Coaching has always been an act of leadership. From the Ancient Olympics to Oxford tutors in the 1850s, coaching has meant more than instruction…it’s about care for another’s development… As a leader are you truly carrying people forward, or simply telling them where to go?

@fepsac.bsky.social 2026 conference join me to talk about coach-athlete relationships and their transformative power in performance excellence and personal satisfaction www.instagram.com/p/DUP8g8-DKB...

In sport we talk more about mental health than performance Have we prioritised performance & pushed winning hard What if performance & winning aren’t the problem, instead the real issue is the lack of quality connections What if the crisis of connection is what’s driving mental health challenges?

You want great leaders/coaches? Then look closely at the relationships that anchor their leadership Leadership isn’t about managing relationships (eg., minimising conflict) It’s about creating & sustaining high-quality relationships that elevate everyone involved #coaching #sport

Just finished reading The Balance: My Years Coaching Simone Biles by Aimee Boorman & listened to a podcast capturing moments from her book youtu.be/CJFPiL12DM0?si… Coach Boorman’s reflections offer timeless lessons for anyone invested in human development, leadership and performance without limits

Tandem App: a research based tool. It’s an easy and simple way to understand your interactions with your athletes/coaches & gauge their effectiveness Get a Tandem report, complete it and within seconds you have your own assessment & feedback from me tandemperformanceconsulting.com/tandem-repor...

💡It’s useful to identify the minimum benefit/s you’ll get out of a given situation (project) even if all else fails. If you’re at the start of a project ask: How can I win, even if I lose? Are there benefits I can derive that are still valuable-even if what I plan doesn’t work? #coaching #sport

Connection before Correction: What Does It Really Mean? While I haven’t found much research, the phrase has gained traction in sport I believe connection should extend beyond correction. Coaches & athletes should actively nurture connection in their daily interactions

Want to work with coaches and athletes directly using the Tandem Method? You can now, by becoming a Certified Practitioner Quality coach-athlete relationships are an important driver to performance excellence, mental health & psychological wellbeing More info: www.tandemperformanceconsulting.com

Coaching is all about relationships. The coach-athlete relationship provides a platform for honest, authentic, powerful, transformative, constructive conversations with each one athlete in a team/group. Great coaches understand the power of relationships

The coach-athlete relationship is at the heart of impactful coaching & quality relationships can make a whole lot of difference esp. when the stakes are high. Quality Relationships suggest that people are strongly connected & are willing to go to great lengths to achieve goals.

Performance means capacity to execute and this can take place in various domains (e.g., sport, school, arts, business). To perform at your best requires preparation including recovery. Former athletes make great business people because they know what it takes to perform to one’s best!

As you know my work has focused on understanding the complex dynamics between coaches & athletes. I’ve created TANDEM assessment to help coaches & athletes gain a better appreciation of the effectiveness of the coach-athlete relationship. Try Tandem tandemperformanceconsulting.com/tandem-repor...

The Michelangelo Phenomenon provides an explanation about how coaches and athletes in their dyadic coach-athlete relationships promote versus inhibit one another’s goal pursuits. I share some of my thoughts about what it is here ⬇️ www.linkedin.com/posts/sophia...

Unlock connection and drive high performance. In competitive sport where the margins are small and the stakes are high, the relationship you develop with your coach or each one of your athletes is key. Find out how your relationships perform here tandemperformanceconsulting.com/tandem-repor...

Do you have a moment to spare? Complete a scientifically proven assessment to see how your relationship with your coach/athlete performs!! Check it out here tandemperformanceconsulting.com/tandem-reports… Remember: The quality of the coach-athlete is a performance factor!

Here is a question for coaches-What do you need to unlearn? What assumptions, habits, routines, behaviours, ways of doing are you holding on that no longer serve you or your athletes? Unlearning is as important as learning. It is about making space for new learning to take root

In my recent paper, I explained that in high quality coach-athlete relationships, it is clear to both the coach and the athlete that “we are in it together” (“neither of us can do it alone”) and thus “we need to pull our weight” (“we are accountable to each other”). #coachathleterelationship

Free access to my latest paper entitled: 25 years of Relationship Research in Sport: The Quality of the Coach-Athlete Relationship as defined by Closeness, Commitment, Complementarity and Co-orientation (3+1Cs Model) Free access expires on August 7th www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Exciting news!! My brand new website is officially live I would love for you to explore the site and share it with your networks Check my website here: tandemperformanceconsulting.com ▶️ Remember the next workshop is on Tuesday 24th June (7pm-8pm UK Time) - book your place now 😃

25 years of coach-athlete relationship research!!! Where has the time gone😃 Upcoming article - written with researchers and practitioners in mind & mentioning some of the many coaches & athletes I admire! Shout out to all the people I’ve worked with… www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Do you know if the relationship you have with your coach/athletes is working? Do you want to know whether it is good enough to help you achieve your performance goals? Tandem is based on extensive psychological research. Have a look at tandemperformance.com/shop/choose-re… Get in touch!

If you want to know about the power of coach-athlete relationship, then check Tandem. It is a powerful relationship tool (app) that assesses the relationship quality. The tool aims to help identify challenges that may limit progress in competitive sport. Find out more: www.tandemperformance.com

The coach-athlete relationship is a performance and a wellbeing factor. Preventing toxicity in performance sport and at the same time enhancing a sense of fulfilment require turning our attention to developing satisfying and rewarding coach-athlete relationships! #performance #sport

Research shows that coaches who prioritise relationships with their athletes do better from both a performance & wellbeing point of view. Tandem is an app to help you - understand the coach-athlete relationship and - build a successful relationship m.youtube.com/watch?v=O07M...

A positive reframing of failure is a much needed process for an athlete’s/coach’s progress and wellbeing. Athletes and coaches reframe your relationship with failure. There is a lot to learn from failing/losing and that’s in itself is a personal win!!

It is said that talent will take athletes so far, such qualities as perseverance, collaboration, optimism can make a real difference. We’re researching social, emotional, & personality qualities you need to perform your best. Athletes participate: loughboroughssehs.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...

Do we value failure enough in performance #sport, in performance #arts, in performance environments? Failure is often thought as a setback Failure is rarely seen as a tool for growth Failure when approached strategically allows individuals/teams to turn failure into success

Great to find out that our article conceptualising teacher-student relationship quality was in the top 10% most-viewed papers in the British Journal of Educational Psychology. You can check it out here: doi.org/10.1111/bjep... #TopViewedArticle @jowettsophia.bsky.social

Disagreements & misunderstandings are inevitable. People in quality interpersonal relationships are more likely to manage and resolve interpersonal conflict easier & quicker. It’s a much better strategy to approach conflict than to avoid it. Check our research: psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/...

I’d like to repeat this crucial question for us all: “When will we stop punishing women for violating outdated gender stereotypes?” When?!

Care and caring are key nutrients of productive as well as moral and just learning environments. Remember to show how much you care: Check-in Send a message Make time for them Show your appreciation Share a story Be present

There is nothing soft about “soft skills”. Such skills require deliberate and intentional effort to develop and to consistently demonstrate when you coach, teach, lead (understanding them is 🔑 ). I prefer to call these skills “power skills” because they can “move mountains”!!

The most important skill there is “human connection”- it may start with getting to know the other person, starting with talking about little things It is hard to talk about big things without having first talked about little things Talking helps build and nurture relationships

Quality coach-athlete relationships are at the centre of coaching. Tandem is an evidence-based tool that allows to: - better understand the state of the relationship - appreciate the potential of the relationship - highlight ways to build better relationships Visit Tandem: www.tandemperformance.com

Wrestling Coach Yoshimaro 🇯🇵, attributes the success of his programme to the provision of “personalized guidance” & said “My dream is to support my wrestlers’ dream” And one of his Olympic athletes explains,“His approach as a coach is to respect you individually” ⬇️ www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/...

Vision is the desired future, while Purpose is the reason why this “desired future” is wanted Many great coaches communicate the vision of what they intend to achieve with heartfelt stories to help athletes deeply understand what it is & why it matters ⬇️

Athletes please participate in our research. We are exploring the social, emotional, attitudinal & personality characteristics you need to perform your best while also experiencing high levels of wellbeing. A simple 10-minute survey 🙏 lnkd.in/epUXf3uj

I enjoyed a recent discussion about positivity… brainstorming forms of it and highlighting its significance in our lives! Can you think of any forms of positivity? And Why is positivity important in our lives? ⬇️

Research shows that the relationships we develop in work, sport, school, family define who we are In the coach-athlete relationship, coaches tell athletes what they are: strong, weak, clever, stupid, kind, selfish, skilful, motivated, hard worker, lazy How does your CAR impact on who/what you are?

Relationships are powerful & transformative. Coaches as leaders who connect & cultivate relationships come closer to making a genuine and lasting difference in athletes’ lives. Empirical & anecdotal evidence suggest that the quality of coach-athlete relationships is the sport’s greatest treasure!