TGtS Meets... Jamie Edwards

We've been speaking to performance coach Jamie Edwards on what it's like working with businesses, athletes, and the launch of his new workshop Strut Camp...

What was the inspiration behind Strut Camp?

I have coached a lot of executives.  Men and Women especially.  Female athletes who all said that if they'd have had this when they were 16 their career or live would have been different.  I guess the other inspiration was my daughter Marnie.  She's 8 and I know she will go through many challenges in her life personally and professionally.  The question is will she have the tools and skills. 

What is a performance coach?

 I help elite sports people and top businesses think differently by applying mental skills to their already honed technical skills. We are training people to DO all the time.  I help them blend technical skills with mental. Over the years I have noticed that it’s not can someone DO the job or play their sport.  That’s why they are there.  Their talent has taking them to that point.  What takes you to the next level is adding something different.

What’s the biggest challenge you’ve faced in your career?

Wow. Love that question. There are different periods of my own career where I would say each time has its own biggest challenge.  And there are many that come to mind.  I have had times when I have had to overcome personal challenges that have cropped up at career defining moments.  If you're not facing challenges then you are not living at the edge of your capacity.  I think being asked to present to a room of cynical clinical psychologists was one.  That session cemented my conviction in the approach to what I was doing and how I what I wanted trainedbrain to stand for.  Practical and applicable that could be used immediately.  

You’ve worked with a lot of athletes and business, what’s the best thing we can learn from each of these?

I have learned lots from both. I think mainly that Sports and business are constantly looking to improve. So they are looking for "what's next".  That’s in the future. So the real skill is the ability to have some focus on 'what’s next' whilst having the skill of focusing on the present moment. You don't develop that skill unless you are willing to create a culture that moves from having performance CHATS to performance CONVERSATIONS. 

Young people often suffer from a lack of confidence, why do you think that is?

It’s a big question.  It's why I do what I do and why I started Strutcamp.  We have taught them that they get rewarded in life for DOING. But what we haven't given them are the tools and skills to BE.  So we send them up this mountain called "life or sports".  They are told "You are talented, you have lots of potential, you are beautiful; you can have it all." 

This expectation is huge today.  One of the reasons why there is so much concern about mental health and well-being of young people. 

We know as parents, coaches and teachers that the conditions are going to change on the journey.  The terrain won't be smooth, the rain or snow will come in and we are sending them up there with a very lightweight jacket, a cagoule as we call it.  That's crazy! What they need is a big jacket. The right gear & equipment.  The right tools.  So one father said to me, "Jamie, that's called life and they need to learn from experience." My reply was "Would you go up Mt Everest with a pair of trainers and you sweater?" And by the way.  Now we are giving them certain tools that are very important. Education is only one tool.  It’s a tool for DOING.  So let’s say they get the right tools.  Do they have the skill to use the tool?  If they have the tool and skill (potential) to use it. 

Then the bigger question is do they have the CONFIDENCE to use the tool in the right time and allow their skills to come out?  It’s a lack of BELIEF.  But who coaches that? I see it in sports.  The player has the tools and skills but not the confidence. 

LET GO OF IT. HEAL IT. RESOLVE IT. DEAL WITH IT. How did you come up with this mantra? 

Over the years of coaching and consulting people in sports and business and in life I found that these are the skills you have to have to develop your MENTAL GAME.  And you need tools in all of them and may need to seek them out yourself as they are not on any curriculums. 

LET GO OF IT - a problem, a challenge, a thought or something from your past that is affecting you. 

HEAL it - Taking care of YOUR past.  Something that you might not be able to control but impacts your thinking and your well-being. 

RESOLVE IT - Do you have skills to resolve the situation? 

DEAL WITH IT - Ultimately, the mental skill of committing to deal with what the game or life throws at you. 

What’s the best piece of advice you have ever received?

I don't think there are best pieces.  If I use it and it has helped me in a situation it was the best advice I could have at that moment.  But I will give you a few of the ones that have just popped in my head.  "Good things happen when you show up. If you don't show up good things can't happen." 

If you could offer one piece of advice to our readers, what would it be?

It's not a sign of weakness to talk to someone about what’s on your mind. To add to that. Have less chats and start having more honest conversations. Nothing improves unless you can develop that skill.

If you could sum up Strut Camp in three words, which would you choose and why?

That was difficult. What I am trusting my instinct with is FUTURE PROOFED CONFIDENCE. The future is uncertain for many young people. And the more you can deal with the uncertainty the more they will navigate the future with a knowing that they will be ok regardless of that comes their way.  Things happen. That's called life.  PROOFED because these are tools and skills that are being tested and used every day in the real world. And finally confidence because ultimately that means different things to everyone. We can’t only educate young women to think confidently.  We have to educate them to feel confident.  There's a BIG difference.   

When you’re not busy working or helping others, how do you spend your down time? 

I spend time with the people I love.  Workout, Bikram Yoga are two that don't change.  I read, and I golf in my dreams these days.  The next 12 months my down time will be about cooking more and developing a new skill.