Science for Sport Podcast - Episodes Tagged with “Athlete Transition”

289: What Sport Teaches Us About Leadership, Culture & the Human Mind

Science for Sport — Mon, 13 Oct 2025 06:00:00 +0100

This week, host Richard Graves welcomes David Mead, former professional rugby league star turned business leader, to discuss one of the most challenging transitions in sport, life after professional competition.
Over a 14-year professional career, David represented the Gold Coast Titans, Brisbane Broncos, and Catalan Dragons, as well as Papua New Guinea on the international stage. Today, he channels the lessons learned from elite sport into helping corporate teams and organisations build courage, respect, and accountability.
In this episode, David offers a deeply personal and insightful look at the highs and lows of professional sport, the mental and emotional adjustment that comes with retirement, and how athletes can successfully navigate the shift to a new identity beyond the game.

In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

What it takes to transition successfully from professional sport to life after competition
How to find identity and purpose once the playing days are over
The emotional and psychological challenges of retirement, and how to handle them
The importance of structure, support networks, and mindset for post-career success
Lessons from sport that translate directly into leadership and team performance in business
Why maintaining community, health, and balance is vital for long-term wellbeing ** About David Mead** David Mead is a former NRL and Super League player who represented Papua New Guinea, the Gold Coast Titans, Brisbane Broncos, and Catalan Dragons over a decorated 16-year career. Since retiring, David has become a business owner and performance coach, working with corporate and sporting organisations to instil the values of courage, respect, and accountability.

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Advance Forward In Your Career, Allowing You To Earn More Money And Work With Elite-Level Athletes
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268: From Wembley to Wake-Up Calls: Stevie Ward on Concussion, Courage & Life Beyond the Game

Science for Sport — Mon, 19 May 2025 06:00:00 +0100

This week on the Science for Sport Podcast, host Richard Graves sits down with former Leeds Rhinos captain Stevie Ward, a man who went from teenage prodigy to Grand Final winner, only to have his career cut short by concussion at just 27.

In this powerful and deeply human conversation, Stevie opens up about:

What it’s really like debuting alongside your childhood heroes
The fear and thrill of running out at Wembley at 18
The brutal highs and lows of elite performance, injury, and recovery
How fear, when embraced, can unlock peak performance
The emotional toll of early retirement and how he's rebuilding his identity beyond sport

But this isn’t just a story of sport. It’s about leadership, mental health, emotional intelligence, and what it means to be truly vulnerable, in a dressing room, a boardroom, or everyday life.
Whether you’re an athlete, coach, sports scientist, manager or just someone navigating life’s transitions, Stevie’s story is packed with insight and inspiration and how to lead with authenticity.

About Stevie Ward
Stevie is a former professional rugby player and part of the golden generation at the Leeds Rhinos, one of the most successful teams in Super League history. Stevie became the youngest grand final winner ever, going on to win two more Grand Finals and 2 Challenge Cups, and was named captain at just 26.

Amongst the highs, Stevie endured ten operations and several mental health struggles. This adversity inspired Stevie to launch Mantality in 2016 to promote mental health for men through counselling, life-coaching services, and a stigma-breaking podcast.

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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

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267: Athletes Aren’t Robots. Here’s What You’re Missing

Science for Sport — Mon, 12 May 2025 06:00:00 +0100

This week on the Science for Sport podcast, host Richard Graves is joined by the remarkable Dr. Kristin Keim – a clinical sports psychologist, former elite cyclist, and passionate advocate for athlete mental health.
In this powerful and thought-provoking episode, Kristin takes us beyond the buzzwords of “mental toughness” and into the real, nuanced world of clinical sports psychology. From helping Olympians navigate panic attacks to supporting athletes through concussions, identity loss, and retirement, Kristin shares what really goes on behind the scenes of peak performance.

You’ll learn:

Why no two concussions – or depressions – are ever the same
How chronic pain changed Kristin’s life and deepened her empathy as a clinician
The overlooked emotional challenges athletes face when their careers end
Why “just being tough” isn’t the answer – and what real resilience looks like
The one question every athlete and aspiring sports psychologist should ask themselves

With honesty, passion, and lived experience, Kristin busts myths around sports psychology and offers a rare window into what it truly takes to support athletes not just as performers, but as people.

About Dr Kristin Keim
Dr. Kristin Keim is a clinical and sport psychologist based in South Carolina, renowned for her work with elite athletes across endurance sports, cycling, triathlon, and MMA. A former professional cyclist, ballet dancer, and elite tennis player, she brings firsthand experience of high-performance sport to her practice. Through her company, Keim Performance Consulting, she offers a holistic, strength-based approach that integrates clinical psychology with performance science. Dr. Keim specializes in areas such as concussion recovery, performance anxiety, identity transition, and athlete mental health. Her philosophy, “Happy Racers Go Faster,” emphasizes the importance of athlete well-being as a foundation for peak performance.

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