07 Oct South African 7s Rugby

On Wednesday October 3rd, 2012 I had the privilege of working with the South African Sevens national rugby team. I was put into contact with the head coach, Paul Treu through Kobus Neethling and delivered my “Joy of Good Focus” workshop. It was a beautiful, warm evening when we met at a hotel board room in Pretoria for the session.

My first impression of these guys was that they were positive, energetic and big. Some of them had arms larger than my legs and there were plenty of firm handshakes.

As I taught them how to juggle, we had some dialog about mistakes, and how to learn from them. They played together to identify their goals and improve their focus and there were some interesting discoveries.

Once we got to the stage of working with 3 balls, I noticed that this group was unusually proficient. I thought that this was just due to their athleticism. But when I asked who knew how to juggle before my session, nearly 1/2 of them raised their hands! I was impressed that despite having the ability to juggle, they went at my pace and allowed me to deliver my message. What a classy group of guys!

By the end everyone was indeed juggling. I wish them the best as they are in Australia now to compete.

It was a physical, fun evening and I’m grateful for having had the opportunity to work with such a world class team.

See for yourself by checking out this 2 minute video of Tony with the Springboks that summarizes the focus workshop.