From the pressures of leading Yorkshire’s bowling attack during back-to-back County Championship wins to grappling with self-doubt despite his success, Jack provides a refreshingly honest look at life on and off the pitch. He reflects on the influence of legendary coaches like Jason Gillespie, the camaraderie of dressing rooms, and the reality of managing a cricket career while planning for life after sport.

Whether you're a budding cricketer, a sports enthusiast, or curious about the psychology behind elite performance, Jack’s story is one of grit, adaptability, and a pure passion for the game. Don’t miss his advice for young athletes and insights on transitioning into coaching at one of the country’s most storied clubs.

This is an episode packed with inspiration, laughs, and lessons from a man who made every moment on the field—and beyond—count.

About Jack
Jack Brooks is a former professional cricketer renowned for his bowling and dynamic presence on the field. Affectionately nicknamed "The Headband Warrior" for his distinctive headgear, Brooks began his cricketing journey in village cricket before advancing through Minor County Oxfordshire and Surrey's second XI. He secured a professional contract with Northamptonshire in 2008, marking his first-class debut against the touring Australians in 2009. Brooks later joined Yorkshire in 2012, playing a pivotal role in their consecutive County Championship victories in 2014 and 2015. In 2018, he signed with Somerset, contributing to their T20 Blast triumph in 2023. Over his 15-year career, Brooks amassed over 650 wickets across all formats and achieved a first-class century. Transitioning from player to mentor, he now focuses on coaching, aiming to impart his extensive experience to aspiring cricketers.

Instagram: @brooksyferret
Linkedin: Jack Brooks

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About Arian
Arian Forouhandeh is the Physical Performance Data Lead at Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club, where he focuses on data-driven strategies to enhance player performance and prevent injuries. His academic background includes a Master's degree in Exercise Physiology, a Bachelor's in Sport and Exercise Science, and a professional certificate in Data Science. Arian is also pursuing a professional doctorate aimed at developing integrated models for injury prevention in professional football. His previous roles encompass performance analysis internships at Nottingham Forest FC, as well as sports science data analysis positions with USA Hockey and Loughborough Hockey.

Instagram: @datainsport
Linkedin: Arian Forouhandeh

About Ryan
Ryan White is the Sports Science Analyst for the first team at Crystal Palace Football Club, where he delivers daily insights and communicates data across multiple departments, contributing to the club's integrated research strategy. He is nearing the completion of his PhD, which has provided him with a strong academic foundation in sports science and data analytics. Prior to his current role, Ryan served as a Sports Scientist at Leeds Rhinos and Yorkshire Carnegie

Instagram: @ryan_white_93
LinkedIn: Ryan White

To find out more about the Certified Sports Data Analyst https://bit.ly/certifiedsportsdataanalyst

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Specifically Jacob will be looking at:

• Downsides to getting massive contracts
• How money affects psychology
• How athletes can keep themselves grounded

About Jacob

"Jacob is the founder of JL Strategic Wealth, a investment advisory firm focused on clients navigating sudden wealth. Prior to founding JL Strategic Wealth, Jacob was the 9th overall pick in the 2009 MLB draft. He played 11 years professionally both at the MLB level as well as internationally in the KBO. Jacob’s passion in his next chapter is helping to educate athletes on the financial challenges they face in their careers."

Twitter/Instagram: @TheSuddenWealth

www.Jlswealth.com

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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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Specifically you will learn:

• How to prepare for career transitions
• How organisations can help employees
• How to improve your health, wealth and wellness

About Josh

"Josh has dedicated his business Career Blueprint to performance practitioner well-being. ‘We look after it athletes well-being but ours is an afterthought. It’s about time we started looking after our own happiness, health and wealth dont you think?’"

Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/practitionerwellbeing
IG: @careerblueprint
Twitter: @coachblueprint1
Website: www.yourcareer-blueprint.com

About John

"John is an experienced performance coach with over 15 years’ experience coaching in elite sport and the public domain. To date, John has worked with numerous professional youth, senior and international athletes from over 13 different sports, including work in professional soccer, Rugby Union/League, Olympic snowsports, Golf and Formula racing. In 2019, John founded NoonanPerformance.com and now operates as a performance consultant to various athletes, teams and corporate clients, providing a hybrid of physical preparation, physical therapy and coach mentorship services.

Academically, John has an undergraduate degree in sport science and a postgraduate degree in applied biomechanics from Liverpool John Moores University, researching performance requirements of Olympic freestyle snowsport athletes. Specifically, John’s research examined the kinetic and kinematic demands of snowboard jump landings, the findings which John has presented internationally and nationally at the Australian and UK Strength and Conditioning (ASCA and UKSCA) Conferences. John currently holds professional certifications with the UKSCA, Postural Restoration Institute (PRI).

John’s professional interests continue to revolve around improving movement and athletic performance, as well as helping coaches succeed in both coaching and business based projects through the NoonanPerformance Coach Mentorship Programme."

Website: www.noonanperformance.com
Instagram/Twitter: JohnnoonanCoach

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​ 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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Specifically David will be looking at:

• What range is
• Why range is superior
• Impact of improved range
• How to practically get more range

About David

"David Epstein is the author of the #1 New York Times best seller Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World — which Bill Gates featured in his end-of-year recommendations — and of the New York Times best seller The Sports Gene, both of which have been translated in more than 20 languages. (To his surprise, the latter was purchased not only by his sister but also by President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.) He is also the host of Slate’s popular “How To!” podcast.

He was previously a science and investigative reporter at ProPublica, and prior to that a senior writer at Sports Illustrated, where he co-authored the story that revealed Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez had used steroids. His writing has been honored by an array of organizations, from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, to the Society of Professional Journalists and the National Center on Disability and Journalism, and has been included in the Best American Science and Nature Writing anthology. His story “Following the Trail of Broken Hearts,” on sudden cardiac death in athletes, was chosen as one of the top 100 stories of the last 100 years by Columbia Journalism alumni.

David has given talks about performance science and the uses (and misuses) of data on five continents; his TED Talks (here and here) have been viewed more than 10 million times. Three of his stories have been optioned for films: a Sports Illustrated story on the only living Olympian to have survived a concentration camp; an Atlantic/ProPublica piece detailing the DEA’s fraught pursuit of Chapo Guzman’s rivals; and a 2016 “This American Life” episode he wrote and narrated about a woman with two rare diseases who shares a mutant gene with an Olympic medalist.

David has master’s degrees in environmental science and journalism, and is reasonably sure he’s the only person to have co-authored a paper in the journal of Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research while a writer at Sports Illustrated. (Like many of the characters in Range, he has benefitted from a winding career.) He has worked as an ecology researcher in the Arctic, studied geology and astronomy while residing in the Sonoran Desert, and blithely signed up to work on the D-deck of a seismic research vessel shortly after it had been attacked by pirates.

David enjoys volunteering with the Pat Tillman Foundation and Classroom Champions, and, as of recently, with the National COVID-19 Convalescent Plasma Project. An avid runner, he was a Columbia University record holder and twice NCAA All-East as an 800-meter runner."

Website: https://davidepstein.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DavidEpstein

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​ An entire issue of our sports science eMagazine, including 19 research reviews
​ Save hours of time as each review is presented as an easy-to-digest, 1 page summary of the study
​ Guidance on how to practically use the results of every study reviewed with your own athletes
​ Enhance your knowledge in all areas of sports science including strength & conditioning, recovery, nutrition and more
​ Learn from trusted industry experts as they translate complex study results into practical methods for you to use today

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🙏🏽 Thank you to our sponsors

We'd like to say a huge thank you to our wonderful sponsors for supporting this amazing podcast.

FLEX by GymAware

Find out why VBT is such a powerful training method and what separates FLEX from the competition via the link below.

https://bit.ly/FLEX-gymaware

Hawkin Dynamics

To learn more about force plates and Hawkin Dynamics, check out their blog which is full of educational and practical blog posts.

https://bit.ly/hawkin-dynamics

Specifically Lachlan will be looking at:

• How much individualisation is important
• What are limiting factors for individualisation
• Individualisation in team vs private settings

About Lachlan:

"I am currently director of a facility here in Sydney Australia called Athletes Authority which is a private facility for athletes only, whether that’s development, amateur or pro athletes. My background was initially as a personal trainer back in the day, so came out of the Fitness First ranks. Worked for the GWS Giants for 8 years as the Strength & Power coach, and then moved over to the dark side to the NRL with the Paramatta Eels where I was head of performance there for a couple of years, before I moved into the private sector, with the current facility expanding at a rate we didn’t plan on, but it’s been very good. So I jumped on board with our co-owner Carl, and here we are!"

https://athletesauthority.com.au/

Instagram:
@perforamancecoach_wilmot
@athletesauthority

Twitter:
@lachlan_wilmot
@athletesauthority

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*
*
*

Thank you to our sponsors

We'd like to say a huge thank you to our wonderful sponsors for supporting this amazing podcast.

FLEX by GymAware

Find out why VBT is such a powerful training method and what separates FLEX from the competition at:

https://bit.ly/FLEX-gymaware

Hawkin Dynamics

To learn more about force plates and Hawkin Dynamics, check out their blog which is full of educational and practical blog posts.

https://bit.ly/hawkin-dynamics