In this Wee Chat we talk again with 3xoff-road World Triathlon Champion, Lesley Paterson, and about the XTerra Worlds in Maui. If you didn’t tune into Part 1 yet, check it out on WeeChats.com first.
Check out http://weechats.com/lesley-paterson-3xoff-road-world-triathlon-champion-part-2 for more information about Lesley Paterson.
In this Wee Chat from the vault from 2012 we talk with Lesley Paterson, three-time off-road World Champion triathlete as she reflects on her second world championship win in Maui.
As an elite triathlete, Lesley has found her passion, competing and winning throughout the world, with her best events now coming in the off-road arena. She specializes in the Xterra races consisting of a lake or ocean swim, off-road biking, and a trail run. In 2015 alone she accrued five 1st place Pro Women Xterra finishes, with winning both the men’s and the women’s division in the Laguna Beach Xterra course, she’s totally amazing!
Check out www.weechats.com/brilliant-people/lesley-paterson-3xoff-road-world-triathlon-champion for more information about Lesley Paterson.
In this Wee Chat we talk with Jessie Barr, Irish 2012 Olympian in the 4 x 400m relay team in London, and Irish National 400m Hurdle Champion from 2011-2013. She participated in various sports from a young age and competed in track as just part of her normal sport and social routine, until she began to realize her current and potential ability, and that she could compete at a high level on the world stage. During her final years as an undergrad at the University of Limerick, and continuing on past graduation, she has purposefully continued to pursue personal best. She’s now combining her elite level training for greatness with studying for a PhD in Sport Psychology. In this Wee Chat Jessie talks about gaining confidence through her later years of competing at the university and how important having that attitude is to her. Although racing against others, her focus has consistently been on trying to improve her personal best, and she believes this outlook is part of what has served her well. Jessie speaks of the mental skills she uses such as reminding herself why she is competing and all of the work that has gone into her training when she feels doubtful of her ability. She also addresses the routines that allow her to prepare for a race, with visualizing what aspects will potentially impact the course as she runs. Jessie also talks of being aware of what her “auto pilot” is when competing, how she needs to fully focus during competition, and mentally what she has done in order to shift her focus back in that trajectory when it is thrown off.
She comes from a family of accomplished track athletes as her brother and also a Wee Chat guest, 2016 Olympian Thomas Barr, competed in the finals of the 400m Men’s Hurdles in Rio! He broke his own personal best, broke the national record and came 4th, which was such a great achievement and had the whole of Ireland jumping up and down.
Enjoy this Wee Chat with Olympian Jessie Barr.
Check out www.weechats.com/brilliant-people/jessie-barr-track-olympian
WELCOME TO WEE CHATS WITH BRILLIANT PEOPLE
In this Wee Chat we talk to Thomas Barr, the current Irish National record holder of the 400m hurdles and a 2016 Olympian in Rio. He talks about “coming into his own” in the last 4 years and experiencing competitive success as an elite runner.
He is a four time Irish National Champion in the 400m men’s hurdles and in the fall of 2015 won a gold medal at the World University Games, and was awarded European Athlete of the Month. Also in that year, he was named Irish Athlete of the Year. Thomas was a semi-finalist in the 2014 European Senior Athletics Championship and in 2013 he placed 8th in the U-23 European Track and Field Championship. He graduated from the University of Limerick with a degree in Engineering, and continued there to earn his Master’s degree in Sport Performance. Thomas competes in the 400m hurdles starting on Monday, August 15 at the 2016 Olympic games in Rio.
Thomas has experienced brilliant success by learning to combine his friendly, social nature with purposeful, performance focus to compete at the elite world stage. In studying his craft, Thomas has developed the mental awareness of what potential factors will impact his race and uses mental skills such as visualization to assist his performance.
Join us and listen how this and more have helped Thomas Barr’s path to enjoying brilliant performances.
For Thomas Barr biography check out http://weechats.com/thomas-barr-2016-olympic-400m-hurdler
In this Wee Chat we talk with Dr. Leslie Sherlin, one of the leading neuroscientists in sport psychology. He has spent numerous years studying many brains in his pursuit of identifying what neurological components separate elite athletes from regular people. This pursuit has led to his work being featured on networks like ESPN and CNN as well as partnering with Red Bull. By having an understanding in neuroscience, sport psychology and clinical psychology, Dr. Sherlin incorporates techniques which support which psychological and physiological states. He talks about his own process for performance and how he uses certain techniques like reflection and introspection to evaluate his own work/performance. Join us and listen to how this and more have helped Dr. Sherlin’s path in looking for the unknown in various great and brilliant minds.
Check out www.weechats.com/brilliant-people/leslie-sherlin-neuroscientist for more information about Dr Sherlin.
In this Wee Chat we talk to author and writer, Matthew Arlidge or as he is better known in the crime drama/thriller novel community, MJ Arlidge. He has worked in television for the last 15 years, specializing in high end drama production. Arlidge has produced a number of prime-time crime serials for ITV in the last five years, and is currently working on a major adaptation of The Last of the Mohicans for the BBC. He is now a very popular crime novelist having written various novels like Eeny Meeny and The Doll’s House. In this Wee Chat He discusses the mental preparation he uses like motivation to write his novels along with his unique process of planning each novel. His latest book Liar Liar has been released this month in the US after receiving much praise in the UK.
Check out www.weechats.com/brilliant-people/matthew-arlidge-writer/
In this Wee Chat we talk to Dr. Gwendolyn Mok, a world renowned pianist and current Coordinator of Keyboard Studies at San Jose State University School of Music and Dance. She is a New York native who loves playing the piano and learning about their history as well. Her passion for performing has rewarded and allowed her to perform on various stages around the world. In this chat she talks about the mental side of being a professional pianist and performer. Gwen mentions how preparation is important to her along with her pre-performance routine which at times can include a pan! Listen to her also discuss the similarities and differences between athletes and musicians. Enjoy this Wee Chat with Gwendolyn Mok.
Check out www.weechats.com/brilliant-people/gwen-mok-pianist/
In this Wee Chat we talk to Steve Poltz, a Canadian born singer and songwriter. We have all at one point or another probably heard one of his songs on TV or the radio as his songs have been amongst the longest running ever on the Billboard Top 100 and they regularly appear in movie soundtracks, television shows, and even the odd commercial. He talks to us backstage before a gig at Slim’s in San Francisco about the mental side of being a professional musician. He mentions how he prefers to have uncertainty rather than a set playlist for his shows and with no routines. This transfers to his shows where the crowd, along with him, do not know what to expect; he only relies on what is in his control, which is the music. This is an excellent skill that we love working on with performers. He makes each show unique in order to keep things spontaneous for himself and the audience. Listen to how he credits his success to the positive thinking that was taught to him by his father, this is a great example for us interested in mental skills for performance. This Wee Chat was a lot of fun, so enjoy listening to Steve Poltz’s brilliance and his many stories!
Check out www.weechats.com/brilliant-people/steve-poltz-musician/
In this Wee Chat we talk to Sam Chase from The Sam Chase band fame. Sam is a San Francisco native who talks about how important the audience is for a performer and how they form a reciprocal relationship. He covers his views on how failure is not necessarily bad and is sometimes necessary in life. He also discusses how he prepares for his shows, which is a very interesting listen indeed! For fans of his music, we also asked him about his love of bones in his songs. So join us on this for this Wee Chat that took place in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park.
As mentioned on their website, “The Sam Chase has a voice like a Nun on the lam with a mouthful cigarettes and curse words in a lonely bar, drunkenly dancing next to a broken jukebox. His songs are scribbled, not written, on lipstick and sweat stained motel bedsheets because he likes the way the ink bleeds. His guitar runs on diesel and leaks like the morning after too much Whiskey. His is a show you’ll probably want to tattoo on your body so everyone will know that you knew him before he was cool.”
Sam and his band hail from San Francisco, California Sam and his band, whom he lovingly refers to as The Untraditional, have been on this musical journey for many years now. In 2012, came the release of their long awaited first studio album, THE SAM CHASE WILL LEAD US TO VICTORY. It took the group all across these United States and back to their home in the Bay Area. The album was a hit and fans came calling for new music. So the band dove head first into writing and preparing a new album. In late May of 2013 THE SAM CHASE WILL NEVER DIE was released. Once again the band struck gold and produced a great album which was well received. As of the early hours of 2016, Sam and the band have gone back into the studio and laid down 13 brand new tracks. The new album “Great White Noise” is out now CLICK HERE TE BUY
Check out www.weechats.com/brilliant-people/sam-chase-musician/ for more information about Sam and his band.
In this Wee Chat we talk to Jose Lambert, tennis coach at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. Jose knows the IMG Academy pretty well due to being one of their players in his younger days. Knowing the culture and expectations it takes to be a player for IMG has helped Jose bring that experience into his own coaching style. He likes to “walk the walk” in order to serve as a role model for his players not just physically but mentally as well. Jose recognizes the importance that visualization plays in coaching and can help prepare them for anything that may happen during the day.
Lambert has been with the IMG Academy Bollettieri Tennis program for almost thirty-five years. First as a player and then as a coach, Lambert played a major role in the development of the tennis program at IMG Academy. He served as a traveling coach for Monica Seles, and Jim Courier. He has also worked with other tennis greats like Andre Agassi and Maria Sharapova and currently does some coaching with Kei Nishikori. Check out www.weechats.com/brilliant-people/jose-lambert-tennis-coach/ for more information about Jose and his work as a top tennis coach.