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The Long Term Athletic Development (LTAD) space is an ever growing space in sport and there is no one better than Nathan who has worked in the space across multiple high performance school youth programs including Westfields Sports High School, St Augustine’s College Sydney and Brisbane Grammar. In addition, he’s also worked in professional sport with the Paramatta Eels (NRL) and Australia Women’s Rugby 7s team. Nathan shares the experience and lessons he has learnt in his career and having written the book on being a sporting parent titled “The Sporting Parent” he provides a comprehensive dive into how other practitioners can really excel in the field of LTAD.

Highlights from the episode…

• Nathan started his S&C career being inspired and training his brother in competitive Muy Thai fighting.
• How Nathan and I both discovered later in life what we wanted to do eventually enrolling in university as mature aged students.
• How a chance encounter with Darren Burgess as his lecturer at uni led to his first role in sport as a S&C coach with Parramatta Power FC.
• In a world where society rewards status, income, hierarchy etc. Nathan shares some of the financial challenges that many experience in the S&C industry and how he personally navigated this challenging period of his career.
• When do you give up on your dream? The tension for many in the industry between loving what you do and navigating at times low pay, long hours, volatility, the high competitiveness in the market etc.
• Nathan disuses the concept of “finite windows of opportunities” when periodising your career in professional sport.
• In today's society there is an emphasis on fulfillment in ones career. Is being fulfilled in your role that important?
• After financial challenges, working multiple years across semi professional sport, countless knock-backs, Nathan shares how he finally acquired his first professional full time role with the Parramatta Eels (NRL).
• Nathan shares his transition from the NRL to Rugby Australia with the national women’s Rugby 7s team.
• How Nathan used the COVID period to his advantage and how others can use periods of being out of the industry to really propelled them to the next level.
• Nathan is an expert in the LTAD space and we discuss how coaches can find a balance of being respectful of the challenges of youths these days yet pushing them beyond these challenges to build resilience.
• What my Asian mother and wife taught me about coaching.
• Dose winning matter and if not what is winning LTAD? The difference between “Infinite” and “Finite” games.
• The LTAD space is becoming a real avenue for many S&C coaches. Nathan shares the highlights and challenges of working in the LTAD industry.

People mentioned:

• Darren Burgess: https://podcasts.apple.com/np/podcast/darren-burgess-high-performance-manager-adelaide-crows/id1665811558?i=1000652813202
• Lachlan Wilmot: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lachlan-wilmot-21165460/
• David Joyce: https://podcasts.apple.com/np/podcast/david-joyce-world-renowned-high-performance-sports/id1665811558?i=1000658845031
• Simon Harries: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6AlZDezoETn9dEdVLiGNn4

Nathan Parnham contact details:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathan-parnham-19238022/
• X: https://x.com/NathanParnham
• Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/1VrSyA2N1DmuUFqXfbQ8De
• Book

Host: Luis Resa

Contact me on:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/luis-resa-a975196b/
• Email: luis.resa@outlook.com

Thanks for listening and please leave a review. If you would like more information on anything mentioned in this episode simply send me an email.