5 coaching lessons from Ben Herring

Every time I speak to Ben Herring, I end up scribbling notes. His conversations with world-class coaches such as Steve Hansen, Joe Schmidt and Mike Cron aren’t just about elite performance; they’re goldmines for grassroots learning. His Coaching Culture podcast is, as he puts it, “selfish” because he just wants to talk to interesting people. The beauty for us is that we can listen in and take away ideas we can actually use.

01 – Care before performance

Ben’s first and perhaps most profound message is that grassroots coaches should aim for high care, not high performance. The phrase, borrowed from coach developer Sean Graham, reframes what success looks like.

High care means creating environments where players feel valued, understood and looked after. That doesn’t mean going soft. It means caring deeply about the things that matter to you and to your team. For Ben, that’s respect, language, and how players treat one another. For another coach, it might be tackle technique or punctuality. “Whatever you care about, make it part of your environment,” he says.

02 – Be yourself and mean it

Authenticity is another recurring theme. “You’ve got to have your skin in the game,” says Ben. Players quickly sense when a coach is faking it. When your values are visible through how you speak, how you coach, and how you act under pressure, players are more likely to buy in.

He likens it to family life: as a parent, you choose what’s non-negotiable. In coaching, the same principle applies. Make it clear, model it, and live it.

03 – Don’t chase the 1%

Ben warns against copying professional drills wholesale. Elite teams spend time on marginal gains because their players already have the basics. “At grassroots,” he says, “you’re working on the first 80%, not the last 20%.”

He recalls his father’s building advice: don’t chase perfection if it adds little value. “You don’t need gold taps. Just make sure the plumbing works.” For most of us, that means doubling down on catch-pass, tackle, and breakdown skills rather than adopting the latest Super Rugby pattern.

04 – Delivery beats design

The most telling difference between elite and community coaching isn’t the content; it’s the delivery. When Ben watched Joe Schmidt coach a group of schoolboys, he was struck by how Schmidt transformed a simple breakdown drill into something electric.

It wasn’t fancy structure; it was tone, timing, and total presence. Schmidt paused at just the right moments, used humour and authority, and asked the right questions: “Is that how you’d carry in a game?” The players instantly lifted their intensity. The lesson: great coaching isn’t always about new activities; it’s about how you bring the activity to life.

05 – Coach resilience deliberately

From Steve Hansen to grassroots U14s, Ben argues that resilience can and should be coached. He builds it into training by reviewing behaviour under fatigue. “We’d film a conditioning game, then watch the body language. What happens when you’re tired? Do you switch off or fight through?”

By highlighting those moments, coaches help players become aware of their reactions, and awareness becomes growth. Even post-try huddles can be coached: players breathe, refocus, and use a simple cue word like trust. “That word,” Ben says, “just flicks you back into belief.”