I’ve played rugby since I was four years old and there has been many moments in that time where I loved rugby and moments where it’s safe to say I haven’t. What I have always loved is the challenge of trying to get better and the friendships of your team mates. My journey through club and school rugby lead me to being able to play rugby as a job for the last 5 years. When I get to write things like this I am reminded of how grateful I am to be able to be able to do what I do. I get to live the dreams I had as a kid, which is pretty special.
While rugby is a massive part of my life, it is not my whole life. I really cherish the down time I get and have used it to relax with family and friends or study. Once my study finished at the end of 2018, I decided I needed something else to help me learn and grow outside of rugby. One of the things which I’ve always thought needed to be improved was the ability for young aspiring athletes to access resources that will help them improve in their sport.
I had noticed that while I was lucky enough to be in the rugby ‘system’ there were many of my peers who were not. They had a similar desire as me to play elite sport but were not receiving the same advice or coaching. Because of this I began putting all the information I had learnt in my journey to become a professional rugby player together. From there I formed a project called Young Athlete where I wanted to share my knowledge with young athletes.
So far I have given presentations to 7 schools in the Wellington region where I talk about the life of a professional rugby player. We talk about the importance of analysis and seeking feedback, the mental side of sports, the friendships sport creates, and the importance of recovery. Like I said before while I am wanting to share this information with aspiring athletes, I also wanted to learn and grow myself and my presenting and teaching skills have definitely improved. I have learned a lot about being more responsive about what the students at each school want to know rather than sticking to my same set presentation.
After doing the 7 sessions in the Wellington region I have decided to branch my content out onto social media as well, making it more accessible to anybody who is interested. I have found the interaction with young motivated athletes in to be hugely rewarding. I don’t claim to have all the answers or to have a magic formula. If my experiences in sport can help others enjoy their sports and grow into the sports people they want to be, then I’m achieving what I set out to do.