Ile de Bendor: Coaching Conference

I have spent the last three days on the Ile de Bendor at the Six Nations’ Rugby Coaches’ Conference.
The Conference brings together coaches from Italy, France, England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. This is the tenth year of the Conference.
I was fortunate to have the opportunity to make two presentations at the Conference.
The first was on Winning Cultures and the second was on Winning Coaches.
The conviviality of the program and the location has created wonderful opportunities to explore, share and discuss ideas with remarkable coaches.
Max Godemet presented his views on developing a winning coach before my second presentation. I felt honoured to be on the same program as Max. Some years ago I read these acknowledgements of his work from national coaches:

Il a été essentiel dans la formation d’entraîneurs, notamment pour nous trois, explique Marc Lièvremont. Il m’a appris à synthétiser un projet de jeu, à aller à l’essentiel, à intellectualiser le rugby.” Pour Didier Retière – qui a commencé à travailler avec lui dès 2002 , il représente une référence. “Il synthétise beaucoup de connaissances, sur le jeu et la préparation physique, et m’a beaucoup transmis de ce qu’il a pu acquérir dans sa longue histoire d’encadrement de l’équipe de France“, précise le spécialiste des avants.

I am very impressed by the insights and vision of the national coach development officers who have coordinated the Conference. I am particularly grateful to Kevin Bowring for inviting me to be here.

It has been delightful to spend time with Robbie Deans at this Conference. He was a keynote speaker here and shared remarkable insights into his coaching journey. His presentation was one of the best accounts of coaching I have ever heard. It has given me a very special understanding of transformational leadership.
I was fascinated to hear from Floyd Woodrow and Jacques Brunel too. Floyd has an incredible story to share and what he had to say resonated very strongly with me. Jacques provided details of his coaching learning journey and concluded with his work with the Italian national team. It was interesting to note the similarities (and differences) between Jacques and Robbie.
When not in Conference sessions I have been able to walk around the island and contemplate my passion for coach education and development. What a special location to do this.