Talking Mental Skills

Ben Parker has run in Ultra-marathons, done Ironman triathlons and is now a professional running coach. He is ranked in the top 5 Ironman athletes in the UK and helps others all over the world to achieve their health and fitness goals with his new business called 'Runna'. Ben gave us some great insight into some mental skills he uses in his events to prepare, endure and overcome the challenges they present. He also discusses how we can help others from a coaching perspective in terms of motivation, challenging athletes and goal setting.

This week we welcomed South African professional golfer Dean O’Riley onto talking mental skills to discuss all things mental skills in golf. Dean has just come off placing 8th this weekend on the Sunshine Tour in South Africa. Dean took us through his golfing journey starting out at 5 years old. He was the number 1 amateur player in South Africa for 3 years before turning pro at 21 years old. He went through an injury to his knee putting him out the game for a while. Dean explains how his journey and experience including facing adversity has helped him to develop his mental skills toolbox that is helping him to perform and understand himself and his game.

Dean Furman is a professional footballer who has been in the game for over 20 years. He has captained South Africa National team making 56 international caps. He started his career at Chelsea FC in their academy before getting his first professional contract at Rangers in the Scottish Premier League. He's played for Bradford FC, Oldham FC, Doncaster FC, SuperSport United and Carlisle to name a few. It is really interesting to hear what he has to say about the mental side of football and his journey through the professional environment.

Colin Ingram is a professional cricketer who currently plays for Glamorgan County Cricket Club. He has played international cricket for South Africa as well as featuring in some of the worlds biggest T20 leagues, such as the IPL and Big Bash. With nearly 20 years of experience behind him Colin talks about his journey through professional cricket and his relationship with mental skills. Covering topics such as high pressure scenarios, dealing with failure and Colin's positive mindset, there are countless aspects within our chat with Colin that can help people understand how an elite athlete uses mental skills to better their performance.

The first episode of talking mental skills where Steven Reingold and Kiran Carlson discuss what the podcast is about and what it might do to help people in the world of sport. Discussions about what mental skills mean to them and their journey through elite sport give an insight to their relationship to the topic and how important it is to them.