I’m delighted to speak with Dr Matthew Andrew this week. Matthew is a senior lecturer in Sport and Exercise Psychology at Manchester Metropolitan University. He previously lectured at Liverpool John Moores University in Expert Performance and Learning. Matthew is interested in skill acquisition and talent identification and development.

In this episode Matthew and I discuss a study he led which examined talent development in female soccer. The study examined developmental activities engaged in by professional female soccer players in England.

I’m delighted to speak with Dr Hillary Cauthen this week. Hillary is a clinical sport psychologist and Certified Mental Performance Consultant (CMPC) with over 17 years experience working within the field of sport and performance psychology. She is an active member in her local community and professional associations, such as Association of Applied Sport Psychology (AASP), and American Psychological Association - Division 47 (Society for Sport, Exercise and Performance Psychology).

Hillary is the Founder and Director of Texas Optimal Performance & Psychological Services (TOPPS) - working with individuals, families, teams, and groups to improve mental health, as well as athletic, social, academic, and professional performance.

Hillary formerly served as the Director of Organizational Wellness & Performance for Austin FC and was the performance psychologist for the San Antonio Spurs, where she developed their mental performance and wellness programs.

Hillary has developed private businesses that bring mental wellness curriculum to school districts across the nation, as well as an analytics company that helps predict the behavioural risk factors in players for teams in the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, and Premier League. Her work in high performance is breaking down stigma across communities which is highlighted in her book "Hello Trauma, Our Invisible Teammate.”

I’m delighted to speak with Dr Sebastian Harenberg this week. Sebastian is Associate Professor in Sport Psychology at St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia and a Certified Mental Performance Consultant (CMPC). He also provides mental performance consulting services to athletes and community members. Sebastian and I discuss positional competition, i.e. the competition for playing time in team sports.

Sebastian completed a combined Bachelor and Master of Education in English and Physical Education at the University of Göttingen, Germany. Sebastian continued his education with a doctoral degree in Kinesiology and Health studies with an emphasis on sport psychology at the University of Regina.

He then worked 2 years as a research scientist at the Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region until he joined Ithaca College in New York as an Assistant Professor for Research Methods and Statistics.

Sebastian’s main research interests lie in two areas: 1. Group Dynamics – his research examines processes that affect team hierarchies (competition within teams, selection, deselection), and 2. Perceptual Cognitive Training – using technology, he examines different technologies to sharpen the cognitive skills of athletes and various other populations.