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.

by ENOSS