Supporting Champions Steve Ingham

This week I spoke to Dan Cable. Dan is a Professor Organisational Behaviour at London Business School specialising in research and teaching focus on change, organisational culture, leadership mindset. Dan has a new book out called Exceptional, which I must admit was my favourite read of 2020. You might assume from the title and from Dan’s background that the book is about aspiring, goals, striving higher - which I admit was why I got in touch with Dan to speak to him. But the book is so much more than that, for starters Dan begins by sharing his experience of fighting and overcoming cancer, how this propelled him to ask more fundamental questions about his existence and how we can all back ourselves, building on what we have experienced, recognise our inner strengths rather giving ourselves a hard time.
I loved this conversation and I hope it is just the tonic for starting off 2021. Dan is so full of energy, enthusiasm, wisdom and knowledge about how we can all flourish.
 
Notes
Dan discusses his motivation behind writing the book
Post traumatic growth and the harsh insight that something like cancer can give you
Life highlight reels
Being energised, self efficacy and being noticed
Re-humanising the workforce
Meta processing
The stories we tell ourselves about who we are have a way of coming true
The interrelated structure of reality
 
Links
Give Dan a follow in Twitter
https://twitter.com/DanCable1
Dan’s website where you’ll find details about his book.
http://dan-cable.com/
 
Steve Ingham on Twitter www.twitter.com/ingham_steve
Supporting Champions on;
Twitter www.twitter.com/support_champs
Linkedin, www.linkedin.com/company/supporting-champions
Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/supportingchampions
If you’re ambitious to work in sports performance, and you realise that there’s no golden ticket to the chocolate factory – that you have to learn and develop and build a network of collaborators to get there – then sign up for our Graduate Membership today – go to http://supportingchampions.co.uk/membership/ and enrol. We’ll look forward to connecting with you there.
 
If you’re looking for some coaching support or some virtual team development help to support you to get to the next level in work, life or sport then take a look at https://supportingchampions.co.uk/coaching-mentoring/
or drop us a note at enquiries@supportingchampions.co.uk then you can sign up for a free consultation to explore which package is right for you.

This week I speak with Lizzy Yarnold. Lizzy is double Olympic Champion in that chilled out sporting event Bob Skeleton. Lizzy was spotted through a talent identification scheme, selected to be part of the development team for skeleton racing and rose to competitive on the world stage, World Cup winner and took the Olympic gold in Sochi in 2014.
Lizzy discusses the journey towards that gold, how she was able to channel some of the talents she already had, how she could focus under pressure and take the step to the highest heights in the sport. 
She also discusses burning out, needing to take time out from the grind of the sport to orient herself to what is important to her and so refresh herself to take a different approach to trying to win again in Pyeongchang in 2018, which she did, but with a flurry of physical and mental challenges.
Lizzy is thoughtful, fun, softly spoken, ever recognising the collective contribution of those who supported her to perform - but what's always present is a steal, grit, commitment to being a student of her craft her event, and a fiendish ability to compete.
 
Show notes
Sharing her experience through the selection process for skeleton via Girls for Gold 
Trying to fit in and get her foot in the door with Skeleton
Lizzy can switch on her competitive focus
The bleakness of training
Lizzy discusses her winning run in Sochi
The support team and how they were paramount to her success
Lizzy discusses her burnout as an athlete
Becoming more than ‘an athlete’
The critical review and ownership of training
Life after skeleton
 
Links
Lizzy on Twitter https://twitter.com/lizyarnold
Lizzy's website https://lizzyyarnold.com/
 
Steve Ingham on Twitter www.twitter.com/ingham_steve
Supporting Champions on;
Twitter www.twitter.com/support_champs
Linkedin, www.linkedin.com/company/supporting-champions
Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/supportingchampions
If you’re ambitious to work in sports performance, and you realise that there’s no golden ticket to the chocolate factory – that you have to learn and develop and build a network of collaborators to get there – then sign up for our Graduate Membership today – go to http://supportingchampions.co.uk/membership/ and enrol. We’ll look forward to connecting with you there.
If you’re looking for some coaching support or some virtual team development help to support you to get to the next level in work, life or sport then take a look at https://supportingchampions.co.uk/coaching-mentoring/
or drop us a note at enquiries@supportingchampions.co.uk then you can sign up for a free consultation to explore which package is right for you.
 
 

This week’s guest is Stuart Worden, Principal of the Brit School. The BRIT (British Record Industry Trust) School is a performing arts and technology school in Croydon, South London and free to attend. But this is no ordinary performing arts school. The alumni read like a who’s who of music, dance, film and production;
Singers - Adele, The Feeling, Leona Lewis, Katie Melua, Jessie J, 
Actors - Cush Jumbo, Tom Holland, Cleve September, 
Dancers - Twist and Pulse, 
Youtube comedians - Percelle Ascot, Joivan Wade
Many more students come through the school who we wouldn’t know, but are the people that set the lighting for concerts or stage shows, write poetry that maybe we haven’t yet read or adapt screen plays that we have yet seen.
So how does a performing arts school support the talent that comes through its doors? How do the school teachers select people to attend? 
In this discussion with Stuart, he shares the values, philosophies, challenges that he and many of the incredibly talented teachers create. What lies at the centre of the discussion that you’ll hear is about environment and how the very sense of a place and what it lives for how it feels - can be a force for the development of incredible performance and people who want to make a difference in this world.
This all against a backdrop of the arts being profoundly undervalued in educational systems around the world and under great threat during the restrictions on gatherings with the coronavirus pandemic.
Stuart has such passion and conviction, his approach seemed to me to be deeply caring about how we should support young people. I found his outlook and insights enriching, as I could feel my worldview being enhanced with every answer he gave. By the end of the discussion I was genuinely enlightened. 
 
Notes
How well the students have responded to the strange times
Exploring specialisation or exploring the whole creative process
The process of applying to joining the Brit School
Artists fundamentally need to be able to display empathy
The importance of activism
What do the Brit School look for in people?
Working hard and realism
Advocacy and mentoring of students
How non-uniform reduces barriers
Rules and regulations
Alumni such as Tom Holland, Tuwaine Barrett enjoy returning and meeting the current students 
The Alumni of the Brit school and how they still contribute to the school
The destination and results are not as interesting as the journey
Stuart’s ambitions for the Brit School and the future
 
Links
https://twitter.com/Stuartworden
https://twitter.com/TheBRITSchool
https://www.instagram.com/thebritschool/
Contribute to the school
https://cafdonate.cafonline.org/11242
 
Steve Ingham on Twitter www.twitter.com/ingham_steve
Supporting Champions on;
Twitter www.twitter.com/support_champs
Linkedin, www.linkedin.com/company/supporting-champions
Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/supportingchampions
If you’re looking for some coaching support or some virtual team development help to support you to get to the next level in work, life or sport then take a look at https://supportingchampions.co.uk/coaching-mentoring/
or drop us a note at enquiries@supportingchampions.co.uk then you can sign up for a free consultation to explore which package is right for you.
If you’re ambitious to work in sports performance, and you realise that there’s no golden ticket to the chocolate factory – that you have to learn and develop and build a network of collaborators to get there – then sign up for our Graduate Membership today – go to http://supportingchampions.co.uk/membership/ and enrol. We’ll look forward to connecting with you there.
 

This week’s guest is Professor Mark Williams who has spent his professional career understanding the neural and psychological aspects of acquiring skills and developing expertise. Mark has recently published a fascinating book called “The Best”. The subtitle of the book captures your attention though, “How elite athlete are made”. Now you might starting jumping to conclusions that the book tends towards the nurture side of nature vs nurture, but you’d be mistaken. Mark and his co-author Tim Wigmore weave a narrative from the social, economic, environmental and family factors that contribute to success. And in this discussion I explore many of these concepts but ask Mark given that we have a certain set of cards dealt to us, what can we do as athletes, coaches, parents and supporting members of the cast to enable others to succeed, enable others to grow especially during a disruptive pandemic.
Enjoy the pod.
 
Notes
Does Mark constantly analyse performance and expertise?
What is expertise?
Sibling advantage
Maintaining an optimal learning environment in lockdown
Using time in lockdown wisely to hone our weaknesses
The differences between performance and learning, variations in briefing levels of challenge and reflection
Helicopter parenting
How to enable athletes to live a life well outside of sport
Personal effectiveness and developing successful teams
The joint curation of group rules, norms and behaviours, enables the agreed consequences of breaking the group agreements
 
Links
Take a look at Mark’s new book, ‘The best; How elite athletes are made’.
https://www.markwilliamssportsscience.com/
Steve Ingham on Twitter www.twitter.com/ingham_steve
Supporting Champions on;
Twitter www.twitter.com/support_champs
Linkedin, www.linkedin.com/company/supporting-champions
Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/supportingchampions
If you’re ambitious to work in sports performance, and you realise that there’s no golden ticket to the chocolate factory – that you have to learn and develop and build a network of collaborators to get there – then sign up for our Graduate Membership today – go to http://supportingchampions.co.uk/membership/ and enrol. We’ll look forward to connecting with you there.
If you’re looking for some coaching support or some virtual team development help to support you to get to the next level in work, life or sport then take a look at https://supportingchampions.co.uk/coaching-mentoring/
or drop us a note at enquiries@supportingchampions.co.uk then you can sign up for a free consultation to explore which package is right for you.
 

This week we have two guests, Mark Richardson and Marcus Smith. Mark Richardson is the drummer for the band Skunk Anansie, a band that were figureheads of the Britrock explosion in the mid-nineties, with defining songs Weak and Hedonism and remain a highly influential band 25 years since they were formed.
Dr Marcus Smith is Reader in Sport and Exercise Physiology at the University of Chichester, with background of supporting elite athletes, especially boxers to Olympic success but Marcus loves his music too and as you’ll hear he became curious about how hard drummers work while on stage. This led to him contacting Clem Burke the drummer of Blondie and from there a fascinating project was struck up involving quantification of the physiological demand of performing Their work began to gain momentum and the Clem Burke Drumming Project was founded. And Mark Richardson got involved in the project because in music circles he was known as one of the most ferocious drummers about.
In the conversation, Mark describes his early career, how he found drumming as an outlet, how exploring his own performance with Marcus has opened up his thinking and practice to a much healthier, sustainable way of approaching the demands of performing on stage or touring. They also both share some wonderful spin-offs that the project has had in supporting children with autism too (see the links below).
Make sure you listen right to the end of the episode where you can listen to Mark performing the drumming for "Tear the place up" (courtesy of Skunk Anansie and reproduced with permission)
 
This episode is sponsored by Junius, a multi-award winning, health food + drinks company. Junius have made a superb range of plant-based juices. We’ve partnered with Junius so that you can benefit from a 10% discount on your first order from a range of themed boxes of 7 juices. When you go to the checkout at wearejunius.com/shop  make sure you enter the exclusive code Champions10.
(Disclosure: Affiliate links are used for each product that we are an affiliate of, which means that if you click that link and subsequently make a purchase, we will earn a commission. You pay nothing extra; any commission we earn comes at no additional cost to you.)
 
Show notes
Drawing comparisons between performers and understanding of what is performance
Marcus discusses how he became interested in music; Blondie & Clem Burke the drummer. PhD with Olympic boxers and sport science.
Heart rate data collection of Clem drumming
Mark - the baddest hardest hitting rock drummer
Marcus discusses why he was fascinated by drummers and specifically fatigue
Mark discussed his childhood and how physical activity helped him not misbehave
Alcoholism, AA meetings and therapy, learning to get fit and stay healthy
The similarities between Premier League football players and drummer
The dichotomy between the perception a=of a having a dream job and the reality of the demands
The need to look after self pre-tour, including fitness, food and mentally
Marcus discussed the importance of asking questions and the person above the numbers
Learning to accept when ‘good enough’
The importance of collaboration and surrounding yourself with people more intelligent than you
Communication through movement and sound reaching out to kids with autism and the benefits of drumming
Outro of Mark playing “Tear the place up” (courtesy of Skunk Anansie and reproduced with permission)
 
Links
If you’re ambitious to work in sports performance, and you realise that there’s no golden ticket to the chocolate factory – that you have to learn and develop and build a network of collaborators to get there – then sign up for our Graduate Membership today – go to http://supportingchampions.co.uk/membership/ and enrol. We’ll look forward to connecting with you there.
Connect with Marcus on Twitter on https

This week’s guest is Peter Vint. I’d got in touch with Peter with the full intention of discussing analytics, and the trend towards data and to fully explore the wave of interest, activity and investment in capture, understanding and use of information – and we do explore this especially as he has directed and delivered this function at the highest level at the USOC and in the Ineos sub 2 hour marathon project with Eliud Kipchoge. And now Peter is Chief of Sport at USA Volleyball – so has a much broader leadership role.
But I can’t say we spent the whole conversation discussing data – that’s because Peter is such an interesting person that we ended up exploring adapting to the pandemic, culture, long-term athlete development to name a few areas. So I promise you I’ll be exploring information and data in more detail in future episodes, but in the meantime enjoy a free ranging conversation with someone who over the last ten years of knowing Peter, it’s become apparent to me, that he is a luminary, a source of deep insight and knowledge and philosophy.
 
This episode is sponsored by Junius, a multi-award winning, health food + drinks company. Junius have made a superb range of plant-based juices. We’ve partnered with Junius so that you can benefit from a 10% discount on your first order from a range of themed boxes of 7 juices. When you go to the checkout at wearejunius.com/shop  make sure you enter the exclusive code Champions10.
(Disclosure: Affiliate links are used for each product that we are an affiliate of, which means that if you click that link and subsequently make a purchase, we will earn a commission. You pay nothing extra; any commission we earn comes at no additional cost to you.)
 
Show notes 
As Chief of Sport at USA Volleyball Peter discusses how COVID affecting the year?
The culture of pay-to-play in youth sport
What could, and should, youth sport look like?
Peter discusses the need of sports people to achieve something very special and the technology that supports these feats
The gap between what we know and what we have and how do we make it useful and impactful
The Ineos Project
Deterministic approach becomes probabilistic
 
Links
Follow Peter on Twitter https://twitter.com/PeterVint
Steve Ingham on Twitter www.twitter.com/ingham_steve
Supporting Champions on;
Twitter www.twitter.com/support_champs
Linkedin, www.linkedin.com/company/supporting-champions
Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/supportingchampions
Graduate Membership enrolments are open for students and graduates to up their skills, join in the conversation about what’s on their mind and to network and connect. If you would like to sign up go to https://supportingchampions.co.uk/membership/
If you’re looking for some coaching support or some virtual team development help to support you to get to the next level in work, life or sport then take a look at https://supportingchampions.co.uk/coaching-mentoring/
or drop us a note at enquiries@supportingchampions.co.uk then you can sign up for a free consultation to explore which package is right for you.