#26: Ben Ryan | Taking Home Olympic Gold & Creating A Standard That Breeds Champions

Ben Ryan is an English rugby union coach who is best known for coaching the Fiji sevens team to a gold medal in sevens rugby at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

As Fiji's sevens coach from 2013 to 2016, he guided the team to their first-ever Dubai 7's title and set the record of tournament titles won by a Fiji Sevens coach with nine. The gold medal was the first-ever medal won by Fiji at any Olympics. 

Fiji is one of the most underfunded and under-resourced countries on the planet and in this episode Ben shares: 

• How to create a culture around "The Standard you walk past is the Standard you become"
  
  
• Bens love for each and every one of the players and the lengths he went to build rapport and trust with each of the players
  
  
• Skill acquisition, attention to detail and how he fine-tuned the Fijian offload game to be the deadliest on the planet
  
  
• Ben explains how he overcame his ego when he was England to focus on team success, not individual success
  
  
• Building lifelong relationships with his manager Ropate Kauvesi and Captain Osea Kolinisau to take the team to gold in Rio.
  
  
• How to create a safe environment for any team or business where players feel safe and believe in the common purpose

This episode was mind-blowing for me and it spoke to the true nature of what it means to coach and lead a team. 

Wherever you fit into the world of rugby this episode is an absolute must-listen. 

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