Real stories. Real sport.
From rising athletes to bold ideas, Spotlight on captures the people and programmes driving sport forward with meaning.
Herschel Prep, a leader in the South African girls’ sport space, has embraced SportThink360 as a thinking partner in shaping the journey of young athletes in a partnership of more than 8 years. This hasn’t been a one-size-fits-all approach. Together, we’ve ambitiously evolved the programme to respond to Herschel’s unique needs - co-creating one of the most proactive and progressive environments for pre-teen and early-teen athletes. From leadership and captain workshops, to pre- and post-tour sessions that help athletes make the most of their experiences, to interactive parent talks - this is already a well-developed and dynamic partnership.
Herschel prep has long been a pioneer in this space. At the 2019 Independent Sports Schools Conference (ISSC), hosted by Herschel itself, the school helped lead a conversation about normalising athlete journey support as a standard part of excellence - not as an extra. The Head of Sport, Liane Karsten, has played a key role in driving this vision: open to new ideas, passionate about development, and always looking for ways to do things better.
Students themselves speak highly of the experience. Past pupils - even those who moved on to other schools - reflect on how their journeys were truly understood and supported during their time within the programme at Herschel prep. Many only realised later how vital it was that they were given the chance to see the bigger picture while they were still young. They remember not just the moments of performance, but the character and confidence they built along the way - through the highs and lows. They talk about learning to understand that sport is sometimes a rollercoaster, and they’re grateful that the Herschel SportThink360 programme helped them ride those ups and downs in a safe environment - where they were stretched but didn’t fall off.
This journey has also been inspired by HerForm - a European Commission-funded initiative focused on building better pipelines for female athletes. At the HerForm Conference in Dublin this November, Ruan Schlebusch will present on the unique collaboration between SportThink360 and Herschel Prep, highlighting its potential as a model for embedding HerForm values in the female athlete pipeline.
What if life skills weren’t a separate subject, but something lived, practiced, and spoken in a language learners already understand?
In South Africa, sport isn’t just physical activity. It’s a shared language. A rhythm of school life. For many young people, it's where they feel most engaged, most themselves.
At SportsThink360, we’ve long believed that sport can do more than build skills for the game. It can build insight for life, if schools are willing to make that part of their curriculum, not just their culture.
That’s exactly what SportsThink 360 has done with Western Province Preparatory School.
We’ve developed an integrated Grade 4–7 programme that uses the lens of sport to explore themes like identity, emotional literacy, resilience, and values - each aligned to the developmental needs of that grade, and each grounded in the everyday realities of South African school children.
"You can see how the boys start to connect the dots between what’s happening on the field and what’s going on inside them - and suddenly, the life skills conversation feels real, not theoretical," says Brad Player, who leads implementation of the programme from the SportsThink360 side.
Importantly, this wasn’t about importing a pre-packaged syllabus. Sportsthink 360 have created a curriculum in line with what is on offer in sports academies overseas, tailored to articulate with the South African life orientation assessment standards and backed by local experience. What emerged is something unique - a programme that reflects the culture, energy, and educational intent of South African schools while simultaneously meeting the future thinking focus commonly found in quality European systems.
"Sport is a compulsory part of every boy's life at Wetpups. So it's been a relatable context from which to teach some key life skills (also a compulsory part of every South African school's curriculum). Alongside some other ventures in integration we've enjoyed collaborating with SportsThink 360 to explore how we can integrate our learning in the classroom and on the sportsfield." says Sara Thackwray WPPS educator involved in the programme.
From SportsThink360’s side, we’re proud to recognise Western Province Prep for its forward-thinking commitment: treating life skills not as a bolt-on, but as part of what it means to truly educate.
Because when schools align what they value with what they teach - and when they see sport not just as a site of performance but a platform for personal development - something powerful happens.
