Past Events
International Conditioning Seminar
High Performance Centre TUKS
Pretoria
2009
SportsMax presented a International Conditioning seminar attended by some of the best Conditioning coaches from all over South Africa and abroad.
Our presenters were world class, and we were honoured to work with them in this three day seminar.
Our 2010 International Conditioning seminar will take place yet again in Pretoria from the 18th to the 22nd of October 2010. Please make contact with us should you which to receive more information once the presenters have been finalised
Heyneke Meyer(Former CEO of SportsMax) Dr Frank Dick, Henk Kraaijenhoff, Douglass Heel, Jaco Barnard(Current CEO of SportsMax) and Kenneth Jay
Dr Frank Dick:
Dr Dick is a member of the IAAF Coaches Commission and currently President of the European Athletics Coaches Association.
From 1974 to 1994 he was the British Athletics Federation’s Director of Coaching,where he coached Daley Thompson, Steve Ovett and Sebastian Coe to European, Olympic and World honours
Henk Kraaijenhoff
This track and field coach from the Netherlands has been active as a coach since 1975
His athletes include: Nelli Cooman, Merlene Ottey, Sandra-Farmer-Patrick and Troy Douglas,in rugby he has worked with the English and Irish rugby national ruby teams as well as the Juventus Torino football team
Douglas Heel
Muscle Activation Specialist from South Africa
In 2008 Douglas has also consulted and trained the Miami Dolphins (NFL), Wladimir Klitschko (Heavy weight boxing champion) and LA Galaxy (football), Celtic FC (football).
Kenneth Jay
Advanced strength training specialist from Copenhagen has worked with world champions, Para-Olympic and Olympic medallists in wrestling and swimming.
Netbal - With Yvonne Willering
World Class Netball coach from Niue Zealand visited South Africa in 2009. SportsMax in association with Dr Elsje Jordaan from Sportisimo were the organizers of the tour. Clinics were held in Pretoria, Johannesburg, Bloemfontein and also Port Elizabeth
A Double DVD set off all her coaching tips and styles is available at R299 (Vat Inclusive). Overnight postage is R55.
Place your order now at jaco@sportsmax.com
Golf Day Feedback
Date: 1 October 2009
Venue: Silver Lakes Golf Estate
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Leadership Conference
www.leadershipplatform.com
After an all-day conference it was clear that what you say and do does not really
matter as much as hat you are!
So, what does one write about after an all day-conference of listening to Mathews
Phosa; Brand retorius; Heyneke Meyer; Martin Dreyer; Natalie Du Toit; Tom
Boardman; and last but not least Raymond Ackerman?
Of course I can report in summary format on what they shared with us. I can
write about how the importance of having a clear vision will go a long way in
assisting one’s people and organisation during challenging times.
I can write about how these leaders emphasised the importance of values when
leading teams during turbulent times; how important it is to instill a sense of
purpose in people; the need for building hope – “leaders deal in hope”; detailed
goal setting; leading by example; what the right skills and attributes are; the
importance of passion; how every single occurrence in one’s earlier life prepares
one for future difficult times; etc.
But much of this you may have read about in this very column. My angle today is
to share examples of actions, comments and occurrences that happened inbetween
the obvious agenda of the day; small behaviours by our special guests
on the day that give us some insight into who they really are.
These examples will be followed by questions you could ask yourself, for a selfaudit. I believe these questions also happen to partially speak to the attitude and
approach a leader should have during difficult times.
Perhaps in the final analysis great leadership and lasting influence happens more
as a result of who you really are or have become, than what you do.
Mathews Phosa wrote a note to me in Afrikaans while Brand Pretorius was still
speaking as he needed to leave: “Mnr Groenewald, baie dankie vir die geleentheid
om saam met julle lekker te kuier. Ek het dit baie geniet, ook geleer. Jammer ek
moet vamoose.” (In English, with great difficulty: Mr Groenewald, thank you for
the opportunity to visit with you all. I enjoyed it a lot, also learnt. Apologies but I
need to go).
While we often perceive politicians as arrogant with huge egos, and I am not
implying Phosa does not have a dose of this himself, his note indicates that he is
considerate because he wrote it in my home language Afrikaans; it shows
gratitude; it shows humility in that he admits to learning; etc.
Are you considerate in your day to day interactions with other human
beings?
Before Pretorius got into the meat of his talk - and believe me his understanding
of leadership is at a ‘meat’ level and not a ‘milk’ level – he looked Phosa straight
in the eyes, from the podium and sincerely thanked him for trying to make a real
difference in SA; for trying to lead our country in a principled manner; for being
the man he is. It was actually touching, mostly because it was sincere.
Do you express sincere appreciation to people around you?
During a break I over heard Martin Dreyer tell someone how impressed he was
with Pretorius, not referring to his talk specifically, but about how he felt when he
met Pretorius at their table; how interested the man was in him and what he
does; that he managed to quickly make Dreyer feel special.
Do you make time to express interest in others?
Now, about Martin Dreyer, his accomplishments in ‘extreme’ situations speak
directly to his hardiness, mental and physical toughness; his discipline; his drive;
his fearlessness. The audience learned a great deal from him.
But, after the event I overheard my wife telling more than one person about how
impressed she was with how he dedicated his time to training 15 young black
athletes to participate in this year’s Duzi (Canoe Marathon).
He hoped that at least ten of them would end in a top 50 position to secure silver
medals. Well, 10 were in the top 36, of which 2 ended up in the top 10.
Do you make time to ‘give back’, to serve?
Heyneke Meyer did wonders as a coach of the Blue Bulls and learned about the
power of vision and goals, writing it down; setting high standards; working hard;
being mentally tough; and having passion for what one does.
Throughout the day he sat one chair away from me and I often watched him
closely. He absorbed everything these leaders said. He was there to learn and
was like a sponge, just soaking it in.
I could see on his face that he savoured every moment.
Do you appreciate opportunities of learning when these come your way?
During our last tea break I collected Raymond Ackerman from another room.
Before we left I noticed a very old Nokia cell phone on the table in front of him. I
asked if it was his, to which he proudly owned up.
That moment was symbolic of a man that remained ‘simple’, true to his values
and way of life, even though he is a wealthy icon.
Do you remain true to yourself and your values?
As we made our way to the conference room, Ackerman noticed a couple of his
senior managers from Pick n Pay. At that stage he did not seem to know some of
his leaders were in attendance.
The moment he noticed them it was like everything else did not matter any more.
All he cared about was to engage them; to shake their hands, because he is a
fanatic hand shaker.
Are you happy to see your people and do you take the time to shake their
hands? Are your people happy to see you?
They call him ‘Mr’ Ackerman, but in his case this does not seam to create a
barrier between him and his people that prevents openness about issues. I
overheard him joke with one manager: “See you tomorrow morning 6am.” The
manager hastily clarified that the meeting referred to was in fact at about 8am.
Ackerman then affirmed with a grin on his face that he was correct.
Do you have a sense of humour?
Last but not least, Natalie Du Toit came up to me before leaving, looked me in
the eyes and asked that I please forward some feedback to her regarding her
contribution.
Do you proactively ask for feedback about your performance, so that you
can continually improve?
Remember, what you say and do does not matter as much as what you are.
Dave Alred Kicking Academy
SportsMax is proud to have brought the world’s best kicking coach to South Africa. 32 Junior rugby players had the privilege to participate in this prestigious event.
Dave has worked with many a pro rugby players which include players like Johnny Wilkinson, Ronan O’Gara, David Campese and Rob Andrew just to name a few.
Here are a couple of photos of the clinic:
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SportsMax Captains Dinner - 13th May 2009
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Our first ever SportsMAX Dinner proved to be a great success as over 300 guests gathered at Three Oaks in Centurion. Guests enjoyed a 3 course meal and were entertained by well known singer Steve Hofmeyr. Blue Bulls Manager Wynie Strydom MC’d the evening and took us through an overview of the Super 14. Guests were able to pitch their questions to our panel of Sports Celebrities which included Heyneke Meyer (SportsMAX CEO & Ex Blue Bulls Coach), Frans Ludeke ( Blue Bulls Coach), Anton Leonard (Currie Cup winning Blue Bulls Captain), Victor Matfield (Blue Bulls Captain) & Fourie Du Preez (Ex Blue Bulls Captain & Best no. 9 in the world). A fantastic evening of relationship building, sports chat, appetizing wining and dining was enjoyed by all.
