EKAITZ SAIES

Over the years, through my journey across high-performance environments—as an athlete, a coach, and later as a performance director—I’ve seen firsthand just how deeply we influence one another. I’ve been shaped by the people around me: mentors, teammates, leaders. And I’ve come to realise the responsibility that comes with being in a position to influence…

Excellence in sport doesn’t arrive in a blaze of glory. It’s built quietly, patiently, in the margins — where the unglamorous work happens. It’s in the tiny adjustments, the almost-invisible improvements, the relentless pursuit of better that athletes edge closer to their peak. In high performance sport, success is sculpted detail by detail. Every time we focus…

A few weeks ago, I wrote a blog post about Ernest Shackleton’s leadership blueprint. I’ve always been drawn to stories of explorers, adventurers, and mavericks — those who push the boundaries of what’s possible. I was already familiar with the legendary race to the South Pole between Roald Amundsen and Robert Falcon Scott and the tragic…

After missing out on the opportunity to race at the London 2012 Olympics, I decided to give more attention to my academic career and enrolled in a Master’s degree with the intention of doing a PhD afterwards. During one of the assignments for that Master’s, I came across Carol Dweck’s work on motivation and growth…

Picture this: it’s the final of a very important competition or the or the last seconds of a crucial match. The pressure is immense, the stakes are high, and there’s no time to think—only to execute. The athletes who rise to the occasion are not necessarily the most talented, but the best prepared. Their actions…