Sarah Knapp is a HCPC registered Sport and Exercise Psychologist. Sarah completed her MSc in Sport and Exercise Psychology at the University of Staffordshire in 2021 and has since worked with several teams and individuals including Northampton Town FC Women’s team. Sarah also conducts freelance work through her business “Mindset for Performance”. In this episode, Dr Paul Mansell and Dr Tsvetelina Nenkova ask...
Erica Meg Parkinson is a midfielder for Portuguese top division club Valadares Gaia. The 18 year old has won over 40 caps for England at youth level and was selected for her first senior squad by Serena Wiegman in April 2026. In this episode, Erica reflects on the strategies that help her to perform well on the pitch, such as having consistent routines, journalling, and quickly moving on from mistakes. We discuss t...
David Robson is a science writer and author known for his expertise in psychological and neuroscience research. He has written for publications such as New Scientist, The Guardian, and the BBC, often focusing on how human thinking, behaviour, and belief systems shape our lives. David has written books including The Intelligence Trap, The Expectation Effect, and The Laws of Connection which explore topics like cogniti...
Nathan Thompson has made over 450 appearances in professional football. He began his career with Swindon Town and spent 8 years with the club where he was voted player of the season on two occasions and was named as club captain. He then moved to Portsmouth, winning the EFL Trophy against Sunderland in 2019, before serving Peterborough, Stevenage and MK Dons. In this episode, Nathan describes the power of consisten...
Emily Smith is a National Series champion in mountain biking and has prolonged experience of working in the British Army. In this episode, she explains to Dr Paul Mansell how performing under pressure might enhanced by visualisation and how she is able to cope with the intense demands of her physical training. We also discuss resilience and Emily reflects on how she helps to prepare young army recruits to face deman...
Dr Lisa O’Halloran is a HCPC registered Sport and Exercise Psychologist, and she completed her PhD at Liverpool John Moores University. Lisa is the founder of LOH Consultancy Limited and has worked with a range of individuals and sports teams including Coventry City. She is also an experienced lecturer having held positions at Nottingham Trent University and Coventry University. In this episode, she explains to ...
Emma Gage is a Sport Psychologist In-Training and a World Record holder in Masters Swimming. Emma completed her MSc in Sport and Exercise Psychology at the University of Staffordshire in 2025 and is also the owner of SwimWod. In a varied episode, Emma tells hosts Dr Paul Mansell and Dr Karla Drew how she went from being a national medalist as a young swimmer to winning world titles in the masters division and being ...
Conor Niland is a former professional tennis player who reached a career high ranking of 129 in the world. He competed at Wimbledon, the Australian Open, and the US Open, where he faced Novak Djokovic. In 2024, his book “The Racket” won the William Hill Sports Book of the year. In the book, he described in detail that life on the tour is not always glamourous as we might imagine. .. In this episode, Dr Paul Mans...
About
The need to perform under pressure in sport is undeniable. At the University of Staffordshire, we use our expertise in high performance to delve into the psyche of individuals connected to sport to understand how they are able to perform well when the stakes are high. We interview athletes from a variety of sports, sport psychologists, coaches, and other professions to provide a variety of perspectives on coping under pressure, strategies that are effective immediately prior to performance and how they react adaptively to mistakes.
Information
Creator
Dr Paul Mansell
Years Active
2026 - 2024
Episodes
175
Copyright
Dr Paul Mansell
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