A former England international footballer has made a special guest appearance on a popular podcast series celebrating its 100th episode.
Conor Coady, who was in the England squad which made it to the UEFA Euro 2020 final, discusses the psychology behind his career and the role of this family in supporting him through uncertain times in University of Staffordshire’s Performing Under Pressure podcast.
The series is led by the university’s sport and exercise psychology team, and invites guests from the world of sport and beyond to explore perceptions of pressure and how they perform when the heat is on.
Conor is currently on load to Charlton Athletic from Wrexham AFC, has ten England caps and made over 300 appearances for Wolverhampton Wanderers.
He talks about everything from preparing for high-stakes matches and building trust and togetherness in the dressing room, to leadership lessons from Gareth Southgate, Harry Kane and Ruben Neves.
Host Dr Paul Mansell, a lecturer in sports psychology, said: “We have been fortunate to interview athletes from a variety of sports, sport psychologists, coaches and more to provide a variety of perspectives on coping under pressure, strategies that are effective immediately prior to performance and how they react adaptively to mistakes.
“We want to thank everyone who has contributed to our 100 episodes and helped to make the podcast a success. It was great to have Conor Coady join us to mark this milestone and share insights from his career as an elite athlete. If you love football, or want to understand the mindset behind success, this latest episode is one not to miss.”
Other high-profile guests to have appeared on the podcast since its launch in January 2024 are Olympic gold medallist Helen Richardson-Walsh who helped GB women’s hockey team claim victory at Rio 2016, former England international footballer Matt Jarvis, and four-times British triple jump champion Ben Williams.
A book, titled Performing under Pressure: Conversations With Those Who Know, is being written using interviews from the podcast as case studies.
