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UXI RUGBY INSTITUTES SHOWDOWN

UXI RUGBY INSTITUTES SHOWDOWN

…over a year ago, in the height of Covid-19 lockdown, there was a dream of an Inter-UXI Rugby Institute event…we believed, we prayed, and IT HAS COME!
Presenting the UXI RUGBY INSTITUTES SHOWDOWN through the UXI EXPERIENCE TOUR CAPE TOWN 2021! Hosted at the WPRA, the Griquas Rugby Institute and the Cheetahs Institute of Excellence will make the exciting trip down to the beautiful mother city of Cape Town. This is a two-leg tour, which sees both the Griquas Rugby Institute and the Cheetahs Institute of Excellence travelling down to the Cape, for a week of competitive rugby and extraordinary life experiences!
After almost two years of no rugby, this is the moment our players have been waiting for…the players are HUNGRY for this FANTASTIC RUGBY OPPORTUNITY.
The first leg of the Experience Tour saw the Griquas Rugby Institute, driving all the way from Tafel Lager Park in Kimberley, excel in the Cape. In fact, we couldn’t have asked for a better and more explosive start to the UXI Experience Tour – wow, did those GRI players show heart and grit!
Now, it is the turn of the Cheetahs Institute of Excellence. After an incredible first SHOWDOWN on Monday the 8th of November, we cannot wait to see what the rest of the tour has in store. Not only are our players battling it out on-field, but off field they are embracing all that the beautiful Western Cape has to offer.
Check out some of the fun that has taken place so far!
https://wprugbyacademy.co.za/wpra-and-cie-showdown/
https://griquasri.co.za/gri-and-wpra-showdown/

Many boys have never even seen the ocean or the mountains, so this is definitely going to change their lives, just by giving them this exciting opportunity!

We believed.
We prayed.
We’ve now planned.
And now it is time for the…UXI RUGBY INSTITUTES SHOWDOWN through the UXI EXPERIENCE TOUR CAPE TOWN 2021.

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The NEW GENERATION Coach in Rugby

Careers using IT Technology in Sport Performance

The video-based performance analysis process is well defined in accredited and non-accredited academic Sport Science literature. In the sports industry the process follows a continuous loop which starts with the player or team performing during training or match-play, then an analysis (live or post-match) of their performance, followed by feedback and training interventions, then the player or team performs again – this then restarts the process loop.

Typically in South African rugby systems, the feedback process is one which involves only video and stats review within a team environment, and in a boardroom style setting. In these match/training review sessions there is a varying style, dependent on the coaching staff. In general, there is about 20 to 30 minutes (sometimes more) of face to face video discussion and presentations around the performance or specific areas of the performance. In some situations, the players interact a lot, but in other situations they simply do not get a chance to voice their opinion. These sessions become one where players sit and listen to what was done wrong and what was done right, and then get told how the team will correct these things moving forward. However, this form of feedback is not conducive to an effective learning environment for our players and generally does not create a positive learning environment.

For an effective learning experience and environment players need to be given the concern areas and find solutions on their own. From here, these solutions can be discussed and investigated. From there, the team and coaches decide on the process and interventions that will be put in place going forward. Realistically speaking, this interactive and hands-on process cannot happen in a “boardroom” styled session, as this would result in losing even more training and on-field time.

So how do we create a conducive online learning environment but still maximize our training time on the pitch? In addition to this, how do we engage with our Generation Z players to maximize their personal learning (Gen Z is the newest generation, born between 1997 and 2012. They are currently between 9 and 24 years old)? The simple answer: online analysis and sharing platforms. At the UXI Sport Rugby Institutes we use Coach Logic in our high performance program. Coach Logic allows coaches, specialist coaches and performance analysts to interact with the players online, from any place, at any given time, similar to that of online education. Coaches create playlists from training sessions and rugby matches, and then share these playlists with all the players or individual players. From here, the players can go and independently highlight their concern areas. Video analysis Players and coaches can now actively engage via Coach Logic and discuss the clips at hand in real time, from their mobile device. This allows everyone to be included in their own feedback systems, give their opinion and gives the players time to think about solutions and then bring those to the table. This means that when coaches and players sit in the “boardroom” sessions, everyone has already seen the clips and has already been part of discussions surrounding the clips. These sessions now become a ‘clarity session’, where the game-play solutions are meticulously explained and broken down, so that all parties have a clear and precise understanding.

At our Rugby Institutes, we make use of a performance analysis coding software, called Nacsport; this is used to tag all our team and player events. Coach Logic has its own tagging function on their online platform; however, Coach Logic also allows you to easily import these timelines onto their platform and sync it with the video footage. Having access to these timelines allows our players and coaches to easily navigate to areas of a practice or match that they wish to review; this also allows the players to easily navigate to their involvements in the footage. This easy-to-use and time-saving app has resulted in an increase in post-match reviews by players. Not only is it quick and easy, but it is enjoyable for the players as well. Now, for the first time, they can be in control of the analysis of their own performance; and they can assess the video and see first-hand where their strengths and weaknesses lie in their game. A great feature by Coach Logic is the ability to review the video history. This shows exactly how much time was spent reviewing a video by the coaches and players.

Generation Z The Generation-Z player needs quick access to video footage and data – so this speaks right into their way of taking in information: fast, simple and efficient. Your players now also have an easy way of generating all their clips into one video, which starts to populate their very own “video rugby CV”.

In our ever changing and fast paced high performance sporting environment, it is vital that teams have a proper and efficient performance analysis system in place. This performance analysis system must have an online platform as part of its components, and Coach Logic is the perfect tool for that! In South Africa we usually find that only our national team, franchise teams and top schools have access to high performance tools to measure performance, such as online analysis systems and wearable technology, however with Coach Logics amazing pricing system, it’s now possible for everyone to have access to this vital equipment to measure our athletes performance. Furthermore, in SA rugby and international rugby there is an ever growing demand for careers using IT technology in sport performance, therefore if this is something that interests you as a reader, then one should investigate higher education options that would cover this aspect of High Performance; who knows, maybe one day you find yourself in the Rugby Championship or Rugby World Cup as an analyst in test match rugby.

If you would like to know more on how to get your hands on a Coach Logic license, or want to know more about how it works, then we invite you to contact our National Manager of Video and Game Analysis, Heinrich Painczyk ([email protected]). Our recent partnership with Coach Logic also means we can arrange discounted prices depending on your needs!

Here is what our Head Coach at our WP Rugby Academy has to say:

“Given in our environment of working with 90 odd players in an ever-rotating system, the coach logic platform has been a lifesaver. Coach Logic Our coaches can now analyze player footage and communicate with players on the go, wherever they are in the world, whether it be on holiday, walking to class or training. We can educate and review training sessions, matches, scheduling at any time and at any place whether on an individual level or a whole group. The flexibility of coach logic also allows for player self-development through reviewing footage, questioning coaches and communicating with each other. With the ability to import codes from various systems, our analysis platform has made things simple, easy and convenient. I would recommend Coach Logic to every player, coach, analyst, manager or even businesses as a central platform on which to grow.”

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Winds of Change- Opportunity or Chance?

A Rugby Institute C19 Weather update- the effects of weather on rugby as brought to us by the C19 cold front!

We have learnt to welcome the winds of Cape Town, that often reach wind speeds of up to 6 meters per second, (https:/weather-and-climate.com). It has also often challenged the kicking boots of rugby world-cup winning stars, Handre Pollard, Morne Steyn and legends such as Joel Stransky, Naas Botha (to name but a few) on a typical Newlands winters game day or training session.

It is now safe to say that after living in the Western Cape for a few years, as a previous Gauteng loyalist, who also followed the “semigration” trend in South Africa, a new term trending on Business Tech, that Cape Town weather is as unpredictable as a novel on a murder mystery by novel writer Patrick Radden Keefe. 

The Cape just never fails to disappoint, living up to its reputation as the “Cape of Storms”, even though it took time to adjust to four seasons in one day! Now we have also come to understand why rugby western cape south africa weather trained rugby athletes, become some of the best players in the world, having learnt how to play under such EXTREME weather conditions.

On a lighter note, watching the Russians play in a snowstorm in the Soviet Union, makes rain and wind speeds a champagne problem when it comes to the perfect weather in rugby!

But these storms bring the early spring rains to the central South African regions, as dry winters there come to an end and the earth anxiously awaits water to bring new life. But as we know winds signals change in weather patterns, and as the News channels announce strict water restrictions in Gauteng, we have now also grown to accept constant change that erupts in our lives due to the current pandemic and the unfortunate or fortunate change it brings. 

We are less prone to try and predict the future and focus on today, we have perhaps too often allowed predictions to upset our lives and steal our joy. Maybe this is one of the best lessons that many of us had to learn from the past 17 months. To adapt and change and make the most of every day!

We are learning to break down our own ”Berlin Wall” barriers to adapting to change!

It has however become an increasingly challenging and a difficult trait to cultivate in oneself, “Adapting to change”!

Talk about winds of change, and we can tell you all about that in South Africa and the power ballad of South African rugby today! With most school tournaments cancelled including another year’s prestigious Craven week sport event, what do these changes signal for the future for the sport we all love so much? One thing we can tell you for sure is that these Rugby Institutes, like the rain, came at the right time, to bring CHANCE and HOPE!

At the Rugby Institute (WPRA), based in Stellenbosch Western Cape the 1st year players are entering their 7th, uninterrupted training month of the High performance rugby development program of 2021 and the 2nd years their 15th. Coaches and players had to learn to adapt and accept constant changes more often than the weather patterns change here located in the southern tip of Africa, from the cold war we have entered with C19 to the hotter weather that Spring brought! However they never stopped TRAINING!

The C19 pandemic wave predictions have now become like a “weather forecast” for the Rugby Institute programs too. Once a new wave is announced we have learnt that the planning around it becomes more important than the rugby Western Cape South Africa’s hourly weather forecast!  

But no heat stress on our teams! They DO what it takes and are improving and developing MORE and MORE by the day and so doing have become better at it than what any other Sports program is able to accomplish in South Africa currently. They are achieving the ultimate key attribute of high-performance and this is continuous growth and improvement that has their blood flowing!

World-class coaches and mentors in the UXI Sport system, drive a program designed for constantly changing conditions, to curb the impact of C19 on it, as much as they plan for how the weather in the western cape impacts on rugby games.. The Coaching and rugby teams implement this with meticulous planning and execution.

 This program has become a catalyst to cultivate important traits in the player athletes like adapting to change and growth mindsets. Traits now listed as a Future-fit skill to become and stay employable!

And so, as the winds of change signal the inevitable change in weather conditions for rugby and the seasons, so the Rugby institutes prepare and inspire young men for Life through their Sport with a holistic program that will, if they endure, build the super traits the world now requires of them to possess in order to survive in it. It’s like learning the effects of weather on sports!

In spite of the C19 impact we predict hot weather conditions for Mpumalanga, Bloemfontein, Kimberley and Stellenbosch for the UXI Rugby Institutes that are determined to offer CHANCE every day to their student players. They are producing LEGENDS FOR LIFE who will stand strong through the winds of Change and the TEST of time!

                         INSPIRING GREATNESS NO MATTER THE WEATHER!

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u20 Rugby – UXI Sport

The Unconventional Pathway to your Greatest Rugby Dreams

Some of the greatest and most beloved stories of the ages is that of an underdog rising up and succeeding. Be it in films, in the workforce or in sport – there is a sensation of power when those least likely to succeed shock everyone and transform to achieve their greatness.

Dreams are fascinating things. What is your dream, and will you achieve your dream in this lifetime? I am almost certain that you would like to, and I truly hope that you do! But how bad do you want it? What lengths will you go to achieve it? Several young school-boy rugby players dream of running out onto the center field of a packed out stadium. The ultimate dream of “making it big” in rugby. Young boys sit in front of their TV’s, watching their rugby heroes, visualizing themselves as the next future stars on the international stage of rugby.

So what is the pathway then to becoming an overnight rugby champion? The conventional pathway is that a player must first make their High School’s first rugby team, and from there make it into the Craven Week squad. Once in a Craven Week squad, you’ve got your togs in the door. At the Craven Week tournament, you are scouted and selected for the Junior Springboks squad. The Junior Springboks squad is truly a prestigious achievement, and emphasizes the onset of a successful career in SA Rugby. This squad takes part in the World Rugby u20 Championship, where players battle up against powerful international rugby teams, such as Argentina, Georgia and Uruguay. From Junior Boks, players are usually offered contracts immediately into SA Rugby under-20 squads, or directly into professional Senior squads. And there you go – the traditional pathway!

However, what happens to those boys who possibly don’t make a Craven Week team, or aren’t selected for the Junior Springboks? Where is their pathway, do they even have one? Or are these boys expected to simply give up their dreams because they weren’t able to tick a box on the conventional ‘Professional Rugby roadmap’? Cue the UXI Rugby Institute pathway!

The UXI Rugby Institutes are a rugby force to be reckoned with, and are catalysts of rugby development in the 16 to 23 year old age grade. These high performance institutes are illustrating that you don’t need to give up on your dreams just because you didn’t get one opportunity. The UXI Rugby Institutes provides you with countless opportunities to make your dreams a reality. In the past year, the UXI Rugby Institutes have provided our players with the opportunities to be seen, and be selected! To date, we have had 38 students selected for various u20 rugby squads across South Africa. There are 12 players playing for the Pumas u20 squad; 17players playing for Griquas u20 squad; 6 players playing for the Cheetahs u20 squad; 2 old boys playing for the Western Province u20 squad; and 1 player playing for the Vodacom Bulls u20 squad.

Now the UXI Rugby Institutes don’t just stop at the Junior Squads, we try to get our players all the way to the top! Currently, we have Niel Venter from the Cheetahs Institute of Excellence currently training with the Toyota Cheetahs Squad. As well as Juandre Odendaal, who has been called up to the Professional New Nations Pumas Currie Cup squad. And just to add a bonus point to the UXI score board, we recently had one player from the Griquas Rugby Institute contracted to a professional team in Poland; as well as several old Western Province Rugby Academy old boys contracted to various European Rugby Unions.

So why are these rugby institutes so successful? Well, besides offering a meticulously designed high performance programme, your head coach at rugby institute is the same coach who is coaching the professional Senior squads. A rugby player, who may have been an underdog at Craven Week selection, is now given a front row seat in the ‘talent identification’ line. You finally get your shot to be seen by the coaches and Unions – an opportunity that you may have never gotten otherwise.

So you see, there is not just one pathway. You do not need to tick every traditional box to live out your dream. Being an underdog doesn’t mean that your dreams are over, in fact, it means that they have only just begun…

It is time to rise up through the UXI Rugby Institutes, and transform into the player that you dreamed of – because your dreams are closer than you think!

UXI Sport- Inspiring Greatness
#RiseoftheUnderdog

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Professional rugby contract in Poland.

From a South African Rugby Institute, to the Professionals Teams Abroad!

From the diamond-mining centre of South Africa, to the Polish city on the coast: Gdynia! UXI Griquas Rugby Institute backline player, Devon Pretorius, has recently been contracted to play professional rugby in the beautiful country of Poland! 

Devon, who enrolled himself in the UXI high performance rugby programme, has proven once again that rugby academies and institutes are phenomenal gateway into professional sport. 

Arka Gdynia is a Polish rugby union, who is renowned for their fantastic success within the Ekstraliga – the Super Rugby equivalent for rugby union in Poland. Rugby Club Arka Gdynia has won this rugby championship in 2004, 2005, 2011, and 2015. Hopefully with Devon in their backline, they will be adding several more titles to their name. Devon is flying the SA Rugby flag high, by already making his rugby debut for this international rugby team.  

Lending to the development of World Cup players, such as Willie le Roux, the Griquas Rugby Union identified the need to accelerate the empowerment of the youth in sport. UXI Sport took hands with the Rugby Union to establish the much-needed Griquas Rugby Institute, which assists in providing a national pathway for rugby’s youth in South Africa, specifically catering for the developmental gap from 18 until 24 years old. 

Situated in the historic town of Kimberley in the Northern Cape Province, the Institute is housed in the beloved Tafel Lager Park. At the Institute, rugby players are exposed to the same level of high-performance training and development as a player who is contracted by a pro rugby Union. 

By exposing young and talented rugby players to these high athletic standards, professional sporting skills, values and disciplines are well established within the first two years at the Institute. The self-funded UXI Rugby Institute models truly hold a pivotal place in the sustainability and longevity of South Africa rugby; and it is this Institute model that has prepared Devon for this fantastic moment in his rugby career.

The UXI Rugby Institutes can be found across South Africa! From the Western Province Rugby Academy in Cape Town, to the Pumas Rugby Institute in Mpumalanga, to the Cheetahs Institute of Excellence in Bloemfontein. The opportunities to achieve your rugby dreams have never been greater!

This incredible achievement of Devon’s offers INSPIRATION and ignites HOPE and opportunities to many young aspiring rugby boys, who too want a spot in a professional rugby league or national team. Success stories like these are testaments to the power that the youth have to achieve their dreams – but you cannot sit around and wait for opportunities to come knocking. YOU must create them for yourself, just as Devon took the initiative to create his. We wish Devon all the best with his career at Rugby Club Arka Gdynia! 

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“I STILL HAVE FAITH IN YOU”- ABBA’S 2021 NEW RELEASE BECOMES UXI RUGBY INSTITUTE’S SONG FOR THE WORLD!

ABBA’S 2021 NEW RELEASE BECOMES UXI RUGBY INSTITUTE’S SONG FOR THE WORLD!

This article is dedicated to all those Rugby Legends, who never gave up, who fell and rose again, who still inspires the Rugby Industry and their fans until this day, no matter their age! – Author

The recent ABBA revival and international announcement of their come-back had me both emotional and inspired at the same time. This late 70’s, 80’s popular Swedish band, with 9 nr 1 hit songs, and over 53 Singles produced, had many of us singing ‘before we could talk”, and even “dancing before we could walk”. Whenever their music plays it brings back memories of our past in one way or the other and turned so many into “Dancing Queens” and Kings till this day.

Listening to the lyrics of the newly released 2021 new hit song “I STILL HAVE FAITH IN YOU”, I reminded myself that so many people in the world today so desperately need a voice uttering these words to them!

Every day we live life, working hard often failing, falling and facing disappointment, some of us has become better at it than others, but in the end “Winners take it all”, and losers need to stand tall. I suppose it is just the “Name of the Game”!

“Knowing YOU, Knowing ME”, it truly is the best we can do, to just live a life with purpose and believe that we are destined for greatness irrespective of who we are and where we come from or our circumstances. Inside all of us we all have a voice pleading to someone please “Take a Chance on me”! I can be GREAT if you can only give me an opportunity!

Many people have been robbed of opportunities over the past almost two Covid ridden years. Young and old who has sung “I have a Dream” so often before, have given up because of circumstances beyond their control. Instead of chasing dreams many has reverted to “SOS” instead. “Money, Money, Money” has become the motivator or barrier to living a purpose-driven life or is it an entitlement of “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!?

Time is rushing past us all and our lives are “Slipping through our fingers” because we are unable to look past things that we see as threats instead of opportunities. We should be shouting “I DO I DO I DO I DO” believe, I can become anything, or overcome anything, if I put my mind to it! However, it takes a purpose, plan, hard work, commitment, grit and a growth mindset to get there!

It’s not always the most intelligent, talented and experienced people who get the chances or whose dreams come true in this world? It is those who simply take ownership of themselves, their circumstances and who in gratitude say, “Thank you for the Music”. The song of blessings count, and every opportunity received along the way, regardless of what things look like around them. These individuals become the “Super Troupers” in life, who will never stop hearing the “Ring Ring” of opportunities and prosperity.

So many others just give up too soon and stop dreaming when things don’t go the way they had planned or become impatient waiting and or working for a desired result. But the question is “Voulez-Vous?,” DO YOU WANT?” the BEST of what is for eternity, has longevity and is meaningful? Or do you want instant gratification that “When all is said and done”, leaves no legacy? When others ask, “Does your Mother know that you’re out?”, say I AM OUT HERE MAKING HER PROUD, and becoming the best version of who I can be!

The return of the now over 70 years of age super ABBA stars, are proof of a ripple effect of the legacy they left with their talent in the music industry, that inspired many other bands and their fans for generations after they ended their careers in 1982. Few people know the ABBA story was not perfect with many, many challenges, heartache and disappointment, before and during their rise to fame.

I believe that there are many lessons to be learnt from the ABBA Voyage. The most important that when at first you do not succeed get up and say “MAMMA MIA” here I go again! …And not “Why did it have to be me”!?

Before giving up on set-backs say to it; “Hasta Manana” – I SEE YOU TOMORROW, I will deal with this blow but “One of Us” has to go, and that ain’t me!

UXI SPORT: WE ARE INSPIRED BY GREATNESS!!

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International Students at UXi Sport

Marcel Proust stated that “the real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes”, achieved through new experiences and unique opportunities. The youth of today are hungry for experiences and opportunities that surpass anything that they’ve previously experienced. This is why the “travel bug” is such a wonderful notion, because it highlights the longing that people have for creating unique opportunities for themselves world-wide.

It is unfortunate that the world has found itself trudging through such challenging and negative times, as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to rage on world-wide. It is because of this that, up until very recently, international travel had been placed on the backburner for the last 18 months. Nevertheless, international rugby and rugby academies, coaches and teams are eager for exposure to the renowned South African rugby experience.

Over the past month, UXI Sport has welcomed six international rugby players from the Northern hemisphereas as an International Rugby Institute.. Hailing from Canada and the United States of America, these six aspirant rugby players enrolled in a month-long high performance rugby programme at the Western Province Rugby Academy (WPRA). Based in Stellenbosch, the Western Province Rugby Academy is lead under some of the best rugby coaches and rugby minds that South African Rugby has to offer! As with all UXI Rugby Institutes, the high performance rugby programme at the WPRA is meticulously designed, implemented and monitored to produce a pathway for rugby and athletic excellence.

Not only are international students at UXI Rugby Institutes exposed to a world-class high performance on-field rugby programme, but off of the field, the students are exposed to the most modern player management systems, match analytic and data science strategies. Combined with a unique and focused life skills programme, these tools really help a rugby player LEVEL UP their game. The rugby institutes also offers international players the unique experience to travel South Africa, and see the beautiful and cultured country, in all its diversity!

The UXI Rugby Institutes truly provides the ULTIMATE RUGBY EXPERIENCE! With all that this one-of-a-kind programme has to offer, an opportunity at any one of the five rugby institutes makes for a PRICELESS “South African souvenir” for any international rugby players to take back home with them!

Have a listen to what our exchange students had to say about their South African rugby experience!

https://youtu.be/ZA2HsQdviIQ – Kyle Corrigan

https://youtu.be/fcdxeK5X-20 – Quinton Tindel

https://youtu.be/VOtf1szIq_g – Hunter Modlin

https://youtu.be/OtFO_9MPqKE – Brian Marson

https://youtu.be/rUIBs72AGfc – Blake Gilbert

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Why Super Rugby Athletes deserve to earn the best salaries in the world!

Watching some recent British Irish Lions vs Springboks games, it dawned upon me what the true meaning is of Economies of Effort.
Most of these rugby players went the full 80 minutes, with endurance that is nothing but applaudable, taking physical hard knocks, bumps, hits, tackles and running, up and down a rugby pitch of no more than 94-100m. Does anyone ever sit and calculate the number of hours, years that it has taken to get these super athletic bodies into the explosive power and toughness they display in these international matches?
The huge sums of contracts paid to highest paid professional players are often disputed, media announced numbers are met with wide eyes and gasps of disbelieve by many. Rugby players such as Maro Itoje, Eben Etzebeth, Handre Pollard, Michael Hooper, to name but a few, are some of the best paid Rugby players in the world. But what did it take to be able to perform at this level on a sports field, and at what cost to a physical human body that becomes irreversible in the years to come?

Does anyone have what it takes to become a British/Irish Lion, All Black or Springbok and to compete at a WORLD RUGBY CUP tournament? Many starry-eyed young boys watch these rugby athletes with aspirations to become the same, without the adequate guidance and coaches to initiate and cultivate the right habits in mind, body, spirit and knowledge of the game.

Are you willing to sacrifice what most of these athletes do, to get to the top as a world-class professional athlete? Say no to parties with friends, irresponsible dietary habits, going to bed earlier than most, getting up earlier than most, training for many hours during the day? Sit through hours of strategic planning and watch game video clips over and over again, work through physical exhaustion, pain barriers, disappointments, often for no guarantee of a spot in the TEAM?

The truth is there is a reason we talk about Economies of Effort in sport, as this is the result of huge earning potential when you get to the top for only 80,( in the case of a rugby match), minutes of play, maybe 3 or 4 times during a month.
Somebody recently posted the following about Usain Bolt.

“Usain Bolt won 8 gold medals in 3 Olympics, and he ran for less that 115 seconds on the track, earning $119 million dollars. That’s economy of effort. But for those 2 minutes, he trained for 20 years. That’s investment. Think long term. Patience pays”.
Our challenge as UXI rugby institutes, to young aspirant players wanting to earn top dollar and annual income. Some will be fortunate to be paid a contract from the age of 16 for their talent. For many others, it will have to be your OWN INVESTMENT into your future dreams of becoming a national or international rugby athlete. Getting into high performance program with the best coaches your money can buy, who understands how to re-engineer you to become a world-class athlete.

This requires patience and investment of effort, as a High Performance athletic orientated body is not engineered in 2 or 3 years! Whether Soccer, Rugby and or American football, to be one of the highest paid athletes in these sports, a Lionel Messi and or Patrick Mahomes, the same applies.

To live, breathe and eat Rugby, 24/7 may sound like heaven on earth for many who truly has a passion and a love for the game. But if you are serious about your talent, the UXI RUGBY INSTITUTES ENDORSED by key SOUTH AFRICAN RUGBY UNIONS, are where your true Athletic development, investment JOURNEY starts.

Because we understand what it takes, we will prepare you for LIFE IN AND AFTER RUGBY, never forgetting YOU nor leave you behind.
The earlier you start this journey the better, with YOUTH on your side and the choice of incredible effort, NOTHING is impossible for your future.

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Middelburg Magic Takes Mbombela

Middelburg Magic takes Mbombela! Twenty-year-old flanker, Juandre Odendaal, has found himself in the optimal position to make his dreams turn into realities – from the Pumas Rugby Institute model in less than 6 months, into the official Senior squad of the New Nations Pumas professional team! This incredible achievement of Juandre’s offers INSPIRATION and ignites HOPE and opportunities to many young aspirant rugby boys, who too want their opportunity in the Professional squads.

PumasJuandre is a highly motivated and talented young rugby player from Middelburg, who has been dreaming of this momentous squad selection his entire life. Prior to his journey as the Institute, Juandre represented the Pumas u/16 Grant Khromo squad, as well as the Pumas u/18 squad. However, these impressive accolades still didn’t guarantee Juandre a professional Union contract. This, however, did not dampened Juandre’s rugby dreams. When asked about his ultimate rugby aspirations, Juandre stated that his goals are to “achieve a position in a provincial and Springbok team”. Juandre has done just that and has landed himself in the New Nations Pumas professional team – ticking off that first box of his rugby dreams in Mbombela.

PumasSituated in the Mpumalanga province, the Pumas Rugby Institute allows rugby players to experience all that this picturesque land has to offer, all while engaging in a High Performance Rugby Programme. The Institute is housed in the heart of the beautiful and beloved South African stadium: Mbombela Stadium. Situated in the picturesque Lowveld region of Nelspruit, lying along the Crocodile River, Mpumalanga is one of South Africa’s top tourist destinations. Known as “Paradise Country”, few regions in the world can match the extraordinary beauty of the Lowveld and escarpment. From day trips in the country’s most renowned game reserve, the Kruger National Park, to rafting down the Sabie River, to boasting a rare collection of plant species in the botanical gardens- the spectacular Mpumalanga province offers our rugby athletes an unforgettable experience.

PumasThe self-funded Rugby Institute at the Pumas, the “Pumas Rugby Institute”, was where Juandre was exposed to the same level of high-performance training and development as a contracted or semi-contracted player. Juandre has been exposed to the same coaches, same facilities and the same high performance standards as the Senior Pumas players. The Institute further offers accommodation, which is conducive to an elite performance lifestyle, and allows for effective athletic focus. This exposure has instilled professional sporting skills, values and disciplines, that are pivotal for movement up into the professional Union systems.

Success stories like these are testaments to the power that the youth have to achieve their dreams. It is possible to create your own opportunities, if those opportunities don’t directly present themselves to you. The UXI Sport Rugby Institutes are developmental platforms, which are closely aligned to the Union professional pathways, and are able to create opportunities where there were few before.

The Pumas Rugby Institute and the UXI Rugby Institutes are self-funded models. It offers players the opportunity to INVEST into their talent and future in a platform that creates an ultimate athletic development opportunity. It is not only investing into a two or more years sporting career; it is an investment into the opportunity to make a dream turn into a reality, an investment into the significant adaptations that an athlete must endure in their sport to reach an ultimate goal. It is an investment into the qualities and values that are learnt that reflects into daily life: accountability, adaptability, ownership, sacrifice and toughness. It’s investing in the opportunity and the environment which cultivates and inspires GREATNESS across all facets of the sport to life – an opportunity pursued by Juandre Odendaal and one that will give him the RETURN OF INVESTMENT in years to come!

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UXI SPORT ∙ IMM GRADUATE SCHOOL

ANNOUCEMENT OF PARTNERSHIP

Cape Town, South Africa; 14 July 2021:

UXI Sport is pleased to announce its partnership with the IMM Graduate School. The IMM Graduate School is one of the most legendary and reputable private Higher Education providers of choice in the field of marketing, supply chain and business in South Africa. The IMM Graduate School’s offering includes certificates, diplomas, degrees and postgraduate qualifications, which are all registered with the South African Qualifications Framework (SAQA) and quality assured by the South African Council on Higher Education (CHE).

An integral part of UXI Sport’s unique High Performance Rugby Programme is its Academic Programmes, that form part of the holistic development of Student Rugby Athletes. Through the Academic Programmes, provided by our academic partners, we develop young men and women, with key attributes and qualities that offer work-readiness.

UXI Sport’s institutes are passionate about creating opportunities, job placement and most importantly an embedded work-ethic, that is driven by a dedicated professional team, that INSPIRES GREATNESS!

“Sport High Performance development combined with an exceptional, relevant marketing qualification, are powerful in itself to secure opportunities in various sectors in the South African and global economy – but most importantly the Sports Athlete is a BRAND in him/herself that needs to understand how to build this brand internationally”

#IamABrand

For Media Enquiries:

UXI SPORT

Tayla van Heerden

[email protected]

IMM GRADUATE SCHOOL

Irene Gregory

[email protected]

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