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In this episode I am joined by Shawn Myszka and Tyler Yearby from Emergence to disuss their recent paper co-authored with Keith Davids entitled 'Being Water: how key ideas from the practice of Bruce Lee align with contemporary theorizing in movement skill acquisition'. We discuss his famous quote 'fear someone who has practiced one kick ten thousand times' and explore how he may have meant for us to adapt and be 'like water', rather than trying to perfect technique. We also touch on the philosophical boundaries of an ecological worldview, the concept of 'one-touch play' in soccer, Finally, we explore Bruce Lee's work and words, and how they are a testament to his ideas. Chapters: (0:05:59) - Exploring Bruce Lee's Movement (0:10:51) - 'Jeet Kune do' Origins and Meaning (0:24:56) - Adaptability and Ecology in Martial Arts (0:32:02) - Exploring the Principles of Ecological Dynamics (0:37:32) - Exploring Ecological Dynamics (0:51:20) - The Challenges of Evolving Ideas (1:00:36) - Bruce Lee's Influence on Movement (1:11:32) - Exploring Philosophical Boundaries Through Dialogue https://www.researchgate.net/publication/367319646_Being_Water_how_key_ideas_from_the_practice_of_Bruce_Lee_align_with_contemporary_theorizing_in_movement_skill_acquisition

Flo the dog helps me to make sense of recent controversy I created by calling a practice a ‘form of cruelty’ during one of our morning walks. I explain my rationale for saying this and share whether I think that the provocation was justified.

Tom Shields boasts an impressive resume. His bio on the STA Soccer website reads... "A native of Hull, England, Technical Director Tom Shields joined STA with an exhaustive list of previous coaching and educational experience, making him one of the most progressive young coaches in the country. Holding both a Masters in Sport Psychology and an Undergraduate Degree in Sport Coaching, alongside experience as a University Professor in Sports Coaching and Sport and Exercise Science at Leeds Metropolitan University, and countless published articles, Tom helps STA blend together the worlds of education and coaching. The former Head Coach of Hull City Ladies (FA Women’s Premier League) and the University of Hull, an Assistant and NCAA Division I Title Winning Coach at Central Connecticut State University, The Director of Player Performance and Pedagogy at Rutgers University, US Club Soccer Boys ID2 National Staff Coach, ODP and Region I Staff Coach, United Soccer Coaches (formerly NSCAA) Associate National Staff Coach and former Development and Community Coach at Hull City, Leeds United and Bradford City, the experiences that Tom can draw upon to share with our membership are significant. In addition, he holds a USSF A Youth License, USSF National Youth License, NSCAA Premier Diploma and NSCAA Director of Coaching Diploma along with a number of FA and LMA certifications." Tom joins me after our recent attendance as speaking at the United Soccer Coaches Convention to discuss how he works as a leader of a local sports organisation and develops his coaching workforce to be the best that they can be using the ecological dynamics as the theory of learning and human development as the basis of their approach - with considerable success. I really enjoyed this conversation...I hope you do too. https://www.stasoccer.org/staf...

Jennifer Dunaway runs www.soccermomsanddads.com, a website dedicated to supporting parents to navigate the compelx and challenging world of youth soccer in the US. I met Jennifer and her husband, Nick at the United Soccer Coaches Convention in Philadelphia and we got to talking...her story was just jaw dropping!! She told me about how she was a completely 'bat shit crazy' soccer mom that was completely out of control until a number of moments made her rethink things and completely turn round her worldview and approach. This is an emotional and heartwarming story of rehabilitation and redemption that places the human aspect of children's sport at the centre stage. I hope you enjoy. You can read Jennifer's honest and vulnerable reflection blog here

Dr Zöe Wimshurst is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology within the School of Psychology, Sport and Physical Activity at AECC Univirsity College in Bournemouth, England. She is a Chartered Psychologist specialising in visual performance in elite athletes. She also runs the consultancy 'Performance Vision' and has worked with Sir Clive Woodward among others.. Zöe has worked with many Olympic and professional athletes to help them improve their performance by improving their perceptual capabilities. The athletes she works with have gone on to win Olympic medals, World and European championships, as well as set many personal best achievements. In this conversation we cover the following: The challenges of working with U8s Why her own talent journey was curtailed by poor coaching How visual perception and agility are intertwined Why the phrase 'you can't teach that' is nonesense The biological reason why players 'revert to type' Why video games are great for developing visual abilities and so much more!! It's a great conversation - I hope you enjoy

Alex Sarama is the Director and Head Coach at the 'College Prep' Basketball Academy in Borgomanero in norther Italy. The College Prep website states: "College Prep exists to help young men between 16 to 20 years old fulfil their complete potential in basketball and life. College Prep is a complete academy program for players wishing to pursue collegiate and professional basketball opportunities. The program at College consists of basketball, mindfulness, athletic performance, education and life skills. At College Prep, players work with coaches who are extremely passionate and curious about their learning, with the program embracing all the latest research and evidence before our experiments are shared with the basketball world!". Alex is a committed Eco-Dynamicist and has taken the philosophy and ideas to new levels by embedding them throughout the whole programme at the academy. It is a case study in how powerful ecological dynamics can be in shaping a talent development and learning environment. It is an absolutely staggering project and the story that Alex tells is fascinating. I hope you love this as much as I did.

I caught up with Trine Falnes - CEO of Spond at the United Soccer Coaches Convention in Philadephia and we 'got to talking'. I pressed record on my podcast gear and we explored how her company's coaching app 'Spond' has transformed my life as a coach by making it so much easier to manage all of the teams that I coach and also supported with the running of the club. We also discuss how the app is reducing coach drop out and has enabled me to ensure that I keep the voices of the young people I coach at the forefront of my coaching practice.

I caught up with Julian after my presentation at the United Soccer Coaches Convention and we reflected on some of the questions that were raised by the audience.

Chris Cushion is Professor of Coaching & Pedagogy at Loughborough University as well as the Head of Coaching at England Netball. Chris is one of the most well known researchers in the world of sports coaching and has published widely. I asked Chris to join me to disuss the nature of 'direct instruction' which he argues has some to mean something in coaching that is not an accurate way to depict it. Chris and I have disagreed in the past about this subject so we thought it was hight time we got together and had a proper discussion about this area. Needless to say, we didn't stop there...we also discussed... How poor coach education is as a means to effectively support coaches and develop thier skills Why coach development is so under valued Why technique led coaching is still so prevalent Why the 'toolbox metaphor' limits coaching effectiveness It was a really interesting and valuable conversation. Hope you enjoy

In this dog walk diary I think aloud about work I am doing at the moment to support a reconceptualisation of coaching for children by evoking the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child.

Leanne Norman is a Professor of Sport and Sociocultural Studies and Director of the Research Centre for Social Justice in Sport and Society at Leeds Beckett University. Her research utilises a critical sociological lens to examine sport organisational and coaching cultures to address gender equity and diversity within sport coaching workforces. Ellen Jones is a lecturer and the academic lead for all tennis performance modules and the Performance Director of Tennis at Cardiff Metropolitan University. They join me to discuss a paper that they had written that explained some of the challenges faced my both male and female coaches who had experienced mental health issues and burnout linked to the dominant 'performance narrative' that has become so prevalent across sport. Here is a link to the paper - https://t.co/Kl6I4mNq7Z I hope you enjoy Stuart

After a monster twitter discussion about the relative value of 'two touch' as a constraint I invited some of the protagonists to join me for a live streamed discussion where we could circle around the problem in a more conducive situation than the limits of Twitter. It's a proper CLA geek out but I think we made some good progress and shared some good ideas. Hope you get some new insights from it

Callum Murray has worked in youth football for the last five years with some of the most talented and respected players of their age in the country, including working in men’s first-team recruitment for a professional club. With a background in sport psychology and a deep interest in football and talent development, he has researched football- talent hotbeds in England exhaustively, speaking to experts and some of the most influential people in this field. 'Something in the Water' uncovers the secrets of the football-talent hotbeds of English football: past, present and future. It takes a look behind the scenes of the traditional working-class northern town hotbeds and the emergence of south London as the new-school hotbed, to explore the key characteristics that helped to develop players such as Sancho, Zaha, Gerrard and others. Hope you enjoy

This is a bit of a different episode, it is the recording from my 'Twitter Spaces' conversation organised by Philip O'Callaghan to explore 'Representative Learning Design'. The chat features a range of people who have all featured on the podcast in the past, Alex Lascu, Marianne Davies, Cal Jones and Mark O'Sullivan. It's an interesting conversation that wanders all over the map of Representative Learning Design and also gets into coach education (because Mark tries to get me into trouble by baiting me into saying something about it - and I can't resist!) I hope you enjoy

Rob McGarr is a YouTuber who has been documenting the ups and downs of his journey of improvement in golf for several years. His honest video diary has seen him travel all over the UK and Europe in search of information that will help him reach his goals of playing consistent scratch golf. His channel is fantastic and I really enjoy it but I have also been struck by the interactions he has had with many coaches, and the different philosophies that they adopt and the approaches they take and how this has affected his performance, adversely or otherwise. I decided to reach out to him to have a conversation about his journey and to explore some thoughts about coaching and skill acquisition that might help him make sense of all of the information he has received. It's a long one...but I think that it is a goody...whether you are into golf or not. Enjoy!!

Some thoughts about a question that was posed to me recently as to how you can justify using a non linear / ecological approach to coaching.

Dr. Tom Parry is the founder and owner of Kestrel Performance Psychology. He has a Ph.D. in Human Performance from Indiana University with specializations in Skill Acquisition and Psychology. He wears many hats including Professor, Father, Coach and Consultant. These roles have blessed him with a detailed understanding of human behaviour from various perspectives and the nuanced nature of performance. Tom and I get into the weeds to explore how we can connect the wider coaching world with some of the counter intuitive aspects of non linear pedagogy. It was a great opportunity to reconnect with some of these ideas and explore the way Tom thinks about coaching and skill development. Listen to the end to find out about how to play 'Zombie Tag'. https://kestrelpsychology.wixsite.com/kestrelpsychology

JP Nurbun makes a welcome return to the podcast. JP is a fellow podcaster as host of 'The Coaching Culture' podcast. He is also an author, his first book 'Calling Up' was a real hit and I really enjoyed it. This time round he has gone one better having written 'The Culture System' which is fascinating. In this conversation we delve into some of the key elements of The Culture System and unpack them to get to grips with how they are applied and who applies them. It's a super powerful conversation that I took a lot away from. I hope you do too JP's podcast - https://www.podbean.com/podcast-detail/k2pt3-6258f/Coaching-Culture-Podcast JP's book - https://www.myculturesystem.com/

Dan Lycett and Ross Williams are on the PE staff at St David's College in LLandudno in North Wales. They have been very public in sharing their approach to PE and school sport with the world and have been very active in creating learning spaces for other practitioners. In this conversation we delve into the alternative approach that they take to increase engagement in PE and school sport by turning the curriculum on it's head and working backwards from a child centred approach. The results speak for themselves as I hope you will agree from the discussion. Link to my conversation with Stephen Rollnick about Motivational Interviewing https://www.spreaker.com/episode/20445243

Will Roberts makes a welcome return to the podcast joined by a colleague at University of Gloucester, Kirsten Wing. You will remember Will from a previous podcast talking about the fantastic programme called 'Boing' which is looking to take an ecological approach to the development of movement for children. Kirsten has been studying the effect of Boing on coaching practice and on the way that children have responded to the approach with some fascinating findings - not least of which the link between the digital space and the physical space. I invited them on to talk me through it and explore some of the real world ramifications, it's a really interesting conversation that I really enjoyed...I hope you will too. Link to the research report here https://www.researchgate.net/publication/360561628_Operationalising_Physical_Literacy_Boing_Practitioner_Education_Programme_Technical_Report