Conference topic 3: Talent Development

Talent Development with its leading theme "Re-imagining dreams" marks core topic 3 of the ENOSS Conference 2021.

Dual careers can come with many benefits besides developing athletically or educationally; such as the formation of multiple identities, the enhancement of social skills, higher independence, or a better time management. Are these benefits natural "bi-products" of a dual career pathway? Or can sport schools and talent models proactively support the student-athletes holistic development outside of the athletic persona and thereby also better prepare them for future dual career scenarios? The presentation of Kristel Kiens, Estonian developmental manager and sport psychology consultant, focuses on institutional approaches to foster the holistic skillset and knowledge base of student-athletes.

Her associated workshop together with Klaus Ginther additionally presents a good European practice of a specific intervention to assist student-athletes in finding new meaningful ways after dropping out of their current dual career environment. Furthermore, the workshop will provide time and space to think practically about supporting the whole person development in one's respective context and share ideas with other practitioners across Europe.

 


Conference topic 2: Psychology & Counselling

Psychology & Counselling with its leading theme "Dancing on the tightrope" marks core topic 2 of the ENOSS Conference 2021.

What are the main stressors of student-athletes? What competences do student-athletes need to overcome them? The presentation of Frank Muller, Luxembourgish sport psychologist, pays close attention to these stressors and discusses what competences help student-athletes to have a healthy and successful dual career.

His associated workshop together with Andrada Vincze and Jeevita Pillai presents ideas and international good practices on how dual career stakeholders can help student-athletes overcome their stressors and develop competences to foster their well-being and a balanced lifestyle.

  • Speaker & workshop lead: Frank Muller, Luxembourg – Sport psychologist, Sportlycée Luxembourg & Luxembourg Institute for High Performance in Sports
  • Workshop co-presenters:  Andrada Vincze, Romania – Self-employed sport psychologist and psychotherapist & PhD canditate, University of Bucharest; Jeevita Pillai, Singapore – Sport psychologist, National Youth Sports Institute

 


Conference topic 1: System Development

System Development with its leading theme "Thriving in the shadow of Covid" marks core topic 1 of the ENOSS Conference 2021.

What are the modern fundamentals of student-athlete support? Do these look different in a post-Covid world to what they did in 2020? The time we are in is a golden opportunity for institutions to reflect, reset and move forward with confidence. Consequently, the keynote of Ruan Schlebusch, a leading African expert for talented athlete support and personal development of athletes (find out more here), takes a look at this new era and at the positive impact sport schools can make in their unique setting.

His associated workshop together with Liane Karsten provides an example of a workable and successful programme to support student-athletes in and beyond this challenging period, implemented and expanded in a High Performing sport school in Cape Town, South Africa.


Conference keynote speaker: Ruan Schlebusch

ENOSS is delighted to announce the keynote speaker of this year's ENOSS Conference: Ruan Schlebusch. The cosmopolitan is a leading African expert for talented athlete support and personal development of athletes.

Ruan acts as the Managing Director of Sportsthink 360, a sports consultancy based in Cape Town, South Africa which runs off-field support programmes for talented athletes in cooperation with sport schools and clubs. Furthermore, Ruan works as the National Player Development Manager for the South African Cricketers’ Association (SACA). In this role, he is the main responsible for the implementation of the national dual career programme in Cricket, one of the most popular sports in South Africa. The former teacher lives with his wife, daughter and two dogs in Cape Town.

The story of the fire lily

In January 2021, Sportsthink 360 implemented a nationwide school project called “Thriving in the shadow of COVID” which delivers workshops in both sporting and non-sport environments to help children and teenagers unpack the highs and lows of this challenging period, build resilience and develop their personal game plan. In the light of this project, Ruan will deliver the ENOSS Conference 2021 keynote entitled "The story of the fire lily".

"A fire lily is a South African flower. This flower only disperses seeds after a fire, ensuring that the most important thing regenerates first. A most relevant strategy also for systems in education and sport searching for both recovery and innovation..."
Ruan Schlebusch

In his keynote, Ruan will reflect upon his professional experiences in the course of the pandemic and draw practical conclusions for sport schools.

  1. Reflecting on the “Thriving in the shadow of COVID” project: What remained important to the athletes even in a non-sport environment and is therefore arguably an essential of talented athlete support?
  2. The benefit of the pandemic: What were the weaknesses exposed in the pandemic and how can this analysis contribute to a programmatic fast forward in sport schools?
  3. The fire lily: New growth is inevitable. The pandemic is an incomparable opportunity for sport schools to shape this growth.

Ruan Schlebusch: Fast facts

Profile

Experienced in and passionate about all aspects of athlete education and support. Clients range from Under 9s playing their first competitive match to retired ex-internationals.

Areas of expertise

  • Athlete support
  • Athlete education
  • Dual career management
  • Talks and workshops
  • System development and support
  • Coach education

Scope of work

  • Worked with over 1000 athletes in more than 20 sports
  • Junior amateurs to professionals representing their country
  • Federations, schools, clubs and academies
  • Team and individual sports
  • Local and international

Connect with Ruan Schlebusch via LinkedIn here.


This was the 1st ENOSS Conference

From 7-8 November 2019, the first ever ENOSS Conference entitled "The Next Step" was held in Berlin, Germany. Like-minded professionals in education and sport from 16 European countries followed the invitation of the ENOSS consortium to network and exchange best practice.

Day 1 of #enoss2019 was dedicated to the topic of health. International experts, namely Markus Flemming (SLZB, Germany), Andreas Hülsen (OSP Berlin, Germany), Laurent Carnol (LIHPS, Luxembourg) or Jürgen Dietrich/Andrea Stegmann/Claudius Schäfer (Brillat-Savarin Schule, Germany) shared multi-sided insights into their routine with talented athletes, spanning health-related dimensions such as sport psychology, dual career or nutrition.

Day 2, conducted in the spectacular location of the Olympic Stadium of Berlin, pursued the mission to initiate a European Network of Sport Schools. In his opening keynote, ENOSS co-initiator Wolfgang Stockinger (TWIN, Austria) emphasized the necessity of strategic European cooperation:

"The quality of services provided by sport schools in cooperation with policy makers and sport bodies is of vital importance for sustainable pathways of aspiring athletes, in amateur as well as in professional sports. A network like ENOSS can be an important catalyst for innovative dual career practice across borders."

Following, the international delegates concretized the requirements for the development of a European network in the form of expert work groups.

"The goals of this conference were exceeded. The instant success of this first-time-event makes clear that the timing for ENOSS is right, since EU sport policy is likely to keep focusing on the topic of dual career in the coming years."

ENOSS co-initiator Philipp Struwe (SLZB, Germany)

Thank you to all international delegates who made the 1st ENOSS Conference a big success! If you are interested in becoming a future member of ENOSS, please get in touch with us.

Downloads


Making the next step: A European Network of Sport Schools

In the EU, the number of athletes in need of dual career support services adds up to more than 120.000 in every Olympic cycle. Within competitive systems, European sport schools play a crucial role in the development of athletic talent. For this reason, a German-Austrian consortium aims to foster the establishment of a European Network of Sport Schools (ENOSS).

The quality of services of sport schools in cooperation with policy makers and sport bodies is of vital importance for the sustainable pathways of aspiring athletes, in amateur as well as in professional sports. In 25 out of the 28 EU member states, sport schools at secondary level offering specific dual career support to talented athletes can be found.

This means that this type of schools represent one main common ground of dual career delivery in the European Union. However, despite the history of sport schools in the EU, a specific network between these schools on European level does still not exist. Time for change, time for making the next step.

1st ENOSS Conference in Berlin

Initiated by the ENOSS co-creators Philipp Struwe (SLZB, Germany) and Wolfgang Stockinger (TW1N, Austria), and jointly organized by the SLZB, the Berlin Senate Department for Education, Youth and Families, and the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community, the first ever European Network of Sport Schools Conference will take place in the Olympic Stadium of Berlin, Germany. In the belief of the ENOSS consortium, systematizing the connections and learning arenas between sport schools will substantially contribute to improve service quality within these specific institutions, facilitate the mobility of both talented athletes and practitioners, and inspire the development of trans-national projects.

Registration for the ENOSS Conference 2019 is now open. The official conference programme can be downloaded here.