Why mental frameworks are crucial in High Performance Sport

One of the biggest challenges I’m noticing in both academy and non-league football is not the lack of technical ability… it’s the lack of desire to really go through the process. Players today often want the outcome before they’ve endured the journey. Social media highlights, instant comparisons, and quick exits when things get tough are shaping a new breed of footballer. ⸻ 🚩 What I’m Seeing • Technically sound, but reluctant to grind through repetition. • Expectation of fast-tracked opportunities instead of steady development. • Struggles with resilience — bouncing back from mistakes, criticism, or even being benched. • Preference for “flash” moments over the unseen work (off-ball movement, pressing, positional discipline). ⸻ 🔍 Why This Matters for Us as Coaches Our role is no longer just teaching the game model, it’s re-teaching the value of process. Things like: • Delayed gratification → explaining that development takes seasons, not weeks. • Work before rewards → players must earn trust, not just expect it. • Character coaching → holding players accountable for habits, not just technique. • Culture building → creating environments where effort, resilience, and sacrifice are celebrated as much as flair. ⸻ 💡 My Belief The future of football belongs not just to the most talented, but to those willing to endure the long, unglamorous climb. Our challenge as coaches is to bridge that gap: to prepare this “new breed” for the realities of football, where shortcuts don’t exist. ⸻ 👉 Coaches: Are you noticing the same trend in your environment? • How do you balance patience with accountability? • What strategies are you using to instill resilience in today’s players?

I’ve coached amateur sport, semi-pro teams, kids, and adults. And whether it’s on the field or in business, here’s the one percenter that matters most: Your team must know you have their back. Welcome to #JTInTheRaw 2.28 where I chew thin on fitness businesses, as I help gym & studio owners escape the grind and enjoy predictable cash flow, a motivated team, and a business that runs without your constant firefighting. Today, getting 1% better performance from your team! When people feel supported, they make bold decisions. They step up. They take responsibility. And that’s the difference between just participating and actually winning. I learned this first-hand coaching a grand final. We won—but I copped criticism for being too loud and too passionate. Really? How can you be too passionate about backing your team? Every single player on that court knew I was in their corner. That’s what mattered. Here’s the thing: * On the field—or in the business arena—you support your team 100%. * Once the whistle blows or the day/week/month ends, that’s when you analyse, adjust, and refine. I’d much rather a team make bold decisions in the moment than freeze and make none at all. And if you can’t trust your people when the pressure’s on, then you haven’t done the right prep at “training.” That’s the 1% difference. That’s leadership. This week, ask yourself: Does my team know I’ve got their back?

🤯 THE SHOCKING TRUTH ABOUT SPORTS PERFORMANCE We measure a fraction of what actually determines success. Think about it... Physical stats = Easy to track ✅ Wins/losses = Obvious ✅ Box scores = Clear data ✅ But what about the part that's INVISIBLE? Mindset under pressure 🧠 Team trust and chemistry 🤝 Mental resilience after setbacks 💪 Preparation quality and focus 🎯 Cultural health and communication 💬 The Problem: Coaches make million-dollar decisions on incomplete data. Athletes have no safe way to share what's really affecting their performance. Programs invest blindly in what they can see while ignoring what actually drives results. The Result → Underdeveloped athletes → Reactive coaching decisions → Wasted resources and missed potential → Preventable team breakdowns What if you could measure that intangible piece of the pie? What if athletes could safely share what's really going on mentally and emotionally? What if coaches had data on team culture, individual confidence, and mental preparation quality? Game-changer incoming. 👀 The future of sports isn't just about tracking what happens on the field. It's about understanding what drives everything that happens on the field. Are you ready to coach the whole athlete, not just the physical performance? Drop a 🧠 if you're ready to measure what actually matters. #SportsPerformance #CoachingRevolution #MentalTraining #TeamCulture #AthleteDevelopment #SportsScience #CoachingStrategy #MindsetMatters #TeamChemistry #SportsAnalytics #CoachingLife #AthleteSupport #PerformanceData #SportsLeadership #MentalPerformance

📢 New Research Spotlight + Coaching Insight When we were researching our new book, we came across a remarkable recent paper published in the International Journal of Sport Psychology. The study confirmed what many of us have experienced first-hand: the quality of the coach–athlete relationship directly predicts on-field performance in elite cricket. Researchers at Loughborough University tracked over 28,000 deliveries across the 2021 County Championship and Rachel Heyhoe Flint Trophy. They found that when athletes rated their coach–athlete relationship higher (in terms of closeness, commitment, and complementarity), their skill execution improved significantly. That is, they middled more balls! ✅ This is one of the first empirical studies to show that relationships aren’t just about “feeling good” — they translate into objective performance outcomes. This aligns directly with the message in my new book, Dynamic Coaching: A Playbook for Cricket Coaches, where we explore how building meaningful connections, gamifying practice, and supporting player well-being can unlock potential and drive success. 💡 Takeaway for coaches: Your greatest competitive advantage might not be a new drill or piece of technology—it’s the quality of the relationship you build with your players. 👉 If you’d like to explore practical ways to apply this in your coaching, check out Dynamic Coaching. Australian link: https://lnkd.in/gc--sKzV UK Link: https://lnkd.in/gJwkyUJv Phillips, K. I. E. R. A. N., Jowett, S., Krukowska-Burke, A., & Rhind, D. J. (2023). The quality of the coach-athlete relationship predicts objective performance in elite cricket. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 54(1), 32-47.

⚽ Coaches’ Match Day Effectiveness Match days are where all your preparation, planning, and player development come together. But effective coaching on match day isn’t just about shouting instructions or reacting emotionally — it’s about being observant, adaptable, and strategic. Here are some key areas to help guide your match day effectiveness 👇 🔹 Apply the 80/20 Rule Focus 80% on your own team’s preparation, organisation, and performance — and 20% the opposition’s tactics, style of play, and key players. Preparation and adaptability work collaboratively. 🔹 First 5–10 Minutes: Observe and Assess the game structure and flow Use the early stages of the game to identify the opponent’s formation and playing style. Ask yourself: - Is their setup impacting our approach - How can we manage, handle, or exploit what we see? 🔹 Use Targeted Sideline Communication to individuals and units Your sideline messages should link directly to your key coaching points and match day targets for the team and individuals. Clarity and consistency are more effective than constant communication. 🔹 Adapt and Adjust Where Needed Be proactive, not reactive. If the opposition is finding success in certain areas, identify what adjustments — tactical, technical, physical psych/social — might help regain superiority. 🔹 Recognise When You Have Superiority. If your team is dominant, can you strengthen your advantage? Can you further improve your dominance? Consider whether a change in formation, speed or style of play can help maintain or extend your dominance. Remember teams don’t dominate all of the game, so make it count when you are dominating! 🔹 Substitutions: Impact and Intent Timing is key. Substitutions should bring positive impact — energy, tactical advantage, or creates a challenge for the opponents which supports a positive change in the games momentum. 🎯 In summary: Match day effectiveness is about awareness, adaptability, and clarity of communication. The best coaches prepare with purpose but also manage and adapt with thought & intelligence. #Coaching #FootballDevelopment #MatchDayManagement #CoachEducation #Performance #Leadership What’s your thoughts? Adam Lawrence Anthony Hayes Seb Tidey Hamza Serrar Damian Matthew Ebun Thomas Zach Foster-Crouch David P. David W. Christopher Lock Rhys Williams Jason Pearce Temisan Williams MSc, BSc William Lee Simon Clark Simon Millington Danny Searle Dan Stimpson Mick McDuff Vincent Lee Kieran Culleton Nathan White Sports Connect UK Pro Perform UK Comment or share if you feel this is helpful 👍

Today, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone reminded us what happens when trust, confidence & preparation converge under pressure. 47.78 seconds. Fastest Women’s 400m time in 40 years. Championship gold. A moment built over semi-finals, doubts, tough weather, and huge transition (from the hurdles to flat). From a sport psychology lens, there are at least three lessons here worth holding onto: 1️⃣ Trust in your own narrative (and the work behind it). So often we are tempted by external expectations or comparisons. Sydney faced doubters when she moved into the flat 400m. But she leaned into the training, the small improvements, the belief in her capacity. Trust is not blind; it's earned over repetition, feedback & recognising your growth trajectory. 2️⃣ Confidence as a byproduct of consistent exposure to pressure. Semi-final: she runs 48.29 → breaks U.S. record. Final: delivers in the rain, against world-class fields. Those moments build self-efficacy. As Albert Bandura noted, mastery experiences are the most powerful source of confidence. Each time she “ran her race,” she reinforced a belief she could show up when it counted. 3️⃣ Performing when it matters means embracing the uncertainty. The conditions weren’t perfect. The expectations were high. The switch in event (hurdles → flat) invites uncertainty. Yet, rather than shrink, she leaned in. Psychological readiness isn’t the absence of fear or doubt—it’s knowing how to move through them. Preparation + mindset + trust in the plan + presence at the moment make the difference. For leaders, coaches, teams: what if more of our effort was invested not just in skills / systems, but in building trust (in people, in plans), confidence (through scaffolded challenge and meaningful feedback), and resilience under uncertainty? Because—as Sydney has shown—when you trust your process and believe in your preparation, you create a margin to perform when the spotlight hits. Congratulations, Sydney. A performance for the ages, and a reminder that greatness is as much mental as physical. 👟💪 🥇 #SportPsychology #Performance #Confidence #Trust #Athletics #SydneyMcLaughlinLevrone

Ever noticed how sports teach us about standards? ✨ Standards are not walls to keep people out — they are gates to let the right ones in. When you play sports as a hobby, the standards are simple: show up, enjoy the game, have fun. But once you step into competitions, the standards rise. Training becomes structured. Discipline, teamwork and strategy start to matter. Competing at the international level, the standards rise to their absolute peak — nutrition, rest, discipline, teamwork, resilience, mindset, consistency and preparation. Every detail counts: how you train, how you recover, how you communicate and how you handle pressure on and off the field. Excellence isn’t optional at this stage — it’s the baseline. The same is true in the workplace. High-performance teams don’t set standards to exclude — they set standards to win. ✅ Standards of excellence in the work we deliver. ✅ Standards of accountability in how we show up for each other. ✅ Standards of trust, respect and collaboration. Standards don’t shut people out — they draw the right people in. The ones who believes in the company vision and mission, embrace the culture and commit to playing at a higher level. Whether in sports or in business, standards aren’t walls. They’re gates — opening the way for the right people to join, perform and grow into a winning team. 🏆 👉 What standards guide your team to perform at its best? #HighPerformanceTeams #Leadership #Standards #WorkplaceCulture #Excellence

Think like a champion - Motivation Vs Discipline They say success begins with motivation, but that’s only the spark. It is discipline that drives the journey to success and separates the champions from the competitors. When heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk was asked how he stays driven, he responded simply: “I don’t have motivation. I have discipline.” That mindset isn’t unique to boxing. Consider global sports stars like David Beckham: He was already a gifted footballer, but what set him apart was endless repetition, free kicks, passing drills, and work on his weaker foot. Even when he “knew how to play,” he kept refining what worked. Or rugby legend Jonny Wilkinson, who was obsessive about his kicking technique, practising the same kick over and over under different conditions until it became second nature, even under extreme pressure. At work, we may not be preparing for a fight night or World Cup Final, but the principle is identical: discipline is what turns motivation into performance and goals into achievements. Here are three powerful habits anyone can practise to strengthen discipline in everyday life: 1. Start with small, non-negotiable routines - Pick one simple habit (e.g. making your bed or taking a daily walk) and commit to it without exception. Small wins build self-trust, which compounds into bigger discipline. 2. Use “implementation intentions” - Instead of vague goals (“I’ll exercise more”), set clear cues: “I will go for a run at 7am, right after I brush my teeth.” Linking habits to existing routines makes discipline automatic rather than willpower-driven. 3. Track progress and reflect regularly - Whether it’s a notebook, app, or calendar, tick off your habits daily. Reviewing progress weekly reinforces accountability and helps you adjust if you slip. Seeing progress is motivating, but recording it is what locks in discipline. In organisations, we often focus on motivation, but maybe we’ve got it wrong. Perhaps it’s discipline that truly drives performance. What do you think? What practical things could companies do to build discipline in their teams? Comment below. #leadership #success #leadershipdevelopment #HR #performance #motivation #discipline #talent #learninganddevelopment

The Number One Thing I've Learnt from Coaching Athletes First of all, that whilst their feats might seem superhuman, they themselves are very much flesh and blood like the rest of us. So it's not that. Have you considered how many mistakes an elite sportsperson makes? In their training, diet, matches, recovery, time-management... It can be as simple as a misplaced pass, taking the wrong medication or a misjudged comment. Not only that, but the potential cost of these mistakes? Deselection, funding, relationships, status, the respect of others, self-confidence, sponsorships... Imagine carrying around the knowledge of that, and still being asked to perform. How would you do it? Genuinely, ask yourselves for a moment, how would you do it? So what can we learn from what athletes actually do? In my experience, they use something we all have access to and is completely free. Their mindset and mentality. Ok Joe, but what does that mean and how do they build that? 🏅 First visualisation - mentally rehearsing elite performance, in doing so building neural pathways and priming the body and mind for success. 🗣️ Positive self-talk - affirmations of who they are and how they want to show up in specific situations. 🌟 Process-orientated goals - sure we would all like to win Wimbledon or the World Cup, but we are not in control of that. Instead athletes focus on shorter-term, specific, controllable behaviours that collectively lead to high performance. 🌋 Acknowledging pressure - understanding that they have the power to dismantle it through their mental strategies, such as controlled breathing, grounding techniques, and participating in simulated practice. These are things I work on with sportspeople and athletes of all levels, but also bring to the other forms of coaching that I do too. In the end, whether it’s sport, work, or life, the key to you being at your best, isn't talent or luck, it's mindset and having the tools to unlock it. #Coaching #InnerHero #Mindset #SportsCoaching #Athletes

One area from Masters degree which has always stuck with me is Cliff Mallett and Sergio Lara-Bercial’s work on Serial Winning Coaches. A brilliant study of what drives sustained success at the highest level. They identified 3 consistent pillars: 1️⃣ Vision - a clear and evolving philosophy that drives decisions. 2️⃣ People - deep investment in relationships, trust, and accountability. 3️⃣ Environment - structures and cultures that challenge and support growth. That’s elite coaching. But here’s the thing: these principles aren’t just for Olympic champions. At grassroots level, I’ve used the same framework when designing environments: 🔹 Vision doesn’t have to be a 50-page manifesto. It can be a 3-word mantra players repeat every week. 🔹 People means knowing when a player needs challenge, and when they need care. 🔹 Environment can be as simple as designing small-sided games that reward effort and collaboration. The gap between elite and grassroots isn’t about principles, it’s about knowing who you are coaching, what you are coaching, and how you're going to apply it. The best coaches borrow, adapt, make it their own to fit their own environment. Coaches: how do you translate big academic or elite insights into your daily environment? You can buy Cliff and Sergio's new book: Learning from Serial Winning Coaches: Caring Determination here: https://amzn.to/46q0EPR #SportsCoaching #CoachDevelopment #CoachingScience #SerialWinningCoaches #EnvironmentDesign