The Happy Athlete Rachel McCann

In this exciting episode, Rachel reconnects with her childhood friend and now Olympic champion, Grace Prendergast, for a second enlightening conversation. Together, they delve into the world of habit-building for excellence, explore the intricacies of working with your own mindset, and uncover the transformative power of self-awareness.
Tune in as Rachel and Grace share invaluable insights and personal anecdotes that shed light on how to cultivate habits that drive excellence, harness the potential of your own mind, and gain a deeper understanding of yourself. Whether you're striving for success in sports, career, or life in general, this episode promises to provide you with actionable wisdom that can help you achieve your goals and unlock your true potential.
 
 

Have you ever sturggled in your role as a coach? This episode can help with that. 
On today's episode, Rachel sat down with World cup winning Coach Shane McLeod. With a distinguished title like "World Coach of the Year" and an Olympic triumph as the coach of the Belgian Men's Hockey Team, Shane's expertise is clear.
In this conversation, Shane shares his profound insights on cultivating a winning mindset, empowering athletes to reach their full potential, and the key elements behind building a world-class team culture.
"A good coach can change a game. A great coach can change a life."
- John Wooden

Dave Wood trains some of the most elite athletes in the world in the art of mastering the mind to enable performance. Some of the athletes he works with include renowned UFC fighter, Israel Adaysanya, professional rugby players and the New Zealand America's cup team. In this episode he imparts invaluable wisdom on navigating pressure and maintaining composure when confronted with discomforting circumstances. He delves into the significance of body awareness and control, illuminating how these elements empower athletes to conquer mental obstacles and actualize their aspirations.
Throughout the episode, Dave generously shares practical tips and strategies that transcend the realm of sports, offering applicable insights for individuals from all walks of life. Whether you're an athlete or not, you'll discover how to cultivate a winning mindset, effectively manage stress and anxiety, and sustain unwavering focus and concentration, even amidst the most demanding moments.

Our featured guest in this episode is Saxon Conner, an esteemed HPB Surgeon at Christchurch Hospital in New Zealand with extensive experience in the medical field. Saxon's years of experience have given him a wealth of knowledge on high-performance, working under pressure, and building high-performing teams.

In this episode, Saxon provides valuable insights on how to create high-performing teams, based on his experiences and expertise gained in the surgical theatre. He also shares his valuable insights on working under pressure and dealing with challenging events such as the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, offering a unique perspective that can be applied to sports performance and beyond.

Topics covered:
- Performing under pressure. 
- Solving complex problems. 
- Developing high performance teams. 
- Managing mistakes and mindset mastery. 

Sam Dakin, Olympic cyclist and business entrepreneur, joins Rachel for an incredibly honest chat around wellbeing, mental health, success and performing under pressure.

Sam speaks about his struggles with OCD and how it has changed his perspective on sport and life. An episode you dont want to miss if you are a young athlete or someone wanting to learn more about entrepreneurship.
Topics covered: Success and identity formation Building a successful culture and how to influence it Mental health Entrepeneurship

Do you have fear when you step out onto the sports field? Are you free? Do you want to be?
In this episode Rachel speaks with Clinical Psychologist and performance expert, David Gilbraith on how to have more authentic sports performances.
Episode topics include:
Working with fear Identity Mindset training and interventions An episode that will have you thinking once you listen.