The Sport Psych Show

#350 Prof Mark Williams - Considering Skill Acquisition and Game Intelligence

2026-10-19

In this episode I'm delighted to welcome back Prof Mark Williams to the show. Mark has 35+ years experience as a research scientist, academic and consultant in high-performance sport. His research work focuses on the neural and psychological mechanisms underpinning the acquisition and development of skill.

Mark is a Distinguished Professor at South China Normal University, a Visiting Professor at Loughborough University and an Adjunct Professor at multiple Universities in America.

Mark has published almost 300 full journal articles in peer-reviewed outlets in numerous fields including exercise and sports science, experimental psychology, neuroscience and medicine. He has written and edited 24 books, more than 90 book chapters, and delivered more than 300 keynote and invited lectures in over 30 countries. Mark is co-author of an Amazon best-selling book entitled 'The Best: How Elite Athletes are Made.

Mark is a Fellow of the British Psychological Society, National Academy of Kinesiology, Chartered Association of Sport and Exercise Science, and the European College of Sports Sciences. He is Chartered by the British Psychological Society as a Practicing Psychologist and a Research Scientist.

No. of episodes

350

Latest episode

2026-10-19

Where can you listen?

Join Sport Psychologist, Dan Abrahams, on The Sport Psych Show as he aims to demystify sport psychology for players, coaches and parents by speaking with some of the most influential people in sports performance today. Dan is on a mission to learn more about how sport psychology philosophies, tools and techniques positively impact participation, progression and performance in sport. He wants to learn more about how to drive participation – what motivational tools engage players and inspire people to play and stay in their sport. He wants to explore how players can progress quicker and more effectively – what is great practice and training? And how does learning in sport really happen? Finally, he wants to hear what his guests have to say about the psychology of performance – how do they think players can improve their ability to high perform consistently under pressure? Discover simple and practical tools and techniques by listening in to Dan's conversations with elite competitors, sports coaches, sport scientists, and psychologists.