In this episode Founding Director 'Red Star Education' Kristen Cunliffe joins Gordon MacLelland to discuss Financial Fitness and how we can help our young athletes thrive with their finances. The recent BBC documentary 'Footballs Financial Shame' has brought the importance of this topic back into the limelight.

During the conversation they discuss amongst other things:

• Many athletes facing financial struggles due to poor advice, exploitation, and lack of early financial awareness.
• Documentaries 'Football’s Financial Shame' and earlier 'Football's Suicide Secret' raised concerns about the long-term effects of poor financial decisions and predatory advisers
• The importance of education being independent, without commercial agendas or selling products, to maintain trust and integrity
• Challenges for young athletes with the pressure from expectations of peers, families, and sporting organisations, the fear of making financial mistakes and a lack of basic knowledge about taxes, budgeting and saving
• The importance of parents having open, honest, and sometimes uncomfortable conversations about money, learning together with their kids rather than pretending to know it all and modelling balanced spending and saving habits
• When speaking with advisors parents trusting their instincts whilst checking qualifications, experience, and fees and avoiding any snap decisions
• Allowing our young athletes to enjoy some of their earnings, but encourage habits of setting money aside for the future

Kristen Cunliffe is the Founder Director of Red Star Education, a company dedicated to giving young athletes the knowledge and confidence to make sound financial choices. With over 22 years’ experience as a multi-award-winning financial planner, independent financial educator and certified financial coach, Kristen combines expertise with a genuine passion for education. She is a strong advocate for keeping commercial partnerships out of player care, ensuring Red Star’s sessions are always focused on support, not sales.

In this episode British Gymnastics National Head Coach and sports parent Barry Collie joins Gordon MacLelland to discuss 'Developing confidence, self-esteem and self-worth in young athletes' along with how we can create the best environments possible for young people to thrive both in and out of their sport.

During the conversation they discuss amongst other things:

• Applying lessons from his own sporting journey to his own parenting
• Encouraging young people to find joy and bring energy to their passions and pursuits
• Nurturing passion, purpose and persistence
• Encouraging children to laugh, learn, and try again after mistakes
• Parents adapting their approach to suit each child’s personality
• The importance of positive reinforcement particularly in sports with high demands and a focus on mistakes
• Why optimism and hope is so important for all of us
• Encouraging conversations about life beyond sport for both coaches and parents
• Expressing love and pride in our children as people, not just when they achieve success

Barry Collie is a visionary leader and passionate advocate for British gymnastics, currently serving as the Head National Coach for Men’s Artistic Gymnastics. With over 20 years of elite coaching experience, Barry has consistently demonstrated a deep commitment to athlete development, team success, and the long-term growth of the sport.

Known for his optimistic and driven approach, Barry brings an innate ability to inspire those around him. His leadership style is collaborative and empowering—he listens, learns, and leads with purpose, fostering environments where gymnasts and coaches alike can thrive. Barry’s coaching philosophy centres on co-production, ensuring that individual Gymnast Performance Plans are developed in partnership with athletes and clubs to create a unified and high-performance culture.

Barry’s track record includes leading the British junior men’s team to historic success at the European Championships, where his strategic planning and emotional resilience helped secure multiple medals and build future Olympians. His coaching is grounded in strong values, meticulous preparation, and a belief in the power of confidence, routine, and reflection.

A devoted family man, Barry balances his professional intensity with personal warmth, bringing humanity and heart to every aspect of his role. His vision for British gymnastics is bold and inclusive—one that celebrates excellence, nurtures talent, and builds a legacy of pride and performance.

In this episode sports psychologist Elliott Newell joins Gordon MacLelland to discuss how as sporting parents we can help support the development of mental skills for our young athletes to thrive.

During the conversation they discuss amongst other things:

• Personality flaws or just skill deficits?
• The importance of modelling emotional regulation during those tougher moments
• Imagery, breath work, mindfulness and journalling
• Helping our children meet the demands of their sport
• The importance of vulnerability and honesty in building trust and openness in parent-child relationships
• Using daily life and sport experiences as teachable moments for emotional and mental development
• Our goal in raising self-aware, emotionally skilled, and self-regulating individuals, not just successful athletes

Elliott is a sport psychologist and director of The Thrive Academy. He has worked in a wide range of Olympic and Paralympic sports as well as in Rugby and Football. Elliott specialises in environments and the way people interact. If you get the environment right, then you can have profound impact on the performance, development and well-being of people within it and this is the primary focus of Elliott's work.

In this episode sports parent and life coach Stephanie Burge joins Gordon MacLelland to discuss 'Deselection, Release and Transition' and how we can help support young people through this incredibly challenging time.

During the conversation they discuss amongst other things:

• Intense parental emotions: shock, grief, helplessness
• The emotional fallout of deselection and the importance of parental support
• The importance of being present as a parent rather than trying to “fix” the situation
• Helping young athletes to develop interests and skills outside of sport throughout the journey
• Supporting dreams but also working through some 'What if?' scenarios alongside this
• Creating emotionally safe environments and validating young people beyond their performance
• Recognising that grief is not linear and that ending a sporting chapter can often lead to new freedom and opportunities

Stephanie Burge is a businesswoman, entrepreneur and ICF qualified Life coach with a powerful story of resilience, reinvention and mindset mastery. As the sole survivor of a serious car accident, she has turned trauma into a driving force for personal growth, purpose and helping others navigate life’s toughest transitions.

A mother to two daughters, one a successful entrepreneur with ADHD, and the other an ex-GB and England hockey player now thriving in her career, Stephanie understands the highs and lows of the neurodiverse brain and the player journey after elite sport. She is passionate about ensuring athletes, parents and professionals develop the right mindset, and get the right support, to thrive beyond competition.

Alongside supporting parents to show up in the best way to enhance their child’s sporting journey, Stephanie also coaches injured, de-selected and often psychologically broken athletes. Her objective is to facilitate them to process their loss, rediscover their identity and build fulfilling new careers. Often much time has elapsed before athletes finally realise they need to make peace with their past and reconnect with the joy of sport.

In this episode British Sailing Squad member Molly Sacker joins Gordon MacLelland to discuss her own sporting journey, the lessons she has learned, how we can best support young high performers and life gearing up for Los Angeles 2028.

During the conversation they discuss amongst other things:

• The importance of consistent messaging to young athletes from parents and coaches
• Sacrifices or individual choices?
• Motivation and commitment and the importance of discipline
• The dangers of early success if it leads to complacency
• The logistical and emotional strain on parents who support young high performers
• Mollys mantra of 'It’s not that deep—it’s meant to be fun.'
• Female athletes perhaps needing specific support environments, especially in male-dominated sports
• Promoting balance, independence and emotional well-being alongside performance

Molly Sacker is a member of the British Sailing Squad campaigning for the LA2028 Olympic Games and is a Masters Graduate in Conflict, Security and Development.

In this episode human development and performance consultant Beth Kerr joins Gordon MacLelland to discuss ‘Technology and Talent' and how we can support young people's performance and personal development.

During the conversation they discuss amongst other things:

• The emotional tug-of-war that parents face regarding technology use
• The pros and cons of technology usage on performance and personal development
• Cause and Effect - is linking this to their performance outcomes key in supporting positive behaviours with technology
• Teaching young people about how their developing brains affect impulse control, emotional reactivity and peer influence
• Co-creating positive habits in the home environment
• The value in sporting organisations and coaches creating environments where expectations around technology use are transparent and enforced, while also allowing for support and compassion if rules are broken
• The complexities of parents managing social media accounts for their children

Beth Kerr is a human development and performance consultant. She specialises in empowering adolescents - and those who work with or care for them, to build the skills needed to thrive in high-performing environments.

Educated at Loughborough University (BSc) and University College London (MSc in Child and Adolescent Mental Health), Beth is a global educator, researcher, consultant, and experienced media commentator, with a particular focus on the health and wellbeing of young people in the digital age.

Beth collaborates with a wide range of organisations, schools, and football clubs, equipping individuals with practical tools to take charge of their health and digital habits. Her work centres on strengthening relationships, enhancing wellbeing, and driving positive outcomes both personally and professionally.

Deeply committed to meaningful change, Beth is passionate about challenging the status quo, shaping healthier digital cultures, and supporting people to thrive in an increasingly connected world.

In this episode High Performance Consultant Ivi Casagrande joins Gordon MacLelland to discuss creating the best environments and support for young female athletes to thrive.

During the conversation they discuss amongst other things:

• The importance of consistent messaging to young athletes from parents and coaches
• Providing autonomy, encouraging exploration and developing decision-making skills
• The differences in how girls and boys experience puberty
• The coach and parent role in shaping positive body image perceptions
• The importance of educating young girls around strength, movement and neuromuscular coordination from an early age
• How to take advantage of hormonal fluctuations to optimise performance by tracking the menstrual cycle
• Effectively managing social media and technology
• Holding our young people accountable without being overly authoritative helping to foster responsibility and independence

Ivi is an expert in women's football and the founder of Casagrande Coaching. In a world where many clubs still apply men’s football models without understanding the specific needs of female athletes, Ivi’s female-centric whole systems approach is rewiring the system to benefit everyone: coaches and athletes of all genders.

She is positively disrupting outdated norms to forge a more flexible, resilient and sustainable ecosystem in football, and beyond. Over 20 years spent in dressing rooms, first as a professional player and then coach, Ivi went from underdog outsider to become a pillar of the global sports community challenging the status quo. At an elite level, Ivi has worked as a performance coach with three national teams: Ireland Women’s Team, Brazil Women’s Team and US Youth National Teams.

She now focuses on both early career and seasoned coaches via International coach education programmes, grassroots projects and progressive frameworks that create better environments for everyone to thrive. Currently Ivi delivers coach education for the Football Association of Ireland via a grassroots programme supporting young female football players, and with FIFA and UEFA as a Technical Expert delivering workshops for teams around the world.

Raised in Brazil, Ivi played professional football at Atletico Mineiro before continuing her scholarship-enabled education and athletics in the US where she transitioned into coaching. Her professional women's coaching career started with Orlando Pride in the US and then Brighton & Hove Albion in the the UK Women's Super League.

While Ivi’s specialisms run deep, her practice is future-facing and always exploring new learnings beyond the boundaries of sport. At a time when the long suppressed women' s game is transforming the sport worldwide, Ivi is an active changemaker shifting perceptions of high performance while establishing a new baseline for what's valuable, aspirational and acceptable.

In this episode Associate Dean at University Campus of Football Business(UCFB) and author Dr. Richard Elliott joins Gordon MacLelland to discuss 'Supporting Mental Health in Young Athletes' and what that potentially means for us as sporting parents.

During the conversation they discuss amongst other things:

• Mental health operating on a continuum, much like physical health
• Establishing a distinction between everyday struggles ("bad days") and long-term mental health issues
• The importance of parents aligning their expectations with their child's motivations for playing sport
• The unpredictability of elite sport meaning that effort doesn’t always lead to success
• Recognising that adolescents go through significant neurobiological changes, making them more prone to mood swings, anxiety, and emotional extremes
• The importance of talking and normalising conversations about feelings and mental health
• Helping our sporting children develop coping mechanisms for setbacks, just as they would for physical injuries
• Being an emotional anchor as a parent, not just a second coach or critic

Richard Elliott is Associate Dean at University Campus of Football Business (UCFB). He has spent more than twenty years researching the lived experiences of elite athletes and the environments in which they work. He is the co-editor of Football and Migration: Perspectives, places, players (Routledge, 2014), editor of The English Premier League: A socio-cultural analysis (Routledge, 2017), and author of Mental Health and Sport: Supporting Elite Athletes (Routledge, 2024). An advocate for mental health literacy, Richard has developed a number of successful education programmes designed to support the mental and emotional wellbeing of elite athletes.

To find out more about the topic you can buy Richard's book here:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mental-Health-Sport-Supporting-Athletes/dp/1032395702/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=