What does good coaching actually look like when working with children and young people?

In this episode, Bruce is joined by Patricia Jackman from the University of Lincoln to explore how psychology can help coaches create positive, engaging and developmentally appropriate environments for young athletes. Patricia is one of the researchers behind SÍOL na nÓige, a psychologically informed coaching framework developed in the context of Gaelic games, but with principles that can be applied across youth sport. They discuss why good youth coaching should extend beyond winning and performance, and explore practical ways coaches can support fun and enjoyment, motivation, autonomy, strong coach-player relationships, belonging, personal development and long-term participation. The conversation also gets very practical: how should a coach respond when a player is losing confidence? What do you do with a talented player who dominates a session? How should you respond after a heavy defeat? And what small changes could coaches make at their very next training session? A useful episode for coaches, parents, coach educators, sport scientists and anyone involved in youth sport.

Topics include:

- What good youth coaching should actually achieve

- The SÍOL na nÓige framework

- Why fun and challenge are not opposites

- Giving young athletes autonomy

- Building coach-player relationships through small interactions

- Creating intrinsic motivation and a mastery climate

- Belonging, playing time and inclusion

- Managing parents and wider club expectations

- Practical responses to common coaching situations

Patricia's central message is simple: psychologically informed coaching does not necessarily mean doing more — it means being more deliberate about the environment and interactions we create for young people.

Resources:

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21520704.2024.2441849

https://www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2025/0613/1495965-gaa-underage-players-coaching-psychology/

https://www.gaa.ie/article/siol-na-noige-how-we-can-best-grow-our-young-gaelic-games-players

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction

01:06 What does good youth coaching look like?

08:42 What do great youth coaches do differently?

11:15 Introducing SÍOL na nÓige

17:39 Fun, challenge and avoiding overcoaching

23:20 Autonomy and player voice

29:06 Building strong coach-player relationships

36:26 Motivation: being your best, not the best

39:53 Belonging and inclusion

42:57 Playing time and participation

45:37 Parents, clubs and the wider environment

48:47 Practical coaching scenarios

55:25 One change for your next training session

57:24 Closing thoughts

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Image and performance enhancing drug use is changing rapidly and it is no longer confined to elite sport or competitive bodybuilding. In today's, Bruce speaks with Dr David Nolan about his new research examining iPED use in Ireland. They discuss what people are taking, why they are taking it, the growing prominence of peptides, the influence of GLP-1 drugs and testosterone replacement therapy, and the increasingly blurred line between treatment, enhancement and aesthetics. The conversation also explores health monitoring, the limits of blood testing, barriers to engaging with healthcare professionals, the challenges of coming off iPEDs, and why this is not exclusively a male issue. David’s study provides an important first snapshot of a poorly characterised area of health and performance in Ireland, with plans to repeat the research over time and build a clearer picture of how the landscape is evolving.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction

01:15 The Enhanced Games and the changing PED landscape

05:00 What are iPEDs – and who is using them?

08:45 The first Irish iPED study

13:15 What are people taking?

18:15 Peptides, GLP-1s and the changing drug landscape

29:15 Testosterone replacement therapy and enhancement

33:45 Health monitoring, harm reduction and healthcare

39:00 Coming off iPEDs: exit strategies and identity

46:45 Women and the changing iPED population

50:10 Who actually identifies as an iPED user?

53:50 Where does the research go next?

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Childhood cancer survival continues to improve, but what happens after treatment ends?

In this final episode of the Summer Series, Bruce travels to Navan to meet Cillian Maguire, his mum Tracey-Ann, and researcher Jenny Fitzpatrick to discuss the CHAMPS programme - an innovative exercise intervention supporting young people after childhood cancer treatment.

Together they explore recovery beyond the hospital, the challenges of fatigue and returning to everyday life, and the growing role of exercise oncology in improving health and quality of life.

A powerful conversation about resilience, recovery and how exercise can help people reclaim their lives.

This episode forms part of the ISESA Podcast Summer Series: Exercise Beyond Sport - three conversations exploring the growing role of sport and exercise science within healthcare.

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