ZEPP FM | Sport psychology for athletes, coaches & future sport psychologists - ZEPP FM 004 - Emotional intelligence - or how to breathe with Dr Sylvain Laborde

ZEPP FM 004 - Emotional intelligence - or how to breathe with Dr Sylvain Laborde

08/08/18 • 63 min

ZEPP FM | Sport psychology for athletes, coaches & future sport psychologists

Sylvain is not only a very good colleague of mine - he is one of the most successful early career researchers in sport psychology and especially emotional intelligence. Talking to Sylvain about his passion for research and how athletes can benefit from his knowledge was truly inspiring for me.

Every time I’m travelling to scientific conferences and Sylvain is there as well he is some kind of a celebrity. People want to talk to him, learn from him and are interested in his current experiments. Everyone wants to know what he identified, how they can become more emotionally intelligent themselves or how they can help their athletes to achieve this.

When I asked Sylvain, whether he could imagine sharing something he knows about emotional intelligence I thought that emotional intelligence refers only to a person being able to identify what is going on in the people around him or her. Like a coach who has to be empathetic and understand all of his athletes in order to create a trusting relationships with them. Man, was I wrong. Emotional intelligence is way more than that – and I am so glad I talked with Sylvain and that he cleared many things up for me!

This episode is full of knowledge, practical tips how to become more emotionally intelligent deal better with stress before, during and after competition – or every other situation that stresses you. ...and if you want to know what Sylvain would have told Zinedine Zidane before headbutting Marco Materazzi in the 2006 FIFA World Cup final, this episode is for you!

Previous Episode

ZEPP FM 003 - Being an athlete role model with Charles Fernandez

Today’s episode is very special to me because it is the first one with a guest, and it’s a pleasure that Charles Fernandez is the very first guest on the show. In 2014 Charles and I met in Guatemala, while he was preparing for the Central American and Caribbean Games in Veracruz.

Charles’ story is really inspiring, because he is the youngest modern pentathlon gold medalist in the history of the Pan American Games, and who has been nominated Athlete Role Model by the International Olympic Committee to teach young elite athletes about what it means to be the Olympic values at the Youth Olympic Games 2018 in Buenos Aires.

There are phrases out there that are over-extensively used like “you need to believe in your dreams” or “always give your best” – but when you listen to Charles Fernandez you realize that it were these phrases that kept him going even when the going got tough. It were these phrases that represent his inner attitudes and beliefs that helped him achieve his goals, becoming one of the best modern pentathletes in the world and competing at the Olympic Games 2016.

This episode is full of great stories, experiences and strategies Charles uses to stay motivated, cope with stress and overcome failure.

Next Episode

ZEPP FM 005 - Acceptance and gratitude in sports with Daniel Kirk

Daniel Kirk used to play Australian Ruled Football quite successfully – until he injured his ankle during a match, needing several surgeries that unfortunately left him with only 20% range of movement in his lower leg. Ultimately, he wasn’t able to return to his sport. However, he didn’t give up, fought his way back into sports and found a way to be an active athlete and a role model for other people instead.

I think it’s safe to say that many of us experience setbacks in life. Some setbacks might be small – some might be massive. I don’t have the right to judge if the setback Daniel had after he injured his ankle was a small or a huge setback – but it definitely made him struggle. But: he didn’t give up. He identified ways how to deal with the new circumstances, how to accept what has happened and how to use this situation to make the next major steps in his life – both, as a person and as an athlete.

If you have ever been in a situation where you didn’t know how to react and behave, how you could use it as a stepping stone for your future self, or where you thought: “I’m done – I can’t take it anymore” – then Daniel has some great thoughts and experiences to share with you. I’m grateful that Daniel took his time to answer all of my questions, that he shared how his first athletic career ended and his second career started, how he overcame his inner struggles and what it feels like to be a national team athlete today.

This episode is full of inspiration and great advices from an athlete who experienced a career ending injury, accepted his new identity, found a way to deal with his new situation, and started to represent his country at World Championships – and maybe in Tokio 2020, too.