Episode 341

Preparing Athletes for Pressure and Adversity

October 12th, 2026

32 mins 15 secs

Transcript

Link with Timestamp

Download MP3 (44.3 MB)

Your Host
Tags
science for sport richard graves dr nick holton nick holton antifragility resilience sports psychology sport psychology performance psychology mental performance mental skills training athlete development elite sport sports science coaching psychological flexibility athlete wellbeing athlete burnout stress management pressure in sport adversity in sport visualisation flow state mindfulness human flourishing positive psychology recovery sustainable performance the antifragile academy myedge

About this Episode

Can athletes learn to grow from pressure, rather than simply recover from it?

This week, Richard Graves welcomes Dr Nick Holton to the Science for Sport podcast to explore antifragility: the idea that appropriately managed challenges could help athletes develop greater capacity to handle future demands.

Nick explains how he distinguishes antifragility from resilience, and why preparing athletes for difficult moments means looking beyond visualising the perfect performance. They discuss how coaches can introduce realistic challenges, account for individual differences, and support athletes through the experience and recovery afterwards.

For practitioners, the central question is how to create enough challenge to encourage development without overwhelming the athlete. Nick discusses the importance of understanding the specific emotions involved, why strong performances can conceal a risk of burnout, and how athlete feedback and wearable data might inform a more complete picture.

They also examine the limitations of the research. Antifragility remains an emerging field, with questions around its definition, measurement and application in sport. Nick shares what his team is investigating and what coaches can take from the concept while that evidence develops.

In this episode you will learn

  • How Nick distinguishes antifragility from resilience and robustness.
  • Why visualisation should also prepare athletes for difficult and imperfect circumstances.
  • Why psychological challenges need to reflect the individual athlete’s capacity and experience.
  • How pressure, frustration, disappointment and anger can require different responses.
  • Why recovery, athlete agreement and appropriate support matter when introducing challenges.
  • How performance, wellbeing and burnout can tell different stories about the same athlete.
  • Where antifragility research currently stands and what better measurement could offer practitioners.

About Dr Nick Holton
Dr Nick Holton is a performance and wellbeing coach, consultant and co-founder of The Antifragile Academy. He works with professional and collegiate athletes, alongside organisations in education, business and first-response services. His work focuses on human flourishing: supporting performance alongside wellbeing and fulfilment. A former football coach with 15 years’ coaching experience, Nick brings a background in education and psychology to his work with athletes and coaches.

FREE 7d SCIENCE FOR SPORT ACADEMY TRIAL

SIGN UP NOW: https://bit.ly/SFSepisode241

​ Learn Quicker & More Effectively
​ Optimise Your Athletes' Recovery
​ Position Yourself As An Expert To Your Athletes And Naturally Improve Buy-In
​ Reduce Your Athletes' Injury Ratese
​ Save 100's Of Dollars A Year That Would Otherwise Be Spent On Books, Courses And More
​ Improve Your Athletes' Performance
​ Advance Forward In Your Career, Allowing You To Earn More Money And Work With Elite-Level Athletes
​ Save Yourself The Stress & Worry Of Constantly Trying To Stay Up-To-Date With Sports Science Research