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 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.
As the baseball season has just started again we talk in this Wee Chat to Neal Huntington, General Manager of the Major League baseball team, the Pittsburgh Pirates. Neal has been in this position since 2007 and has helped the organization became a force to be reckoned with in Major League Baseball (MLB). He gives us insight on the mental side of being a leader and the importance of balance in its many forms. Teams in the MLB are starting to realize the importance of the mental side of the game and Neal embodies resilience through his work as the GM and describes how he rides the waves. We also learn a little more about his family and his philosophy on being a good leader. Alison interviewed him at the end of a weekend Think Tank that she took part in at their training ground in Bradenton, Florida. So sit back and enjoy this Wee Chat over a cup of tea with the brilliant Neal Huntington.
Check out www.weechats.com/brilliant-people/neal-huntington-general-manager/ for more information about Neal and his work as a GM.
For those of you who are interested in elite rugby and/or learning more about pre-performance routines, in this Wee Chat J.J. Hanrahan describes in great detail what he uses for his kicking routine and how mental preparation and working with a sport psychologist has worked for him. J.J. has played successfully for Munster in Ireland for several years and in 2015 was signed to play for the top English club, Northampton Saints. Check out this Wee Chat and his great Irish accent while we drink tea in Limerick University in Ireland.
In part 2 of this Wee Chat, Dick Gould talks about how working with the players at Stanford was interesting because they were so different to each other. He talks about how he perceives the difference with those players who went on to be some of the best in the world, like John McEnroe and the Bryan brothers. As a Brit myself, I also asked him what he thinks about Andy Murray’s game!
(For the interview click on the picture or visit http://weechats.com/brilliant-people/dick-gould-stanford-tennis-coaching-legend/ )
In part 1 of this Wee Chat, Dick Gould (the Stanford University tennis coaching legend) talks about his background in tennis coaching, how he learned to be a great coach and how sport psychology can help tennis players and business people.
(For the interview click on the picture or visit http://weechats.com/brilliant-people/dick-gould-stanford-tennis-coaching-legend/ )
