WATCH ME PRESENT AT UNIVERSITY OF STIRLING & SPORTSCOTLANDCOACHING SYMPOSIUM 18TH NOVEMBER 2025.

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| Universityof Stirling & sportscotland Coaching Symposium

In this episode I’m joined by Professor Alan Chu to discusshis recent paper looking at the intersectionality of race, gender, and skill level as potential determinants for the way individuals experience the coach-created motivation environment. It turns out that athletes’ identity characteristics can have unique effects not only on how they see coaches’ motivational behaviours, but also how they feel about the level of psychological needs support we offer. This conversation offers a nuanced insight into the collectiveeffects of identity characteristics on athletes’ perceived empowerment vs disempowerment in sport, and led to interesting speculation on potential causes to ponder,including the influence of culture on coach behaviour and athlete motivation.

Paper discussed in this episode:

Chu, T. L. A., Treacy, A., Moore, E. W. G., Petrie, T. A.,Albert, E., & Zhang, T. (2024). Intersectionality matters: Gender, race/ethnicity, and sport level differentiate perceived coach-created motivational climates and psychological needs. Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology, 13(1), 59-75.

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https://markjcarrollcoaching.wordpress.com/consultancy/

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When you plan, deliver, and reflect on your coaching practice, you may not recognise that your beliefs and behaviours can be traced back to higher order paradigms of thought, playing out at the various metaphysical levels. In this episode I seek to increase your awareness by offering examples of some (not all) coaching paradigms, breaking each one down according to their ontological, epistemological, methodological, and axiological positionings for cohesive understanding. The paradigms discussed - and in some cases combined - include behaviourism, constructivism, embodiment, pragmatism, and ecological dynamics, to spark your curiosity. Listen in to unlock deeper and more focused thinking and subsequent practice as a coach.

If you like this episode, I recommend these other episodes too:

Rethinking coaching philosophy

Coaching as a science, with John Lyle

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https://markjcarrollcoaching.wordpress.com/consultancy/

CALL TO ACTION: Follow, rate, and share the show!

In this episode I play with the notion of free will being an illusion in a fully deterministic world, and what this would mean for how coaches treat athletes and themselves.

My thoughts are based on neurobiological and cultural arguments presented in Robert Sapolsky's fascinating book 'Determined: A Science of Life Without Free Will', which I recently read. I take the book's central themes and consider the overlap with my own research on influences on coach behaviour, to help it make sense for sport coaches. The jury is still out on the arguments for and against free will, but playing along in this episode can help unlock new learning about luck, empathy, and patience in sport. While still providing a pathway for changing your own or others' behaviour through leaning into our 'machine-ness'!

If you like this episode, I recommend these other episodes too:

Don't change coach behaviour, control it.

A salutogenic approach to talent development, with Andrew Kirkland.

Learn more about your host and access services and added resources:

https://markjcarrollcoaching.wordpress.com/consultancy/