This week, you'll hear from John Serhan, one of Australia's most successful golf coaches who is currently head teaching professional at St Michael's Golf Club in Sydney's east, having previously won NSW PGA Coach of the Year. Now, he coaches juniors right through to touring professionals. He knows all too well that people like Tiger Woods are the exception, not the rule. In June this year, a report by Forbes, estimated Tiger Woods' net worth to be at least $US 1 billion, including $121 million in prize money. There's certainly dollar signs in the eyes of some parents, who'd love for their kids ..read more

This week on SportsParenthood, our guest David King, speaks honestly and openly about his early success as an athlete, his natural talent, and in his words, "being washed up" by the time he was just 15 years old. He talks about his world imploding. Then, coming back to sport where he was on the cusp of a professional career in rugby league, before deciding to walk away. You'll hear how he reflects on that moment now. For David, a mental skills coach, director of administration at a school in Sydney, teacher, endurance athlete and charity director, his early experiences have led him to apprecia ..read more

What's a sports parent to do when your child stops playing? How are we supposed to feel about it? What are we supposed to do? What role should we play? These are just some of the questions we've been asking ourselves in the last month or so since one of our kids made the really hard decision to stop competitive swimming. While it's not for us to go into the details of her decision, which she'd made with careful consideration and lots of maturity - today, we're going to reflect on how it impacted on us, and how we've processed the situation that has been a huge part of our lives, too. Interesti ..read more

Do your sports kids feel nervous, even anxious, before they play a game or line up to compete? What does this mean? Why does it happen? As sports parents, what can we do to help? In this episode, we speak with Rory Darkins - a high-performance coach and positive psychology researcher who transitioned into the mental side of sport while playing high-level cricket. He started asking important questions such as: Do athletes have to sacrifice their wellbeing to get to the top of their sport. Is there a better way? Well, the short answer is, yes. Currently, Rory is the training partner of two-time ..read more

You probably won't believe this. The first women's Rugby League match in Australia was played in Sydney, on Saturday, 17 September 1921. In September 2018, almost 100 years later, the first season of the NRLW -Australia's national rugby league competition for female players - kicked off with four teams. Now, there are some big things in the wings, with players like our guest this week leading the game into the future. On the show today, we speak with Yasmin Clydsdale (nee Meakes), who plays for the Sydney Roosters. Over the past two NRLW seasons, she's played in two grand finals, scored a try ..read more

This week, be prepared to experience light bulb moment after light bulb moment. That's how John and I felt while speaking with our guest, Gayelene Clews, renowned sports and performance psychologist, educator and author of the book, Wired to Play. Gayelene is a former elite athlete herself - with a number one world triathlon ranking - and she was the youngest ever Australian open women's cross country champion at just 15 years of age. You'll also hear about her own 'aha' moment when she was competing in a half ironman triathlon in Hawaii. This is one of those conversations that'll have you rea ..read more

Something tells us you've got strong feelings about community coaches. Your kids have probably had great community coaches, and perhaps they've experienced not-so-great ones, too. You may even be a community coach yourself - and goodness knows, it's a tough gig. This week on SportsParenthood, we speak with Richard McInnes, who is currently CEO of Water Polo Australia, and is a degree-qualified sports scientist and former multiple World Cup winning coach. He talks to us about what Water Polo Australia is doing as an early adopter of the new community coaching reforms, what makes a great coach ..read more

In the first episode in our new season of the show, sports psychologist Rob Brown joins us to talk about a topic that is increasing in prominence: pets and sports performance. It is a feel-good approach - and it really works. It is well-documented animals can help us reduce stress, anxiety, and depression, and ease loneliness. Animals have been used in settings like hospitals and airports for their calming qualities. Less known is that athletes are using animals to up their mental game. So, why are animals helpful for athletes? We dig into the research and, we discuss the example of the 2016 S ..read more

SEASON FINALE: NEW SEASON STARTS THURSDAY, 28 APRIL 2022 If there's one thing sports parents are talking about right now - it's COVID. Who's got it, who's had it, who has to isolate? Wear a mask or not wear a mask? Plus, making the tough calls to stay COVID-free in an effort to get on the start line, like missing out on birthday parties or other social events. It feels relentless, it feels exhausting, and it feels unfair. Besides the obvious inconvenience of having to isolate with COVID, we wanted to talk about what happens next. Like you, we've heard stories of kids who have been able to jump ..read more

In this episode of SportsParenthood, what happens when young sportspeople are thrust into the spotlight, without the maturity and skills to handle the situation? For most of us, we have no first-hand experience of what it's like, how it feels, and much less the scrutiny involved. Are our expectations too high? Today, we're bringing you a perspective from a rugby league player who has walked this path - who went from obscurity to the next-big-thing way faster than he ever imagined. And, readily admits he didn't know how to deal with the pressure of it all. You'll hear from Dylan Walker, premier ..read more