The Coaching Lab

Straight back for 2024! AnyGirl Netball Founder, Daisey Cotterill inspired us so much with coaching for care, connection and confidence, inspiring young people to be the best version of themselves. 

Heard the news?! We have just launched an e-book to help you get the most out of MatchPlay Cards©️, OUT NOW!

Portsmouth FC Head of Academy Coaching, James Barlow takes us inside youth development within academy football and how coaches are using MatchPlay Cards©️ in the Foundation Phase and selecting the right cards for the age and stage of players.

Coming in LIVE from Trinity School in South Australia, Physed Teacher Nathanial Eldridge shares the impact of using MatchPlay Cards to give pupil ownership and develop game understanding for pupils.

Spaniard living the London, Alvaro Castano leads The A Academy for young people who love to play small sided games. Alvaro shares his top 3 non negotiable for coaching young people and why developing players communication is vital.

Former Head Coach of England Hockey U18s, and no Irish Hockey Coach, Sarah Kelleher is on the podcast this week. Sarah shares how she added in-game challenges, gave players ownership and used scenarios to prepare her team for Junior European Cup with MatchPlay Cards©️. We are so lucky to have Sarah using MatchPlay Cards©️ in her coaching!

The best of 2022 with our favourite learnings, best sound bites and coolest ideas to add into your training sessions.

A year of UK Tour, welcoming West Ham and Rangers FC as users of MatchPlay Cards, we’ve shipped to 45+ countries and grown our retail offering around the world to help more coaches and teachers be game changers with MatchPlay Cards.

Another guest from our UK TOUR, High Wycombe Director of Rugby, Mike Rugby is here to talk grassroots coaching and ways we can support coaches to add in-game challenges into training. Rugby World Cup winner Lewis Moody was one of the first to introduce Mike to MatchPlay Cards©️ with his company Mad Dog Rugby.

Fresh from joining us our UK TOUR stop in Hertford, Head of Academy Performance at St Albans City FC, Anthony Golsing jumps in to share how the impact of using games as soon as players arrive, designing tournaments with MatchPlay Cards©️ and capturing learning with Reflection MatchPlay Cards©️.

Need some more ideas on ways to challenge your players? This one is for you! We are joined by three awesome some teaching friends who share their experiences of using a games based approach and MatchPlay Cards©️. 

Live from California, Physed Teacher Stephanie is on the podcast to share ideas on small sided games, creating real learning gold in your lessons and ways to add MatchPlay Cards©️ in your games. Follow Stephanie on socials @Smsandio

Adam has been supporting coaches on England Handball and The FA Coach Education programmes with stacks of new ideas on how to use a games based approach. A believer in MatchPlay Cards© since they were first launch in 2019, Adam shares reflections and ways to get the most out of your challenge cards. 

Joined by Head of Football Dulwich Prep Sport, Sean Crane we sits down to reflect an epic morning of games with MatchPlay Cards as we supported staff to deliver a football session for their players and staff.

Designing games, setting problems and adding team and player missions with MatchPlay Cards, there is plenty of takeaways to impact your coaching.

Rio 2016 Olympian, 70+ Caps for the New Zealand Black Sticks and now Talent Development Officer at North Harbour Hockey, James Coughlan OLY jumps on the podcast.

A must listen with your notebook at the ready! Danny Fowler of DF Coaching chats on the podcast about his work at Middlesbrough Football Club and throughout the grassroots Foundation Phase as he uses games as a learning tool for players to explore their game.

• Setting team challenges
• Themed pitches and games
• The making of the best 60 minutes a week

Using MatchPlay Cards across their programmes at DF Coaching and Middlesbrough Football Club, you can SHOP YOUR CARDS HERE:

Middlesborough Football Club Head of Coaching, Phil Shead shares why the famed academy is renowned for player development and how the first team famously once fielded a whole starting lineup of academy graduates.

Using MatchPlay Cards across the Foundation Phase and into the Youth Development Phase, The Coaching Lab has supported Middlesborough FC coaches throughout 2021 to get the most out of a games-based approach to coaching with our MatchPlay Cards.

A podcast special to wrap up 2021! Professor Stephen Harvey (Ohio University), Rus Smith (Wolverhampton University), and Paul Barry (Crystal Palace FC) join us to share tones of ideas of using games in sessions and ways to get the most out of MatchPlay Card in your sessions. 

Live from The Stoop, Schools Manager at Harlequins Rugby Foundation Matt Williams is on the podcast to chat about coaching interventions and how we can be more inclusive.

Jaxon Hogan; leader of awesome primary school physed experiences, lover of functional movement skills and University Western Australia Masters student exploring impactful Physical Education environments. Jaxon supported us to create our NEW Animal MatchPlay Cards! Challenging our thinking, sharing tones of ideas and ways to develop young people through play and games. 

Coaching, Health, & Physical Education, Professor, Dr Stephen Harvey of Ohio University connects theory to practice of MatchPlay Cards, top tips for first-time coaches and the role coaches play in building sessions that look and feel like the game.

Stephen's research is focused on teacher/coach pedagogy and practice and its influence on student/player learning. Co-author of Positive Pedagogy for Sports Coaching (2019), Advances in Rugby Coaching: An Holistic Approach (2015), and co-editor of two additional books, Ethics in Youth Sport (2012) and Contemporary Developments in Games Teaching (2014)

Champion youth coach, chaos loving, people first coach Mark Lee shares his approach to working with the new generation of youngsters.

How much time do we spend on the edge of chaos compared to the safety of clarity? Using a game-based approach and MatchPlay Cards to develop adaptive, confident and problem-solving environments that support players to the best they can be. Capturing experiences with Reflection MatchPlay Cards to check and challenge learning. 

@MarkLeeFC / @PFT_Programs 

“My aim in life is to inspire children and adults to play hockey and love it as much as I do!!” England Hockey Coach of the Year, Angie Cottee, lover of games-based coaching, creating playful and interactive experiences as she works with 700+ youngsters every week from school to club settings. We chat about learning through play, supporting individuals to get in the game and how MatchPlay Cards are impacting having on her coaching.  Resources  

Discussed: Gameday Coaching blog - https://www.thecoachinglab.org/post/gameday-coaching  

Founder of The Coaching Lab and creator of MatchPlay Cards, Jack Rolfe takes us through the 4 psych/social principles shaping their design and the impact on coaches Turning the role of the coach from a problem solver to a problem solver and being designers of learning to develop expert decision-makers!

A MatchPlay Cards Euro2020 special with UK Coaching Coach Developer of The Year, University of Wolverhampton Sports Coaching Lecturer and grassroots football champion Rus Smith's. England themed challenges, playing like Ronaldo and promoting self-challenge with world-class role models.