The Coaching Field

Sam Beveridge is the Women’s Team Manager for England and Great Britain Hockey, where she also works as a Coach Developer, playing a vital role in cultivating the next generation of elite coaches and athletes. With 17 years of teaching experience, she currently leads the management of the England and Great Britain Women’s Teams in Olympic and world-level competitions, offering invaluable insights into high-performance settings.Her coaching emphasises the development of intelligent, adaptable players while promoting a culture of continuous improvement both on and off the pitch. In our conversation we discussed Sam’s background in gymnastics and hockey. We also spoke about how to develop high performance teams, the value of everyone understanding their role in the team, and the impact of providing feedback when developing players and coaches. In our conversation, Sam referenced two books; Black Box Thinking by Matthew Syed Start with Why by Simon SinekThis podcast is sponsored by Ideal Bathrooms and Tiles @idealbathroomsireProduced by @cutdownstudios and @fractionleadership

Louise Nealon is a writer from Co. Kildare. She studied English literature in Trinity College Dublin, and then completed a Masters in Creative Writing at Queen’s University Belfast.Her first book , ‘Snowflake’ was published in 2021, and went straight to number one on the bestsellers list where it stayed for a number of weeks. It received many awards including Sunday Independent Newcomer of the Year at The An Post Irish Book Awards 2021, and the One Dublin One Book choice for 2024.Louise’s second book ‘ Everything that is beautiful’ has just been released and is high in the Irish fiction charts.Louise is a former camogie player with Cappagh camogie club, and intertwines her love of the sport and the GAA community in her writing.This podcast is sponsored by Ideal Bathrooms and Tiles @idealbathroomsireProduced by @cutdownstudios and @fractionleadership

Michael Fennelly is an eight-time All-Ireland hurling champion, former Offaly senior hurling manager, and recognised specialist in high performance. As Kilkenny GAA’s former Performance Lead and a Lecturer in Sport Science at Technological University of the Shannon (TUS), he combines elite sporting achievements with cutting-edge academic research to deliver engaging and impactful talks on leadership, performance, and teamwork. We chatted about the challenges that come with playing and, also managing, at intercounty level in the GAA, the impact coaching can have on players, and how he has developed his career since retiring from the Kilkenny team.This podcast is sponsored by Ideal Bathrooms and Tiles @idealbathroomsireProduced by @cutdownstudios and @fractionleadership

Niamh McGowan is the founder of McGowan Physio and she is one of a handful of specialist scoliosis physiotherapists in Ireland.Niamh captained Down to a memorable win over Fermanagh in 2014, and we discuss what it took to get there and how her sporting experiences have shaped her, and her business. We also discuss inequality within sport, and the unique challenges faced by female sports players, which often hinders their ability to compete at the highest level or reach their full potential.This podcast is sponsored by Ideal Bathrooms and Tiles @idealbathroomsireProduced by @cutdownstudios and @fractionleadership

While on the path to becoming a professional hockey player for England and Britain, my next guest ruptured her ACL and the dream imploded.Annie Nunn is a UK-based fitness coach and former high-level field and indoor hockey player who transitioned into sports science and personal training following her knee injury.Annie now runs a private gym and online personal training business where she focuses on athlete mindset, mental health, and strength training. Getting to where she is now was not a simple journey and she found the work ethic she had learned in professional hockey, did not necessarily benefit her as she changed career.She has changed her entire training philosophy and there is no more ‘go hard or go home’ she helps people to push at the right time, while supporting their lifestyle and overall health.

Lowry O’Mahony is the Clinical Director and physiotherapist behind Max Physio and Pilates, six physiotherapy and pilates clinics based in Cork. Lowry is also the founder of Maxsona Pilates, where she designs and manufactures pilate reformer machines.A former national showjumper, Lowry has both played and worked within many different sporting arenas including camogie and soccer. Our conversation covered everything from working with Munster Rugby, to managing maternity leave as a business owner, as well as why networking and PR is so important to small businesses.