In our latest Player Development Project webinar replay, we focus on coaching younger players. PDP Technical Advisor, Dan Wright is joined by two top academy coaches, Nathan Thomas and Nathan Philip. Nathan Thomas is currently the Lead Foundation Phase Coach at MK Dons and has experience coaching at Middlesborough, Arsenal and Brentford – he also holds the FA Advanced Youth Award. Nathan Philip holds both the UEFA A Licence and Advanced Youth Award, has worked across these age groups in both coaching and recruitment roles…
Interviews
Interviews with experts from around the world of coaching and player development.
In this Masterclass Webinar replay, the PDP team host Skill Acquisition and Coach Development expert, Ric Shuttleworth for a wide ranging discussion. Ric has worked at both the Australian Institute of Sport and with England Rugby as well as other top sporting organisations. Player Development’s Project’s coaching team of Dave Wright and Dan Wright sit down to tackle a number of topics with Ric, including: This is a fascinating and thought provoking conversation with a world leader in the area of skill acquisition. Bring your…
In our latest Masterclass Webinar we sit down to discuss the coach/athlete relationship with Keith and David Mayer, authors of Gold Dust: How to Become a More Effective Coach, Quickly. The focus of the conversation is how we build connections with young players, using empathy, understanding, patience and communication. Keith is has over 40 years coaching experience at a number of professional clubs and has worked as an FA Tutor. David is currently completing his UEFA A license and has experience in the USA and…
In this PDP Live Session, Brunswick City SC Head of Football, Ric Marchioli joins PDP Co-founder Dave Wright for a pitch side interview about his coaching approach and we observe a player-led warm up. This interview and live session provides insights into Ric Marchioli’s approach to coach and player development at Victorian NPL2 club, Brunswick City. Ric shares insights into the club’s methodology, coaching culture and the rationale for his approach as well as insights into a high tempo player-led warm up which focusses on…
In this Masterclass Webinar Replay, UEFA A licensed coaches Dave Wright and Dan Wright will co-host a discussion which helps coaches support individuals within their team. Dave and Dan will be joined by special guest, Graham Mills, Academy Coach at Southampton FC & Lecturer in Sports Coaching from Solent University. Graham, Dan and Dave have extensive player development experience in the English Academy system while Dan has also coached in Africa and Dave has worked in both Australia and New Zealand. This conversation focusses on:…
In this PDP webinar replay, the PDP team host Russell Earnshaw for an interactive conversation on a range of topics around coaching and youth development. Russell is a coach developer who has consulted with The FA, GB Hockey, Google, the Rugby Football League and British Swimming among others. He is the Co-founder of The Magic Academy, a platform that supports coaches. Russell is also a former coach of the England U18 rugby team and a former professional player. In this discussion, PDP Co-founder, Dave Wright…
In this Masterclass Webinar replay, the PDP team host top academy coaches, Mark Lyons and Tom Mallinson for an in depth discussion on academy football in England. Mark Lyons is the Pre-Academy Co-ordinator & Lead Coach at Leicester City FC and Tom Mallinson is a Professional Development Phase Coach at Nottingham Forest FC. Experienced Academy Coaches, Dan Wright and Dave Wright will host Tom and Mark for a round table discussion on professional academy football in the UK. All four of our expert panel met…
In this Player Development Project webinar replay, the PDP team present a webinar focussed on building possession and in particular, switching play. Hosted by Dave Wright with guest experts Dan Wright & James Coutts, we bring you a presentation with a number of practical sessions for you to adapt to your players. Topics to be covered for members during this conversation include: – What is switching play and why we do it– What principles may need to be applied?– Using lanes as a guide– Positional…
In this Masterclass Discussion, PDP Editor, Dave Wright sits down with Parkour coach, Ben Westbook and physiotherapist Jade Martin. Ben and Jade are experts in human movement and in this conversation we discuss injury prevention, functional movement, integrating variety into sports programs, specialisation and more. This is an insightful conversation with two innovators in youth development with some great tips for coaches and parents. Image Source: Liam Shaw on Unspalsh
In this Masterclass Discussion, PDP Lead Researcher, James Vaughan sits down with Professor Stephen Rollnick, an expert psychologist who has worked for the NHS & in sport. James & Stephen discuss team work and what opportunities sport provides to young people in expressing themselves, solving problems and learning. Stephen Rollnick is Honorary Distinguished Professor in the School of Medicine, Cardiff University. He was a practicing psychologist in the UK National Health Service for 16 years, and then became a teacher and researcher on the subject…
In this Masterclass Discussion PDP Editor, Dave Wright is joined by Head Coach of Auckland Aces Cricket team, Heinrich Malan to discuss a range of coaching topics. Heinrich is a highly successful young coach having one national titles with both Central Districts and most recently his Auckland Aces side in the 2019/20 Ford Trophy One Day Competition. Dave and Heinrich dive into a number of topics including the individual nature of cricket, the future game, specialist coaching, technique and managing athletes transitioning into the team…
Creativity values, culture, systems and control. What does it all mean and how does it impact coaching and sporting environments? In this Masterclass Discussion, PDP Editor, Dave Wright hosts Co-Founder of my fastest mile, Mark Upton alongside PDP Lead Researcher and AIK Academy Coach, James Vaughan. In this wide-ranging conversation, the guys discuss some of James’ Phd research and his recently published paper on creativity, as well as diving down a number of rabbit holes such as: This philosophical discussion will hopefully leave you considering…
Johan Cruyff changed the way football is played forever with Total Football and had a huge impact as a player and coach at Ajax and Barcelona. We’re excited to have founder of TOVO Academy, Todd Beane joining us to discuss the Cruyff Football philosophy and player development. In this Live Webinar Replay, PDP Editor, Dave Wright & PDP Lead Researcher James Vaughan host Todd as they discuss Cruyff philosophy and all things player development. Topics covered in this Masterclass are:
In this Masterclass Discussion, PDP Editor, Dave Wright is joined by Gordon MacLelland, the Founder of Working with Parents in Sport. Gordon and Dave dive into a discussion which includes practical advice for parents on how to support their children in sport, how clubs can better engage with parents, how to manage the car ride home and much more. Gordon has vast coaching and teaching experience and this discussion is essential viewing for coaches and clubs looking to better understand parental influence in youth sport….
In this Masterclass Discussion Dave Wright sits down with motivational researcher and rugby coach, Jonny McMurtry. Jonny discusses his research into motivation and participation in youth sport. Jonny and Dave cover a number of topics including athlete motivation, autonomy supportive environments, talent identification and coach behaviour. This is another fascinating discussion around psychology and youth development not to be missed. Show Notes 0:00 – 2:00: Introduction and upcoming Rugby World Cup predictions 2:00 – 5:35: Background in Rugby and coaching 5:35 – 8:04: Why player…
In this Masterclass Discussion, Dr. Craig Harrison is hosted by PDP Editor, Dave Wright for a wide ranging conversation on youth development, skill acquisition and the importance of play in the learning process for children. Craig and Dave cover a range of topics including sports science and how it can be integrated in youth settings, specilasation, development versus performance and much more. This is an insightful and educational interview with a real innovator in New Zealand youth sport. Image Source: Unsplash
In this Masterclass Discussion, FA National Women’s Coach Developer, Amy Price shares her unique approach to player development with Dave Wright & Dan Wright in a highly engaging conversation. Amy shares research on how coaches can use the principles of video game design to engage young players in their own development, setting challenges, designing tasks and encouraging problem-solving. Amy outlines how players can take ownership of the task and you can ‘level’ up the challenge as you go. This is essential viewing if you want…
How can you make your environment as positive as possible? In this Masterclass Discussion, Positive Psychology expert, Lara Mossman joins PDP Editor, Dave Wright for an in-depth discussion on positive psychology in coaching. Lara is one of Player Development Project’s founding contributors and is a world-class expert in the area of positive psychology in coaching. Dave and Lara tackle some common misconceptions around psychology, discuss what positive psychology is and how coaches can apply it. The conversation also covers what an autonomy supportive environment actually…