About Focused
WE GET UNDER
THE SKIN OF SPORT.
Holistic coaches. Personality specialists. People who genuinely care about the people they work with.
We don't start with the player. We start with the person.
Get the person right. Get the player right.
Our Story
Focused exists because performance is about more than ability.
We've spent our careers in sport and education, as teachers, coaches, leaders and athletes, and we've seen first-hand what happens when people are truly supported to understand themselves. The change is profound, and it lasts.
Focused was created to bring that understanding to athletes, coaches and sporting organisations at every level. Not as an add-on to technical coaching, but as the foundation everything else is built on. We're holistic coaches. We get to know the whole person, not just the athlete, and we use that understanding to help them become the best version of themselves, in both training and competition.
As part of the GreyCircle Group family, alongside greycircle.co.uk and educoach.uk, we bring deep expertise in personality profiling, leadership development and education to the world of sport.
How We Work
Everything starts with personality.
Before people can perform together, they need to understand themselves and each other. Using FACET5 personality profiling, we help athletes, coaches and organisations become experts in themselves.
We start by getting to know you: your sport, your goals, your challenges. No assumptions, no generic programmes. Just an honest conversation about where you are and where you want to go.
Using FACET5, we build a detailed picture of your personality: how you think, communicate, make decisions and respond under pressure. This is the foundation everything else is built on.
We bring your profile to life in the context of your sport: how your personality shows up in training and competition, where your natural advantages lie, and where targeted support will make the biggest difference.
Powered by Science
The world's leading personality profiling system.
FACET5 is built on the Big Five model of personality, the most widely researched and validated framework in psychology. It measures how people differ in their behaviour, motivations, attitudes and preferred ways of working, giving athletes and coaches a clear, practical picture of what makes them tick.
As certified FACET5 Certified practitioners, Alec and John bring both the science and the sporting experience to make your profile genuinely meaningful, not just a set of numbers, but a real tool for performance.
Meet the Team
The people behind Focused.
Alec Masson
Performance Coach
High-performing athletes don't just need better technique. They need to understand themselves: how they think, how they respond under pressure, and what drives them when it counts. Alec works with athletes, coaches and organisations to improve performance from the inside out, using personality profiling as the foundation for everything he does.
With over 21 years of experience across elite sport, education and performance coaching, Alec is a former international athlete, qualified teacher and Specialist Leader of Education. He has worked at university level in teacher education, developed coaches and leaders across sport and school settings, and built a reputation for getting under the skin of performance, understanding the person before the athlete.
Alec has supported athletes across golf, motorsport, cricket, gymnastics, judo, football and athletics, from grassroots through to Olympians and Commonwealth Games medallists. As a tour caddie, he has developed a unique golfer–caddie compatibility model that uses FACET5 personality profiling to strengthen communication, build trust and create high-performing partnerships on and off the course.
His approach is grounded in genuine curiosity, honest challenge and a belief that self-awareness is the most underused performance tool in sport.
John Crittenden
Performance Coach
High-performing leaders don't need more advice. They need clarity, support, challenge, and space to think at a higher level. John works with senior leaders, educators and performance-focused individuals to improve how they think, lead and perform in demanding environments, acting as a trusted, impartial thinking partner who will support and challenge in equal measure.
With a background as a senior educational leader, John brings first-hand experience of leading teams, developing people, creating sustainable high-performance cultures and driving lasting positive change. He designs and delivers ILM Level 5 and 7 executive coaching programmes, group coaching, team development and mental performance coaching in sport.
In elite sport, John has supported athletes and organisations to manage pressure, improve focus and consistency, build resilience and confidence, and develop high-performance cultures. His clients have included Brighton and Hove Albion FC, Newcastle United FC and Youth Sport Trust, working on a local, national and international stage.
His approach is grounded in honest reflection, constructive challenge and practical action. Because better thinking leads to better leadership and better outcomes.
What We Believe
Our values.
Performance is personal. There is no one size fits all approach
Understanding comes before advice
High support and high challenge belong together
Sustainable performance is built on self-awareness, not quick fixes
Every athlete, coach and leader deserves to be understood
Authentic relationships are the foundation of all great coaching
Our Family
Part of the GreyCircle Group.
Focused is a trading name of GreyCircle Group Ltd. The same personality-centred philosophy runs through everything we do across the group.
READY TO WORK WITH US?
Book a free Discovery Conversation. No obligation, just an honest conversation about you and your sport.