Coaching Culture with Ben Herring
Coaching Culture with Ben Herring is your weekly deep-dive into the often-overlooked “softer skills” of coaching—cultural innovation, communication, empathy, leadership, dealing with stress, and motivation. Each episode features candid conversations with the world’s top international rugby coaches, who share the personal stories and intangible insights behind their winning cultures, and too their biggest failures and learnings from them. This is where X’s and O’s meet heart and soul, empowering coaches at every level to foster authentic connections, inspire their teams, and elevate their own coaching craft. If you believe that the real gold in rugby lies beyond the scoreboard, Coaching Culture is the podcast for you.
Coaching Culture with Ben Herring
Latest Episodes
Building A British And Irish Expat Rugby Team
A lot of people talk about “culture” like it’s a slogan. Dan Elsom lives it, by building a brand-new representative rugby team for the British and Irish expat community in Australia, then turning it into a real platform for players who want mor...
Inside Canada’s Rugby Factory | Shawnigan Lake School
Watching pro rugby on TV can make school rugby look intimidating, but the truth is far more hopeful and far more practical. We’re joined by Tim Murdy, Director of Sport at Shawnigan Lake School, to talk about how a youth rugby program becomes a...
Campese Ma’afu’s Incredible Road Back to Professional Coaching
A lot of people talk about “culture” like it’s a slogan on a wall. We wanted something more real, so I sat down with Campese Maafu, a three-time Rugby World Cup prop and 63-test Flying Fijian, to hear what actually holds teams and people togeth...
Merchiston Castle School | Inside One of Scotland’s Great Rugby Schools
Winning is loud. Development is quiet. And in school rugby, the noise can crush the very kids we are trying to help. I sit down with Roddy Dean, one of Scotland’s leading schoolboy rugby coaches and longtime Director of Rugby at Merciston Castl...
They Said It Couldn’t Be Done, So He Built the Asia Pacific Lions
A packed stadium, free entry, a brand-new team built across borders, and a cold email that ends with Northampton Saints landing in Colombo. We talk with Saabir Cader, the founder behind the Asian Pacific Lions, about how Sri Lanka rugby became ...
Fan Mail
Hi Ben. Thanks for the show and the reflections. Picking up on your 10 Jun pod on coaching your child, I was left wondering about how you would approach my situation? You touch on a parent projecting what a child could be. In my case, the child is clear to everyone she will be a really good player as a young adult (in 6 years time) but isn't prepared to admit that would need work and to commit time she thinks she doesn't have available. As a coach (and dad) I've had to back off from trying to help her with the practice and accept she isn't ready to do the work to fulfil her potential and there is a mismatch between what she could do if she tried, and what she is doing. Am waiting for the penny to drop but interested if you have any thoughts on coaching your own child who wants to play but is less keen on the practice? Many thanks. First time messenger. Dave J
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