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In this episode of the Game Plan Coaching Podcast, I’m joined by Sally Needham - a football coach, coach developer, and human development specialist whose work brings together football, neuroscience, and performance.
Sally has worked across football for many years, including roles within The FA Skills Programme, academy football, and international environments such as Wales Women. Through her consultancy 4Growth, she now works with coaches and athletes to better understand the connection between brain, body, behaviour, and performance. She has also recently completed a Professional Doctorate focused on elite performance and neuroscience.
I’ve always found Sally’s perspective fascinating. She has a brilliant way of helping coaches see what sits beneath behaviour and performance, and how understanding the nervous system can change the way we coach.
Key Themes
Coaching the soil not just the grass
Sally explains how neuroscience helps coaches understand what sits beneath behaviour - the brain, nervous system, and emotions that shape learning and performance.
Regulation and safety in coaching
We explore why coaches need to regulate themselves first - because “a disregulated adult cannot regulate a disregulated child.”
Small behaviours that shape learning
Simple coaching habits like how we greet players, the language we use, and how we structure sessions can have a powerful impact on development.
Links
- Tom’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomhartleycoaching/
- Sally’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-sally-needham-264918b5/
- Feedback form (share feedback, suggest guests, propose episode ideas): https://forms.gle/LNH76ce2ahwesSvj6
If this episode made you think differently about behaviour, learning, or performance in coaching, I’d love to hear your reflections. Use the feedback form to share your thoughts or suggest future guests for the podcast.
