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ISESA Podcast
Helping Young Players Thrive: The Psychology of Good Coaching
What does good coaching actually look like when working with children and young people?
In this episode, Bruce is joined by Patricia Jackman from the University of Lincoln to explore how psychology can help coaches create positive, engaging and developmentally appropriate environments for young athletes. Patricia is one of the researchers behind SÍOL na nÓige, a psychologically informed coaching framework developed in the context of Gaelic games, but with principles that can be applied across youth sport. They discuss why good youth coaching should extend beyond winning and performance, and explore practical ways coaches can support fun and enjoyment, motivation, autonomy, strong coach-player relationships, belonging, personal development and long-term participation. The conversation also gets very practical: how should a coach respond when a player is losing confidence? What do you do with a talented player who dominates a session? How should you respond after a heavy defeat? And what small changes could coaches make at their very next training session? A useful episode for coaches, parents, coach educators, sport scientists and anyone involved in youth sport.
Topics include:
- What good youth coaching should actually achieve
- The SÍOL na nÓige framework
- Why fun and challenge are not opposites
- Giving young athletes autonomy
- Building coach-player relationships through small interactions
- Creating intrinsic motivation and a mastery climate
- Belonging, playing time and inclusion
- Managing parents and wider club expectations
- Practical responses to common coaching situations
Patricia's central message is simple: psychologically informed coaching does not necessarily mean doing more — it means being more deliberate about the environment and interactions we create for young people.
Resources:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21520704.2024.2441849
https://www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2025/0613/1495965-gaa-underage-players-coaching-psychology/
https://www.gaa.ie/article/siol-na-noige-how-we-can-best-grow-our-young-gaelic-games-players
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
01:06 What does good youth coaching look like?
08:42 What do great youth coaches do differently?
11:15 Introducing SÍOL na nÓige
17:39 Fun, challenge and avoiding overcoaching
23:20 Autonomy and player voice
29:06 Building strong coach-player relationships
36:26 Motivation: being your best, not the best
39:53 Belonging and inclusion
42:57 Playing time and participation
45:37 Parents, clubs and the wider environment
48:47 Practical coaching scenarios
55:25 One change for your next training session
57:24 Closing thoughts
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