About this episode

Thomas Dos'Santos discusses the mistakes and learning experiences that have shaped his approach in sports performance coaching.

In this Stumbles episode of Performance Strategies and Stumbles, I'm joined again by Thomas Dos'Santos to explore the mistakes and learning experiences that have shaped his approach as a practitioner and researcher in sports performance. Tom reflects on what it felt like to walk into situations badly underprepared early in his career, and the lasting impact that had on how he approaches his work now. He shares honest lessons from his time coaching in para football — an environment that challenged his assumptions about athlete needs and pushed him to think differently about engagement and communication. We also get into the cost of saying yes to too much, how spreading yourself across too many commitments can quietly compromise the quality of everything you're doing. There's a thread running through all of it about the art of coaching — and what it actually takes to bridge research and real-world practice in a way that genuinely serves the athletes in front of you. Episode Sponsor — Output Sports This episode is supported by Output Sports. Output help coaches test, track, and programme athletes using one portable sensor and one platform — built to give practitioners the tools they…

People in this episode

Host: Dan Howells

Guest: Thomas Dos'Santos

Topics covered

• mistakes in coaching
• sports performance
• para football
• athlete engagement
• coaching strategies

Keywords

• coaching mistakes
• sports performance
• athlete needs
• engagement
• communication
• velocity-based training

Sponsors

Output Sports

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Collaborate Sports

More episodes of Performance Strategies & Stumbles

• Ep47 - Jesse Green Strategy - Profiling, Injury Prevention and the Closed Loop Processes · May 31, 2026 · 40 min
• Ep45 - Thomas Dos'Santos Strategy - Mastering change of direction · May 10, 2026 · 44 min

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