“Be more concerned with your character than your reputation. Because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.”
– John Wooden
At PSA Academies, we try to live by the core values of rugby as a sport, with Respect being the top of the list.
Rugby is a wonderful sport where you can develop both physically and mentally. At the end of our Academy development programmes, we want every player to be ambassadors not just for PSA Academies and their families, but also for themselves and for rugby as a sport. We want to help them to take the 9PSAVs generally, but particularly the importance of respect, throughout their entire careers. They can play for different clubs, in different countries and end up competing at different levels within the sport, but ultimately the way our players conduct themselves on and off the pitch through their lives will be the most important reflection of the long term impact of not just our programme but similar experiences through each player’s sporting journey.
As anyone who has read Legacy, the famous book about the All Blacks will know, their key mantra is that “Better people make better All Blacks”, with so much of the focus in the New Zealand team culture being focussed around respecting your teammates, your traditions, your ancestors and your opportunity to be the best that you can be as a rugby player and a person. While we operate at a very different level to the All Blacks (!), our commitment and focus to this core respect principle in rugby is just as strong. We teach our players to respect the rules, the coaches, their teammates and most of all themselves in making the most of the privileged opportunity that they’ve been given. At PSA Academies, we try to convey this value while having fun, staying positive and reaching for excellence, but we’re not afraid to pull both the players and each other up when things are done that don’t match the expected levels of respect that we have set for our programmes.
The fact that our players play and train with players of their own age in fantastic facilities usually brings out the very best from an attitude-perspective, from all involved. We work hard to provide a varied and challenging programme that allows players to both earn and give respect, giving them an opportunity to develop their communication, listening and leadership skills as individuals and training groups. Players get to meet players from other backgrounds, cultures and countries, maintaining a good relationship of respect between them, fostered by our pastoral staff, who ensure that our players are mixing and developing long-lasting friendships that are another really important feature of the rugby culture globally.
Our staff have a responsibility that they don’t take lightly, to work closely as a team to set standards in respect with each other and with our customers and players that reflects our overall commitment to this core value. Hopefully, the feedback of our customers on Trustpilot plus the fact that so many parents and players come back year after year, is the finest testament to our fostering of a true respect culture across every programme.
Playing rugby requires commitment, discipline and control, and we at PSA Academies really believe that respect is the key to not only a successful high-performance camp but also long-term success in sport and in life generally.
Trustpilot Testimonials – see more here:
Emma – Parent : “Also from a personal development point of view, I loved how respect was highlighted throughout the content of the course.”
Ingrid – Parents : “There was a genuine mutual respect from the coaches, who were genuinely interested in the players’ development, and the attendees.“
