Success stories

Our clients’ confidentiality is key. You won’t find us naming clients on this website. Instead, here you can see an overview of people we’ve worked with to date.

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Case scenarios

Intro
Injury Rehabilitation
Facing the Big Challenge
Supporting challenged athletes
Addressing the whole picture
The Team Approach to Talent Identification and Development (TID)
Multi-agency support for Talent
TD systems support
Coach Training, Development and Accreditation
High Performance Management and Leadership Systems

Intro

When people think of sport psychology the list can be pretty restrictive – imagery, anxiety and motivation get a mention but often not much else.
Our list of case scenarios offers an overview of the breadth and depth of the areas in which we work. Have a look through and see if any match your challenge or area of interest.

Injury Rehabilitation

Given the pressures on mind and body, injury is almost an inevitability for high level athletes. Therefore, assisting with rehabilitation, usually in an interdisciplinary team with doctors, physiotherapists, conditioners and coaches, is an important part of our support portfolio. This is even more important when the trauma of injury results in an overly nervous athlete or conditions such as Lost Move Syndrome or the Yips. Such injuries, even if physically minor, can be career ending.

Facing the Big Challenge

There is nothing more pressured than a home World Championships, especially when the draw is packed with a number of former medallists and World Class opponents. Even the best prepared athlete can freeze on the day, or suffer with debilitating negative thoughts in the run up to the event.

Supporting challenged athletes

Technical sports need a technical mind – the performer is required to take in and work with a wide variety of data. This is a challenge for all but becomes particularly difficult for those with certain limiting conditions. Two common such challenges are dyslexia and ADHD. Although often bright, such individuals face extra challenges coping with the volume and speed of data flow. Indeed, all athletes can suffer from such challenges due to time restrictions imposed by specific sports.

Addressing the whole picture

When working with teams, it is important to involve all the support staff as well as the athlete. Coaches will almost always spend more time and have more influence over athletes’ behaviours than others, whilst ensuring coherent messages from all members of the support team ensures consistent and comprehensive guidance. Furthermore, since communication often depends on quality of relationships, consistent messages from several sources can greatly improve the impact.

The Team Approach to Talent Identification and Development (TID)

Working with teams is a complex process and even more so in an Academy setting. The usual mix of athletes, coaches and support staff is further complicated by the addition of parents, ambitions, growth spurts and hormones! Add to this the wide ranging and increasing advice from outside ‘experts’ and the picture gets algebraic: a significant number of unknowns.

Multi-agency support for Talent

Many teams leave the recruitment process till later, avoiding the various challenges of maturation by recruiting from 16+. In such cases, the roles of schools and feeder clubs become even more important. Getting this right ensures a steady stream of well-prepared recruits, equipped to meet the challenges and optimally benefit from the Academy environment. Getting it wrong leads to high turn-over and drop-out due to the mistaken recruitment of ‘fool’s gold’.

TD systems support

Talent pathways are big business. More and more sports and Academies search younger and younger to recruit the best talent. Once this identification is complete the development process must be optimised to ensure the best ‘conversion rate’. Therefore, work with organisations and key stake holders across the different ages and stages is important to ensure the best recruitment and development processes. For providers with a conscience, systems are best when they provide a positive experience for all concerned, from star graduate to early drop-out.

Coach Training, Development and Accreditation

Quality coaching is the most powerful tool a sport has for promoting participation at all levels in a safe and effective environment. Unfortunately, some mainstream coach training and accreditation schemes have gotten rather lost of late, seemingly going for administrative convenience over genuine development and high standards. Ensuring a clear ‘development pathway’ for coaches provides encouragement, helps to keep things fresh and knowledge current, and also offers a clear set of goals for ongoing professional progress.

High Performance Management and Leadership Systems

As recent events have shown, there is a careful balance necessary for the design, management and leadership of high performance systems. Governance needs to set high standards and drive progress BUT, at the same time, show respect for individuals through maintaining an open and ‘to your face’ style of challenge and support. Finally, as our research has shown, high performing environments are built on quality disagreement – places where people feel they can challenge people and processes without threat.

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A leap forward in performance

To find out how Grey Matters can take you or your athletes to the next level click below to get in touch.

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A message from Dave Collins

Performance psychologist

In an increasingly confused world of ‘sciency’ researchers and commercial gurus, Grey Matters focus on providing a clear, evidence-based service that puts YOU in charge.

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