Libsyn Directory

#312 Dr Sebastian Harenberg - Exploring Positional Competition

Release Date: 01/20/2025

#315 Dr Alex Auerbach - The Pursuit of Excellence

The Sport Psych Show

I’m delighted to speak to Dr Alex Auerbach in this week’s episode. Alex is a performance psychologist working with the best athletes in the world in the NBA, NFL, MLB, and Olympians, as well as high-performers in other domains like elite military units, Fortune 5 companies, and venture-backed start-ups. Alex was formerly Director of Wellness and Development for the Toronto Raptors, where he was responsible for all things mental health, mental performance and off-court development for players and staff. Alex has worked with NCAA Division-I schools in the Pac-12, ACC, Big 12, and Conference...

#314 Dr Matthew Andrew - Developmental Activities that Underpin Expert Performance

The Sport Psych Show

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.

#313 Dr Hillary Cauthen - Supporting Players Through Trauma

The Sport Psych Show

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...

#312 Dr Sebastian Harenberg - Exploring Positional Competition

The Sport Psych Show

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...

#311 Dr Caz Nahman & Dr Andrew Kirkland - Considering Language and Environments for Good Mental Health

The Sport Psych Show

I’m delighted to speak to Dr Caz Nahman and Dr Andrew Kirkland in this week’s episode. We discuss the role of language and the environment when considering mental health in sport. Caz is a Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist. Caz has also completed additional training in sport psychiatry with the ISSP (International Society for Sport Psychiatry) and is currently Deputy Chair of the Royal College of Psychiatry Sports and Exercise Psychiatry Special Interest Group. Caz has experience working within a general child and adolescent setting as well as working in in-patient and...

#310 Dr Sam Thrower & Prof Chris Harwood - Developing Parent Education and Support Strategies in Youth Sport

The Sport Psych Show

I’m delighted to speak with Dr Sam Thrower and Prof Chris Harwood this week. We discuss parent education and support strategies in youth sport. Sam is a Senior Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Psychology at Oxford Brookes University. His main research interests lie in the area of youth sport and specifically the psychosocial development of young athletes. He is particularly interested in topics such as parenting in sport, sport-confidence, motivational climates and stress and coping. Sam’s research in these areas has been published in a range of leading international journals including:...

#309 Rusty Earnshaw & Danny Newcombe - Coaching Skills Toolbox

The Sport Psych Show

I’m delighted to speak with Rusty Earnshaw and Danny Newcombe on this week’s episode. Rusty is a coach and former professional rugby union player. Rusty has played Premiership rugby with , and , winning the European Cup whilst at Bath. In 2000 he was selected to play for the . And he also represented England on the IRB Sevens circuit. Since his playing days he has held various positions at the Rugby Football Union, including International Performance Coach. He is now Director at The Magic Academy, which works across sport and business supporting the...

#308 Johnny Gorman - Reflections on Being Released

The Sport Psych Show

I’m delighted to speak with Johnny Gorman this week. Johnny is a trainee clinical psychologist and former professional footballer. We speak about the experiences of footballers who were released from clubs at a young age and the impact this had on them, a topic Johnny has recently published a paper on entitled “Inside the football factory: young players’ reflections on being ‘released’”. There is considerable research on senior players’ mental health outcomes following retirement. However, less attention has been paid to the greater numbers of young players who are...

#307 Dr Thomas Simpson - Utilising OPTIMAL Theory in your Coaching Practice

The Sport Psych Show

I’m delighted to speak with Dr Thomas Simpson this week. Thomas is a lecturer in Motor Learning and Skill Acquisition at Edge Hill University. He is interested in how motor learning and motor skill acquisition in children can be optimised through attentional and motivational factors. Thomas obtained his BSc in Sport and Exercise Science and his PhD at Edge Hill University. In this episode we discuss a paper Thomas co-wrote which examined the use of OPTIMAL Instructions and Feedback in Physical Education Settings. Here, OPTIMAL stands for Optimizing Performance through Intrinsic...

#306 Dr Scott McLean - Complexity and Systems Thinking in Sport

The Sport Psych Show

I’m delighted to speak with Dr Scott McLean this week. Scott is a Senior Research Fellow and the theme leader for Sport and Outdoor Recreation at the Centre for Human Factors and Sociotechnical Systems (CHFSTS) at the University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia. Scott has a background in Exercise Science (MSc, BExSc) and obtained his PhD applying Human Factors and Ergonomics methods in sport, in which he received the David Ferguson Award from the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society of Australia for the best PhD thesis. His research spans a broad range of domains...

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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.

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