Ep 81 – MI for Sport & Performance

Talking To Change - A Motivational Interviewing Podcast

Ep 81 – MI for Sport & Performance

July 08, 2024

MI for Sport and Performance

Glenn and Sebastian welcomed Dr. Ben Freakley, CMPC on the podcast to discussed MI in sport and performance settings. Ben is a leader in the field of applied sport and performance psychology with a career spanning over two decades. He is the founder and CEO of Ready, Set, Resilient, which provides sports and performance psychology services to individuals, teams, and organizations.

MI with Sport and Performance

Throughout his career, Ben has held several significant positions. He served as the Head of Mental Performance for the Toronto Blue Jays, where he led the development and delivery of mental skills programs across all levels of the organization. He was also the inaugural head coach and general manager of Tormenta FC in the United Soccer League (USL). His expertise extends to tactical environments, having worked as the performance psychology coach with the 75th Ranger Regiment of the United States Army Special Operations Forces.

Ben holds a doctoral degree in Sport and Performance Psychology with an emphasis in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. He is also a Certified Mental Performance Consultant (CMPC) through the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP). His research focus areas include leadership preferences of NCAA Division One coaches and psychological frameworks that promote human flourishing.

Before his full-time work in sport and performance psychology, Ben spent over a decade as an NCAA College Soccer coach demonstrating his versatility and depth in coaching, psychology of performance, and team culture.

In his private practice, Ben works with executives and businesses, professional athletes and teams, and NCAA college athletics programs to help them evaluate and enhance their processes, performance, and well-being.

Ben is a sought-after speaker on topics such as resilience, mental performance, motivation, leadership, and organizational culture.

Episode index:

00:00 – Opening and episode preview

05:27 – Ben intro and early MI story

08:35 – Autonomy support in sport and military settings

15:01 – Shifting between following, guiding, and directing

17:20 – MI spirit in sport

24:45 – “Being a warm fire”

28:00 – Progressive sporting institutions

41:00 – What is success beyond winning?

43:00 – Situations in sport when MI helps

54:45 – Key points for coaches to learn and apply