In this episode Sport and Performance Psychologist in Elite Sport Rebecca Levett joins Gordon MacLelland to discuss supporting a healthy identity in our sporting children.

We all want our children to have the opportunity to explore various identities and learn that their sense of worth can come from different areas and that many skills and strengths are valued not just those associated with ‘achieving success’.

During the conversation they discuss amongst other things:

• Identity and how we define ourselves
• How our children’s identity may influence their behaviour
• Not closing things down too early and allowing our children to experience lots of different things in their life
• Being conscious of what we praise and value as parents
• Helping our children have a 100% focus on their sport at the right time, but not the whole time
• Supporting the development of skills in our children that can then transfer into multiple domains
• The importance of parental role modelling particularly our interactions as parents around learning and disappointment
• Making sure our children know we ‘love them’ regardless of what they achieve
• How their social groups can influence their identity
• Does having an “on pitch” identity or persona mean being a different person?

Rebecca is a Sport and Performance Psychologist with a wealth of experience in elite sport. She runs a consultancy called Sporting Success and is currently working with GB hockey with the Women’s team, Harlequins Women’s rugby and Sussex Men’s Cricket. Prior to these roles Rebecca spent 4 years at the English Football Association as a Senior
Psychologist: 3 years with the Men’s U21s team and 12 months with the Senior Women’s team, the Lionesses. In addition Rebecca has previously worked with the Women’s first Team at Manchester City, spent 6 years with Archery GB with the Paralympic Squad and 9 years with Surrey Country Cricket Club alongside consultancy work for the England and Wales Cricket Board.
Rebecca has a strong belief that sustainable high performance is underpinned by high levels of wellbeing and also that we are all performers in our own right whether on the pitch, in the boardroom or even at home! Rebecca’s experience enables her to blend scientific knowledge with realities of what it is like ‘pitch side’ to ensure solutions are practical and not just jargon! Rebecca is registered as a Practitioner Psychologist with the Health and Care Professions Council and is a Chartered Psychologist with the British Psychological Society.