Programme skills on display this sporting summer
As we reach the culmination of a thrilling summer of sport, what better time to reflect on how the topics we cover during the Behind Every Kick programme have played out before our eyes on the pitch, ring and court.
Communication: John Cena - The master of MAD
WWE fans have known John Cena as the ultimate baby face (good guy) wrestler for approaching a quarter of a century. But heading into this year's WrestleMania, he shocked the world by turning heel (playing the bad guy). Cena, who is due to retire as a professional wrestler at the end of this year, had a job on his hands to turn fans who have been in his corner for so long against him. He did it masterfully using little more than a microphone. Cena succinctly delivered his message, telling fans he no longer wanted their support. He considered his audience, knowing what buttons to push to elicit the response required to drive the storyline forward. And he delivered it with both words and body language to leave the crowd in the arena and those watching on TV in no doubt that he was now the man to boo rather than cheer. Wrestling may be predetermined, but Cena's ability as a communicator to draw emotion from an audience, whatever role he is playing, is as real as it gets.
Teamwork: The Lionesses - Got your back, mate!
England's path to the final of the Women's European Championship has been anything but smooth. Starting the defence of their title with a defeat to France was worrying, and having recovered to progress through the group, they came perilously close to being knocked out in both the quarter and semi-final. However, victory has been wrestled from the jaws of defeat because the team have kept going until the final whistle. Players who might have been disappointed not to start have come on to rescue results, young players who might have felt overawed in their first major tournament have been empowered to take responsibility, and perhaps most importantly of all, the entire squad has rallied around one of its own to condemn the depressing racial abuse Jess Carter has been subjected to online. The strength of the pack is in the wolf. The strength of the wolf is in the pack!
Pressure: It can make you or break you - Swiatek vs Anisimova
The 2025 Wimbledon women's final lasted less than an hour. Poland's Iga Swiatek crushed American Amanda Anisimova 6-0, 6-0 on Centre Court. Anisimova, playing in her first grand slam final, froze while Swiatek thrived to win her sixth major title. Swiatek had her 'blue head' on throughout the match, whereas, for Anisimova, the occasion proved too much, quickly falling into 'red head' mode and unable to find a strategy to alter her performance. However, having gone through such a difficult experience, the challenge for her will be to find the positives in adversity so that if she reaches a final again, she'll be better equipped to handle the situation. It's striking how often you hear sportspeople say at the end of their careers that they learned more in defeat than they did in victory.
Confidence: Ben Stokes - Captain Marvel
At times, it seems Ben Stokes single-handedly drags the England men's cricket team to victory. Ahead of this summer's five-test series with India, he was recovering from surgery to repair a hamstring that had been torn in December. Many players find they need to ease their way back in after injury, and plenty take a while to recapture confidence in both their body and level of performance. But as England captain, Stokes had to hit the ground running and lead from the front. So where does he get his confidence from? Preparation - he's worked relentlessly to rehabilitate his injured leg to ensure he was fit to play. Practice - reading the testimony of his teammates and coaches, it's clear that Stokes sets the example. The skipper is a phenomenal trainer, utterly dedicated to delivering the highest level of performance he can. At 34, he has over a decade of experience in the England team - some of that as vice-captain - and has witnessed both the highs of victory and the lows of defeat. Stokes is also very open to the knowledge he can gain from coaches or previous captains, enabling him to navigate difficult moments both the team and he personally encounter. Those four bedrocks of confidence - Preparation, Practice, Experience and Knowledge - have seen Stokes deliver a level of performance that has resulted in the highest win percentage for any England test match captain.
Motivation: Ann-Katrin Berger's life lessons
Of all the great moments from this summer's Euros, German goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger's incredible save during extra time of the quarter-final against France will perhaps live longest in the memory. That the keeper produced further heroics in the subsequent penalty shootout served only to underscore why she is considered among the best shot stoppers in the world. Berger's motivation to excel between the sticks isn't fuelled entirely by a determination to win titles and accolades. In fact, Berger says playing football saved her life. She has twice survived thyroid cancer and believes the game gave her something to hold onto. She trained right up to the start of her treatment and resumed playing as quickly as doctors allowed. Her save against France was brilliant. The example she sets in life is even better.
Mindset: Breaking the cycle - Tottenham Hotspur, Europa League Winners
Players and supporters of Spurs were painfully aware that the club hadn't won a trophy in 17 years. The fact that this sorry sequence was broken in a season where the club contrived to lose 22 league games is all the more remarkable. But going into the Europa League Final against Manchester United, Ange Postecoglou was able to shift the mindset that had dogged Tottenham for so long. Spurs weren't going to be 'Spursy' this time. The Australian, whose own mindset had taken him from relative footballing obscurity to one of the most high-profile jobs in the Premier League, urged his players to believe they could be the team to write their names into club folklore. The weight of history, both distant and recent, didn't need to have a bearing on the final, said Postecoglou. And so it was that one of the least fancied Tottenham teams of the last two decades delivered the silverware the club's fans had longed for. Moreover, rather than dogmatically sticking to the gung-ho style of play he is famed for, Postecoglou was willing to change his tactics to secure the victory. It really was a triumph of mindset over matter.
Opportunity - Sonay Kartal, making the most of it
Not so long ago, Sonay Kartal was ranked 864th in the world. Unlike some tennis prodigies, her teenage years showed little promise of a breakthrough to the big time. Two seasons were lost to injury, and no sponsors were banging down her door with lucrative deals to fund her participation on the expensive tennis circuit. In fact, Kartal was paying her own way to minor tournaments. This meant often travelling alone without the support of a team. But despite these challenges, she kept plugging away, seeking opportunities to improve and investing in herself. In 2022, she qualified for all four Grand Slams, marking the achievement with a tattoo. But it was at this year's Wimbledon that Kartal made her most significant breakthrough. Having beaten a top 20-seeded player in the first round, she won through two further matches to make the last 16. This achievement was rewarded with a ranking inside the world's top 50 and the most prize money she has ever won. Typically, though, Kartal said the money would be invested in her tennis to ensure future opportunities in the sport she loves lie ahead.
