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Episode 104: Jo Stone, Julie-ann James, and Paul Thompson - Swimming Provider Panel

Release Date: 04/21/2023

Episode 128: Gary Laybourne - Coach Core

The Drive Phase Podcast

Today’s episode sees Andrew Hicks stepping in for James to welcome back a special guest, Gary Laybourne, the CEO of Coach Core. Known for his signature mix of humor, insight, and a true passion for social change, Gary shares his journey and his vision for transforming communities through sport. His dedication goes beyond building careers; he’s redefining what it means to make a difference and reshaping communities across the UK. Founded in 2012, Coach Core isn’t an average apprenticeship program. It’s a groundbreaking charity focused on providing young people from challenging...

Episode 127: Anne-Marie Martin - diddi dance

The Drive Phase Podcast

In this episode, James Moore is joined by Anne-Marie Martin, the founder and franchisor of diddi dance, a revolutionary preschool dance franchise that’s captured the imaginations of babies and toddlers across the UK. Drawing from her experience as a professional dancer, Anne-Marie transformed her passion for movement into a thriving business. Through her innovative and fun approach, diddi dance has introduced toddlers to the joys of dance, inspiring a love of movement that lasts a lifetime. As a board member of the CAA, she is a focal member of an organisation, offering activity providers...

Episode 126: Joe Lowther - Kick London

The Drive Phase Podcast

In this episode, James invites Joe Lowther, the CEO of KICK, a man whose faith and passion have driven him to transform the lives of countless children, regardless of their background or faith. A decade ago, Joe made a life-changing decision to quit his job and join a team of seven at Kick London. Since then, he has steered the organization into a thriving national non-profit dedicated to offering hope and a future to young people. KICK, originally founded by a small church in Richmond, is no ordinary organization. It’s a movement that blends sports with support, fuelled by God’s love, to...

Episode 125: Mike Matera - Beestera Soccer Training

The Drive Phase Podcast

In today's episode, James speaks to Mike Matera, a former professional footballer for the Western Mass Professional Soccer team, a coach, and co-founder of Beestera Soccer Training. With a passion for soccer and teaching, Mike boasts of a coaching career and a Masters in Physical Education. From the mutual passion with his partner regarding development of an individual in a group setting, a club-neutral, supplemental training experience was established: Beestera. A soccer training company with the vision to change player development Beestera Soccer Training recognizes the limitations of...

Episode 124: Grace McNamara and Louise O’Mahony - Exercise Intelligence (EXI)

The Drive Phase Podcast

In today's episode, James speaks with Grace McNamara, Chief Executive Officer at EXI, and Louise O’Mahony, Head of Consumer Success at the innovative care delivery company. Both Grace and Louise have extensive experience in health, fitness, and care delivery, and they recognized a gap in healthcare where professionals often provide recommendations without personalized programs. To address this, they co-founded Exercise Intelligence (EXI), a MedTech company that empowers certified professionals to prescribe tailored exercise programs efficiently and effectively for individuals with multiple...

EP123: Craig Jones, Andrew Hicks, and Rob Brown - UK Wraparound Childcare

The Drive Phase Podcast

In today's episode, James features an amazing trio with bursting expertise in Wraparound childcare within the sports corporate sphere. Meet Craig Jones, who has over 2 decades of experience working with children and young people within education as well as the sports, and fitness industries and is now serving as the Chief Child Experience Officer at Junior Adventures Group UK, UK's largest provider of Wraparound childcare. Joining him is Rob Brown, who is on a mission to improve the employability of sports students and fast-track them into their ideal careers as the Managing Director of First...

Episode 122: Graeme Eaglesham - Future Kids

The Drive Phase Podcast

In today's episode, James speaks to Graeme Eaglesham, the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer at Future Kids. Graeme is a former professional soccer player, coach, and youth trainer who has held positions such as Sports Education Manager at Liverpool International Academy and assistant coach at Bellevue University. Additionally, he is an athlete for Gymshark, one of the world's largest fitness apparel companies. Through Future Kids, a non-profit organization based in Omaha, Nebraska, they transform generosity from affluent neighborhoods into providing a variety of sports programs...

Episode 121: Paul Lawrence - Challenger Sports

The Drive Phase Podcast

In today's episode, James speaks to Paul Lawrence, the CEO at Challenger Sports and Teamwear. Paul is also a sports instructor and women's head coach, having made significant contributions to teams like Indiana State, Florida Southern College, and Knox College. With the goal of increasing the number of soccer campers while positively impacting children's lives through soccer, Challenger Sports was established in 1985. Over the years, they have become the most sought-after soccer camp in the United States, having served hundreds of thousands of soccer players. In addition to soccer...

Episode 120: Niall Quinn - Team Taca

The Drive Phase Podcast

In today's episode, James speaks with Niall Quinn, an Irish former professional footballer who played top-flight football for Arsenal, Manchester City, and Sunderland. With 92 caps, Niall stands as Ireland's second-highest goalscorer of all time. He has also served as a football manager, sports television pundit at Sky Sports for over a decade, and as an interim Deputy CEO of the Football Association of Ireland (FAI). With many accomplishments to his name, he is also the founder and president of Team Taca, a private podcast that collaborates with youth soccer clubs to produce...

Episode 119: Business & Acquisitions Panel - Dean Horridge, Chris Irwin, Craig Brennan

The Drive Phase Podcast

In today's episode, James invites back previous guests for an insightful panel discussion, of three business titans from both sides of the Mergers and acquisitions process. Craig Brennan, the founder, and CEO of The Little Sports Group is building a business and growing through acquisition; Dean Horidge, the former founder of Fit for Sports and is now CEO and founder of Thinkably and Chris Irwin, the founder of Ed Start Group and current CCO at Salford Red Devils. Listen in as the quad panel unravels valuable insights delving deep from their experience and positions in business...

More Episodes

Today’s episode is unique. James invites a panel of professionals within the children's swimming activities sector; Jo Stone, the co-founder of Puddle Ducks, Paul Thompson, an entrepreneur, founder, and executive chairman of Water Babies, and the swimming industry pioneer, Julie -ann James of Aqua Babies Global. They have a great conversation debating current issues in the baby swimming industry, ranging from the difficulties in recruitment and training of apprentice swim instructors, to energy bills and how they're affecting kids' access to swimming pools. If you’re looking for information on how to navigate this unique niche as a startup, tune in!

Tune in as the panel speaks about:

Biggest challenges they're facing in the baby swimming Industry at the moment
How they are going around huge demand for their services from parents
The most innovative solutions they've seen
The struggle in recruitment and training of apprentice teachers into the industry and the approaches they're taking
Their reasoning behind the huge contrast in terms of employment after the Covids economic downturn
How they're using technology in their practice and business (AI swimming tutor)
Challenges in infrastructure technology (pools) more around the UK
The one thing they'll pick to solve most of these challenges
Golden nuggets for independent providers and startups around the swimming niche