EP25: Dr Tom Bates (Sport and Performance Psychologist)

Derby County defender Kane Wilson joined Dr Paul Mansell as a co-host in the studio to pick the brains of experienced sport and performance psychologist, Dr Tom Bates. Tom has had an extensive career in this field and has worked with Aston Villa, Brentford and Sheffield Wednesday in football, whilst consulting at the Olympic Games for Team GB. This is a bumper episode with so much to unpack, however, several key themes emerged during the conversation. Tom is a proponent of mindset and labels it as something that defines performance whilst also highlighting the importance of humility, learning and curiosity as tools to promote continuous improvement. The trio discuss the meaning of pressure and the utility of pre-performance routines, and Kane offers his reflections on working with Tom as a young player. Tom provides some strategies for dealing with over-thinking and how reappraisal of emotional states can be useful when the stakes are high. Finally, Tom describes the challenges of working in elite sport. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices