The Mastering High Performance Podcast Tue, 07 Apr 2026 08:13:31 -0400 en-gb © 2026 The Mastering High Performance Podcast yes ebf45e15-7f99-5e22-9958-bc1204572f29 Paul Hamill and Nadine McCarthy episodic false The Mastering High Performance Podcast goes behind the scenes with high performers from sport and business to reveal stories, insights and strategies about what it really takes to master high performance.



]]> Buzzsprout (https://www.buzzsprout.com) Paul Hamill and Nadine McCarthy https://storage.buzzsprout.com/2p4zi9e972l94jv682h7d03c7dp9?.jpg The Mastering High Performance Podcast 5. Helping Athletes Get Better: Understanding the person behind the performance with Hayley Harrison, high performance athletics coach 5. Helping Athletes Get Better: Understanding the person behind the performance with Hayley Harrison, high performance athletics coach In the final part of this episode, we continue our conversation with Hayley Harrison - high-performance athletics coach and Coach Developer Lead with Sport Ireland, best known for her work with Olympian and bronze medalist Thomas Barr.

Essentially we wanted to know what does coaching at the highest level of athletics really look like?

We deep dive into the reality of high performance athletics coaching,  explore how elite athletes receive and respond to feedback, and reveal why true excellence demands total attention to detail - from both coach and athlete.

Part 2 of a two-part conversation.

]]> In the final part of this episode, we continue our conversation with Hayley Harrison - high-performance athletics coach and Coach Developer Lead with Sport Ireland, best known for her work with Olympian and bronze medalist Thomas Barr.

Essentially we wanted to know what does coaching at the highest level of athletics really look like?

We deep dive into the reality of high performance athletics coaching,  explore how elite athletes receive and respond to feedback, and reveal why true excellence demands total attention to detail - from both coach and athlete.

Part 2 of a two-part conversation.

]]> Paul Hamill and Nadine McCarthy Buzzsprout-18966264 Sun, 05 Apr 2026 18:00:00 -0400 1763 1 5 full false 4. Inside Elite Performance: Trust, Care, and the Coach-Athlete Bond with Hayley Harrison, High performance athletics coach. 4. Inside Elite Performance: Trust, Care, and the Coach-Athlete Bond with Hayley Harrison, High performance athletics coach. In this episode we were delighted to speak with Hayley Harrison, high performance athletics coach and Coach Developer Lead with Sport Ireland. Hayley is probably best known for her work with Olympian and European bronze medalist, Thomas Barr.

We dive into what it really takes to coach world-class athletes. Hayley shares powerful insights on building trust, the unique traits and characteristics that the top athletes possess, and what it means to be part of an athlete’s journey at the highest level.

We also explore the often-overlooked side of elite individual sport - how long-term coach-athlete relationships evolve, and what it takes to step away when the journey comes to its natural conclusion.


Part 1 of a two-part conversation.


]]> In this episode we were delighted to speak with Hayley Harrison, high performance athletics coach and Coach Developer Lead with Sport Ireland. Hayley is probably best known for her work with Olympian and European bronze medalist, Thomas Barr.

We dive into what it really takes to coach world-class athletes. Hayley shares powerful insights on building trust, the unique traits and characteristics that the top athletes possess, and what it means to be part of an athlete’s journey at the highest level.

We also explore the often-overlooked side of elite individual sport - how long-term coach-athlete relationships evolve, and what it takes to step away when the journey comes to its natural conclusion.


Part 1 of a two-part conversation.


]]> Paul Hamill and Nadine McCarthy Buzzsprout-18903419 Tue, 24 Mar 2026 19:00:00 -0400 2209 full false 3. The Infinite Game: Building High Performance through Incremental Improvement - Hamish Adams, CEO of Athletics Ireland. 3. The Infinite Game: Building High Performance through Incremental Improvement - Hamish Adams, CEO of Athletics Ireland. In this episode, we were delighted to speak with Hamish Adams, CEO of Athletics Ireland.

Hamish discusses what it takes to build and sustain high-performance environments. From the pursuit of medals to the reality of managing stakeholder expectations, the conversation explores the importance of incremental improvement at organisational level in a sport that has infinite opportunity. He reflects on the need to step out of high performance pressures, reset, and continually go again. He discusses the importance of living the values including honesty (sometimes bluntly) and integrity, and empowering the people around him through autonomy, mastery, and purpose.


]]> In this episode, we were delighted to speak with Hamish Adams, CEO of Athletics Ireland.

Hamish discusses what it takes to build and sustain high-performance environments. From the pursuit of medals to the reality of managing stakeholder expectations, the conversation explores the importance of incremental improvement at organisational level in a sport that has infinite opportunity. He reflects on the need to step out of high performance pressures, reset, and continually go again. He discusses the importance of living the values including honesty (sometimes bluntly) and integrity, and empowering the people around him through autonomy, mastery, and purpose.


]]> Paul Hamill and Nadine McCarthy Buzzsprout-18812282 Mon, 09 Mar 2026 03:00:00 -0400 2768 3 full false 2. Driving Performance through healthy tension (Part 2) with Ian 'Coz' Costello , General Manager at Munster Rugby . 2. Driving Performance through healthy tension (Part 2) with Ian 'Coz' Costello , General Manager at Munster Rugby . In this episode, we speak with Ian “Coz” Costello, General Manager at Munster Rugby, who brings decades of professional rugby experience across Ireland and the UK.

Coz shares practical insights on leadership, culture and sustainable high performance, grounded in the day-to-day realities of elite sport. Part 2 of this episode includes the importance of healthy tension in high performance environments, allowing for the ability to disagree and commit, and finding the right balance between performance safety and psychological safety in both development and performing at the highest level to "win now" and "win later."


]]> In this episode, we speak with Ian “Coz” Costello, General Manager at Munster Rugby, who brings decades of professional rugby experience across Ireland and the UK.

Coz shares practical insights on leadership, culture and sustainable high performance, grounded in the day-to-day realities of elite sport. Part 2 of this episode includes the importance of healthy tension in high performance environments, allowing for the ability to disagree and commit, and finding the right balance between performance safety and psychological safety in both development and performing at the highest level to "win now" and "win later."


]]> Paul Hamill and Nadine McCarthy Buzzsprout-18727131 Sun, 22 Feb 2026 16:00:00 -0500 2020 1 2 full false 1. Close the laptop and Connect (Part 1) with Ian 'Coz' Costello, General Manager at Munster Rugby. 1. Close the laptop and Connect (Part 1) with Ian 'Coz' Costello, General Manager at Munster Rugby. In this episode, we speak with Ian “Coz” Costello, General Manager at Munster Rugby, who brings decades of professional rugby experience across Ireland and the UK.

Coz shares practical insights on leadership, culture and sustainable high performance, grounded in the day-to-day realities of elite sport. From the importance of stepping away from the laptop to build genuine connection with players and staff, to intentionally embedding fun and energy into the week regardless of performance pressures, this conversation explores how elite environments balance people, systems and long-term development to "win now" and "win later."

Part 1 of a two-part conversation.

]]> In this episode, we speak with Ian “Coz” Costello, General Manager at Munster Rugby, who brings decades of professional rugby experience across Ireland and the UK.

Coz shares practical insights on leadership, culture and sustainable high performance, grounded in the day-to-day realities of elite sport. From the importance of stepping away from the laptop to build genuine connection with players and staff, to intentionally embedding fun and energy into the week regardless of performance pressures, this conversation explores how elite environments balance people, systems and long-term development to "win now" and "win later."

Part 1 of a two-part conversation.

]]> Paul Hamill and Nadine McCarthy Buzzsprout-18676961 Fri, 13 Feb 2026 11:00:00 -0500 2127 1 1 full false