The scholars enjoyed an insightful learning opportunity early last week joining pupils from Lincoln Minster School for a talk given by ex- England Rugby Union hooker Dylan Hartley.
Dylan is England’s most capped hooker of all time, earning an incredible 96 caps and enjoyed an outstanding career at the very top level of his sport, prior to his career unfortunately being cut short due to injury.
The England international shared his experiences of being an elite athlete and the ups and downs that he experienced throughout his career and how to recover from setbacks. Giving excellent tips on preparation, and how this is essential to performance. Dylan reminded players and pupils how crucial diet and nutrition remained and highlighted the necessity of avoiding the temptations of poor dietary choices which were detrimental to performance, before urging pupils and players to tap into knowledge and experience of teachers and coaches to aim to constantly ask questions and strive to improve, before talking about body language and engagement and sharing how this became key to England’s success.
Dylan then answered a series of challenging questions from the audience around pre-match rituals, the best opponent who he faced and how he prepared for this going on to discuss how he managed a lifestyle balance and on how he recovered from mistakes he had made before posing for pictures with the engaged audience.
Finally, Dylan took time out to speak to the boys from the academy away from the main group to share experiences on recovery, staying ahead of the competition and the constant challenges in professional sport. Dylan asked the players around their ambitions for the future and finished by wishing the boys well for the future. The players came away with a masterclass of tips and advice from a former England captain.
Tom Shaw under 18’s coach said: “For the scholars to be able learn first-hand from an elite sportsperson who has been so successful at the top level of sport. The coaching team talk extensively to the scholars about their approach and mindset to sport and life in general.
"Dylan shared some excellent examples of performing under pressure and different components of preparation to ensure elite performance, engaging with the scholars throughout the session and we appreciate Dylan for giving his time to pass on his knowledge and Lincoln Minster School for providing this learning opportunity."