A conversation with my mentor - Mark Bennett MBE

Mark Bennett is someone that has had the most profound effect on my coaching, my parenting, my management style and my life.

Mark is an expert people developer and has worked with people from all walks of life from elite sports coaches to teachers working in primary schools.

His approach was forged in the British military where he was a physical training instructor but it has now been used to help people in all walks of life to follow a path of excellence. It is extremely powerful and I was really keen to make sure that he shares some of his insights with the Talent Equation community.

In this great discussion we cover:

• The difference between 'performance' coaching and 'leisure' coaching

• How to decide whether you are on a journey of performance and improvement or on a journey of self delusion

• How Mark tries to make himself redundant by ensuring that coaches and athletes make good behaviour choices whether he is there or not

• Using 'covert tests' to help you ensure that learning has taken place

• Why most coaches need to take 70% of the content out of their session plans

• How to ensure that athletes make a commitment to the goals that they establish for themselves

This is an episode that you won't want to miss.

Listen in the player below or subscribe in itunes here

New podcast - Reed Maltbie - Star Soccer Club & Changing the Game Project

Reed Maltbie is a coach that takes his craft seriously. Alongside a lifetime of experience and ongoing learning he also has 2 masters degrees in Psychology and Child Development so when it comes to developing children in sport....he knows a thing or two!

His passion for coaching and for the impact that a coach can have have on children led him to deliver a TED talk on the subject of communication which you can check out below

In this great podcast episode Reed explains how he develops positive environments for young people to thrive within. We cover a lot of topics including:

• The impact of words on people

• How an email from a parent 'cut him in half' and nearly made him quit coaching

• Strategies he uses to build positive relationships with parents including having a 'lollipop parent' patrolling the sidelines to manage behaviour

• How 'the why' of coaching is the most important thing that a coach can have to help them navigate player and parental relationships

• The 3 'V's' of communication - Visual, Verbal, Values

• How to stop being a 'joystick coach'.

This was a super enjoyable conversation packed full of quality information, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Listen below or subscribe in itunes here

Podcast: Building great relationships - The secret to the development of the 'Gifted Junior'

Stuart Morgan from www.stuartmorgangolf.com was the Director of Instruction at the International Junior Golf Academy in the USA. Stuart has spent his life helping young golfers to develop and has a wealth of knowledge to share with the talent community.

We focus on the experiences he went through with developing a young female golfer called Emily Price and her journey of success towards several amateur titles and the way that the engagement with the family is all important. In the episode we cover:

• How Stuart works with young players on the course and in context as much as possible. Designing challenges and using constraints to challenge their skill set.

• How the relationship with the parents is all important but the relationship is built in having clearly defined roles.

• How a delayed specialisation model was used in Emily's development. How keeping her away from the formal 'talent pathway' until the right moment played an important role in her development.

• Creating an ecological environment around her in order to develop resilience and the characteristics required for excellence.

• How Stuart still provided coaching even though he was on the other side of the Atlantic.

• How Stuart's book 'Gifted Junior' can help parents and coaches to navigate this process.

Enjoy the episode

You can subscribe on iTunes here

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