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Coaching Sports Needs to Change

Helen Wright
14 episodes   Last Updated: Apr 25, 24

Helen Wright, author of the book “Barefoot Flying”, is a five-time university national championship coach and has been influential in creating and promoting rugby in Canada.  Helen believes that coaching must change to be relevant for today’s athletes and participants.  These podcasts will appeal to coaches, players, parents, administrators, and anyone who is interested in sport delivery or coaching in any medium.  Please join Helen and her guests as they discuss and explore how coaching has affected lives and how it can change to be a more positive and enjoyable experience for everyone.

Episodes

Helen Wright is a five-time university national championship rugby coach and has been an influential creator and promotor of women’s rugby in Canada.  This podcast is about her views and discussions on how coaching sports needs to change.  Podcast #14 is a must for players.  It describes the vital difference between who you are and what you do. This podcast describes some of Helen’s experiences and her ideas about how to maneuver through that selection process with your own self worth intact. 
Helen Wright is a five-time university national championship rugby coach and has been an influential creator and promotor of women’s rugby in Canada.  This podcast is about her views and discussions on how coaching sports needs to change.  Podcast #13 is a must for players, coaches and parents who are involved in representative levels of sport where the selection process can be traumatic and leave negative self esteem blueprints for the player.  This podcast describes some of Helen’s experiences and her ideas about how to maneuver through that selection process with your own self worth in tact. 
Helen Wright is a five-time university national championship rugby coach and has been an influential creator and promotor of women’s rugby in Canada.  This podcast is about her views and discussions on how coaching sports needs to change.  Episode #12 is an interview with Wyatt, a fifteen-year-old hockey player.  Wyatt describes his motivation for playing sports and how he got started.  There is an interesting connection to the sensory regulation that results as a natural outcome from practicing the skills of hockey and the related joy he feels in those moments.  He describes the influences of his coaches and his team mates and provides a surprisingly positive and mature view of sport’s value to the lives of young participants. 
Helen Wright is a five-time university national championship rugby coach and has been an influential creator and promotor of women’s rugby in Canada.  This podcast is about her views and discussions on how coaching sports needs to change.  Episode #11 is a must hear for parents, players, and coaches.  She discusses the nuances and subtleties of the seeds of abuse.  She talks about what to be aware of in the environment of sport where the balances of power can tilt.
Helen Wright is a five-time university national championship rugby coach and has been and influential creator and promoter of women’s rugby in Canada.  This podcast speaks to the addiction of winning and the resulting self judgement that losing can contribute to our self esteem.
**This episode contains expletive language**Helen Wright is a five-time university national championship rugby coach and has been an influential creator and promotor of women’s rugby in Canada.  This podcast is about her views and discussions on how coaching sports needs to change.  Episode #9 is an interview with Nikki Cloutier, who has been an untiring volunteer in this community.  Nikki has played rugby to high performance levels; she has coached everything from under fives to senior teams and she has been a primary contributor and administrator in the Edmonton and Alberta rugby Unions.  Nikki discusses her love and passion for the game and the challenges that could push her to consider leaving the game.  Nikki is not the only volunteer to feel this immense stress and unless this environment changes, we will soon lose the game that we have all grown to love.
Helen Wright is a five-time university national championship rugby coach and has been an influential creator and promotor of women’s rugby in Canada.  This podcast is about her views and discussions on how coaching sports needs to change.  Episode #8 looks at the concept of “power over” and boundaries.  It discusses how players, coaches and individuals can retain their own power, while still reaching for goals and overcoming challenges.  It also talks about boundaries and how to know what they are and when to use them.
Helen Wright is a five-time university national championship rugby coach and has been an influential creator and promotor of women’s rugby in Canada.  This podcast is about her views and discussions on how coaching sports needs to change.  Episode #7 takes a look why coaches need to create strategies and how asking the right questions can lead you to finding your mission statement and creating strategies that are in alignment with who you are as a coach, regardless of whether you are coaching under five soccer or high performance rugby.
Episode #6 is an interview with Jill Zonneveld, who was a significant contributor to the growth of women’s rugby from a local, regional, and national level to the international stage.  Jill is the only Canadian woman to have served on the International Rugby Board’s (now called World Rugby) Women’s Advisory Committee.  This is the untold history of how the women’s game got onto the international field.
This podcast is about the challenges of coaching a player who doesn't seem to be performing to their previous performance levels or capacity. Looking past the obvious areas of fitness, skill and motivation, we may have to delve into an area we may not be comfortable with. We may have to look at the self beliefs that me be blocking the performance. Their spiritual wellbeing is a huge factor in their performance.