristoffer is Head of the Learning and Talent in Sport Research Unit at the University of Southern Denmark. He is also a sport psychologist for Team Denmark – an organisation that works to provide Danish athletes with the best possible frameworks and conditions for them to …
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Way of Champions Podcast


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#261 Luke Chadwick, Former Man United Player, on the Genius of Alex Ferguson, Struggles with Mental Wellness, and his Mission to Make Youth Football Fun Again
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Ex-Manchester United football player Luke Chadwick played over 460 professional games for clubs such as United, West Ham, Stoke and others before retiring and beginning his coaching journey. Luke was a young boy who dreamed of running out at Old Trafford. But the reality of the pressure of being a professional and everything revolving around winnin…