Our Great Coach on this episode is rugby coach Ben Ryan.
Ben is the most successful men’s rugby sevens coach in history, he is the only coach to have won Continental, World and Olympic titles.
He started his international career in 2007 with England 7’s, coaching them in over 300 matches.
In 2013 he took over as the coach of Fiji 7’s, and led the team to the gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics. The gold medal was the first ever medal of any colour, won by Fiji at any Olympics.
As a result of that victory he was awarded the Companion of the Order of Fiji and is depicted on the reverse of a circulating 50 cent coin, and on the front of a circulating commemorative $7 banknote.
Ben has written a wonderful book about his experience with the Fiji 7’s called Sevens Heaven. Avail on Amazon UK here
He is also the host of his own terrific podcast The Ben Ryan Podcast. Listen on Apple here
In this interview he talks about:
How great coaches create a safe psychological space, within an agreed set of guardrails, that let people be the best versions of themselves and that they create psychological safety within a team, by giving the members a voice in defining the expectations they aspires to.
How his core philosophy is not making people ever feel that they’re the runt of the litter, or they’re anything other than valued.
The story of the Fiji 7’s team, his role as the leader and how the team was able to embrace cultural change to transform their mindset and their performance.
And wanting to leave a legacy of redefining what is possible for the small nations, and teams, on the world stage.
Video Links:
Rugby sevens team takes first ever gold for Fiji
Mercurial, Adaptable, Box Office | Fiji’s Gold Medal Story | Olympic Day
If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at thegreatcoachespodcast@gmail.com
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