"Football is the vehicle but what we are doing is helping people to triumph in life."Mental skills are often an undervalued part of elite sport. The harsh lessons from a short career in the game informed today's guest's journey through the sport. Dr.Ceri Bowley is the former Head of Methodology at City Football Group and ex Rangers First Team Coach. Fresh from finishing up at Rangers Dr.Ceri joined me today to reflect on his career to date with a huge emphasis on how we as coaches ensure lifelong learning never stops for the athlete.Through consistent support and challenge learn from Dr,Ceri as to how we can make success inevitable in our circles, why the best answers exist beyond the performance environment and why the most optimal approach is usually "as individual as possible, as specific as possible and as often as possible".A lot to takeaway in this one.Listen to find out more including;- How struggling with psychology as a young player fuelled a desire to learn beyond the pitch.- Understanding the person to unlock potential.- "Personal stability leads to consistent performance."- What does effective practice look like?- His take on Cody Royle's quote regarding "coach optimization is the biggest barrier to success in team sport".- Working for the global behemoth that is City Football Group.Timestamps;00:00 - 04:38 - Intro04:39 - 13:21 - Unlocking Potential13:22 - 18:09 - Individual Focus18:10 - 25:03 - City Football Group25:04 - 29:16 - Coach Support29:17 - 32:35 - Rangers32:36 - 42:26 - Technical Director42:27 - 45:30 - AdviceCeri's LinkedIn; https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-ceri-bowley-cmgr-mcmi-37b26048/Ceri's Twitter; https://twitter.com/ceribowley?lang=enGet in touch;Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conorwalsh1995/Twitter: https://twitter.com/cwalsh95?lang=enYouTube; https://www.youtube.com/@TheLowdownPodEmail: cwalsh95@outlook.ie