Last week, Dr. Tony Hall met with Joe Schmidt and sent us a recap on what an engaging experience that was for him and for all attendees as Joe gave an extended unscripted talk for an hour at NUI Galway.
Ireland Rugby Head Coach, Joe Schmidt, a former post-primary teacher and principal with Dr Tony Hall, Lecturer in the School of Education and outhalf and committee member, NUIG Rugby.
Ireland Rugby Coach, Joe Schmidt, visited the NUI Galway campus to give a talk on leadership, preparation and the importance of education. Several School of Education staff attended the event, to hear the former teacher and principal speak about coaching, mentoring and leadership, both on the pitch and in the classroom.
Introduced by NUIG President, Dr. Jim Browne, the Ireland Head Coach spoke for over an hour in a packed Colm Ó hEocha lecture theatre to an audience that included Connacht coach, Pat Lam, and NUIG students and Connacht and Irish rugby stars Robbie Henshaw, Eoin Griffin and Kieran Marmion, staff and students of the University, and sports people from across the province and beyond.
Robbie Henshaw , Connacht Rugby and NUI Galway Student, with Joe Schmidt at the Galway University for a session where Joe shared some of the secrets of their success and provide a unique insight into their winning strategy, approach to campaign planning and motivational strategies. Photo:Andrew Downes
Although focused primarily on rugby and his achievements as a coach, his inspiring and erudite talk engaged with, and offered insights for all present on success in education, teaching and life.
The Six Nations winning coach, who this year led Ireland to a memorable championship victory in Paris, achieved some of his first coaching honours in rugby while working as a secondary school English teacher in Ireland.
Drawing in his talk on his experiences as a post-primary teacher and principal, he identified a number of criteria for achieving success, including:
He outlined his coaching and educational philosophy, emphasising the importance of learning from pressure situations, and quoting Aristotle, how achievement is a continuous process: ‘We are what we repeatedly do; excellence is not an act, but a habit.’
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