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Jun 2025
34m 46s

273: Creating Complete Athletes

Science for Sport
About this episode

In this episode, Richard Graves is joined by performance specialist Julia Eyre, a sports scientist and psychologist with a rich background in elite sport. From working with U.S. collegiate athletes to roles with German Olympic federations and the TSG Wieseck Football Academy (a partner of Eintracht Frankfurt), Julia brings a multidimensional approach to athlete development.
Founder of Whiteline Performance Group, Julia focuses on creating environments where athletes thrive as humans first, pushing back against the outcome-obsessed culture of high-performance sport.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • The real difference between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, and why both matter
  • How imposter syndrome shows up at every level of sport, and what to do about it
  • Practical tools for building psychological safety and trust in high-performance settings
  • How to develop a reflective coaching style that supports long-term development
  • Why embracing uncomfortable thoughts can unlock consistent, world-class performance
  • A clear breakdown of self-determination theory and what it means for athletes and coaches This is essential listening for sports scientists, coaches, and practitioners working in elite environments, especially those looking to align peak performance with athlete wellbeing.

About Julia Eyre
Julia Eyre is a sports scientist and psychologist with extensive experience in elite sport across Europe and the U.S. Currently working with TSG Wieseck Football Academy and multiple German Olympic federations, Julia is also the founder of Whiteline Performance Group, which supports clubs, schools, and federations in creating holistic, human-first athlete development systems. With academic training in both sports science and clinical psychology, Julia specialises in motivation, coach education, and psychological safety in high-performance environments, and contributes to the Science for Sport education platform.

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