"And another thing": Half-times: The challenges for elite teams

Join us for an engaging and thought-provoking half-day conference dedicated to uncovering the critical yet often overlooked role of half-times in elite sport. This unique event will bring together a diverse group of coaches, players, sports psychologists, analysts, medics, and support staff to dive deep into the challenges, opportunities, and strategies that shape this pivotal moment in the game.

Through dynamic panel discussions and collaborative workshops, we’ll explore current practices, examine the obstacles faced by stakeholders, and foster innovative thinking. Together, we aim to drive forward groundbreaking research and redefine half-time strategies for the future of elite sports performance, including:

• Analyse current half-time practices across elite-level teams, identifying challenges faced by head coaches, players, and key support staff such as medics, analysts, and nutritionists.
• Foster collaboration and the exchange of insights among attendees, encouraging fresh perspectives and the generation of new ideas.

This event is designed for individuals directly employed by professional sports teams (i.e., those games with a half-time!) or federations, including:

• Sport caches of teams (managers, head coaches, assistant coaches, and performance coaches).
• Players (current and former professional players).
• Sports psychologists (practitioners and academics). Support team members (professionals such as nutritionists, analysts, S&C, sport science, and medical staff).
• Academics and PhD researchers are also welcome who are employed by a university and involved in psychology or sports coaching.

Chatham House Rules.

Give the potential sensitive nature of the discussion, we reserve the right to refuse entry. Also, no press is allowed to attend the event and reporting on the content of the event is not permitted.

There is no cost for this event; however, please note that a Part 2 will follow, and individuals who do not attend the first part will not be invited to the second part.

Eamon Devlin

Eamon Devlin, a PhD student at the Carnegie School of Sport at Leeds Beckett, is the organiser of this event. His research focuses on half-time (HT) breaks in elite sports—particularly in football, rugby, and basketball—and is working to figure out what makes for an effective HT break and what a “good” HT team talk should look and sound like. Eamon is 46, so a bit of a mature (okay, older) student, living in Oxfordshire with my wife, two daughters, one dog, and four cats. Outside of his studies, he runs a consultancy called Minute9, which aims to make elite teams more effective in terms of communication on game-day. Clients include three English Premier League teams, four Champions League teams, and several rugby international and club teams.

Eamon's academic journey started in law. He completed a law degree many years ago before diving into the world of psychology. In 2023, he completed a Master’s in Psychology at Brunel University, which was the perfect stepping stone for his PhD. He began his PhD in October 2024, and feels fortunate to be working with a fantastic team of supervisors: Dr. Dave Alder, Dr. Tom Mitchell, and Prof. John Lyle—yes, they really are as good as they sound (yes, he was told to say that).

Connect with Eamon: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eamon-devlin-6789854/

Minute9: https://www.minute9.io/

Be part of this exciting journey to rethink and transform the role of half-time in elite sport!

Organisers (from Leeds Beckett): Eamon Devlin (PhD researcher), Dr Dave Alder and Dr Tom Mitchell (PhD supervisors).

Host or Publisher Carnegie School of Sport