"Give yourself the best chance to succeed," Rassie van der Dussen
Rassie is a man of few words, and it is probably fitting that his career can be summed up in two words: quiet leadership.
Calm, reserved, thoughtful… these are some of the words that can be used to describe Rassie van der Dussen. He is the embodiment of quiet leadership. He certainly had that effect on me.
This article is brought to you by FRDM - A taste of Africa.
Rassie made a life changing decision when he was 10 years old: that he will grow up to be an professional and international cricketer.
He did have an interest in other sports: hockey, soccer, tennis and a little bit of rugby, but they were only passing interests. It didn't really matter whether he was good at them - even if he played at a better level than he played cricket - his future was decided. So, he only participated in them when there was no cricket to be played. His life revolved around cricket. He lived his life in a way that helped further that goal.
"Early high school, even late primary school, I knew that I wanted to become a professional cricketer," says Rassie van der Dussen. "And from then on I tried to live my life in a way that I thought could improve me in terms of my training, in terms of my diet and all the aspects that go into sports."
Rassie's early commitment to cricket is often seen in child prodigies. But Rassie was no prodigy, and he will be the first person to tell you that. Yes, he had a bit of talent, he could hit the ball a long way and could turn his arm a bit once in a while, but it wasn't something that anyone would rave about. He was good, but he was not THAT good.
"I wasn't necessarily one of those players that were earmarked to go on and play high level cricket. But through perseverance and hard work I eventually got some opportunities," he admits.
As far as he is concerned, it’s about grit: passion and perseverance.
But, of course, Rassie wouldn't tell you that talent is overrated, but he will tell you that you get much further in your career with hard work, perseverance and dedication than on talent alone. That is what got him to this point, after all. That and a strong desire to learn. He has a growth mindset, as some would call it.
"Rassie was always eager to learn, always looking to improve himself," says Geoff Toyana, the coach who gave him his first chance at Lions. Â
Rassie believes in the elastic nature of skill, that skill can be grown and expanded with the right training. This is in line with scientific studies that have revealed that skill is not necessarily something that you either have or not. It's not necessarily something that others earn at birth.
Rather, skill is developed through practice. Repetition. Developing myelin, the fatty tissue that forms insulation sheaths around nerve fibres in the brain. Myelin increases the speed at which impulses are conducted. And this fatty tissue, this myelin, it is developed by repetition. Therefore, the more a person practices a certain act, the more myelin is created along that particular pathway, enabling the brain to send faster more efficient signals.
What this means in sports is that the more practice one invests in, the more myelin their brain develops and the more skillful they become. This is the root of the 10 000 hours of deliberate practice theory.
And when he was not learning from his coaches in the nets and in the dressing room - be it at school or at semi-pro levels when he was younger - Rassie invested a lot of time on reading up on past cricketers, trying to understand the ins and outs of being a professional athlete, how they dealt with the nature of their careers.
But, achieving success is not just about skill, and this is a lesson that Rassie learned early on. It's also about opportunities. Being skillful but without the opportunities or access to platforms that allow you to put those skills to use is just as bad as not being skillful at all: you won't get anywhere.
"In cricket, and in sport in general, it's about opportunities and trying to utilize those opportunities," he says. And Rassie van der Dussen takes whatever opportunity comes his way. That is what he has done throughout his career. He doesn't mind if it is the ideal opportunity or not, he grabs it with both hands.
"Rassie came up to Lions as an opener," says Geoff Toyana, "but I couldn't keep him in that position. After his first two seasons in the team I had four other openers: Stephen Cook, Alviro Petersen, Dom Hendricks and Reeza Hendricks. So I had to make a choice."
The choice was between dropping him or moving him down the order. Toyana moved Rassie down the order, a decision that Rassie reacted to by scoring over 900 runs that season. He wanted to be in the team, even if it meant batting out of position. His success batting down the order is possibly because of his philosophy as a player. Â
"Cricket has a lot of uncontrollables, and the only way to be successful in it is to try to be at your best in every moment that you are out there," says Rassie van der Dussen who says that he tries to give himself the best chance at success possible no matter the circumstance. "You have to put in the work. You have to try and gain those small percentages that can make decisions or situations go your way. You've got to give yourself the best chance to succeed."
Rassie believes that the experience of opening the innings has gone a long way in making him into a more well-rounded middle order batter. His defensive game is just as good as his attacking game because of it. It is one of the many small advantages that he is grateful for.
And Rassie is not one to just wait for opportunities to present themselves for him to take advantage of them. Years before he was on the national selectors' radar, Rassie went out into the world in search of opportunities. By the time he caught the eye of the selectors he had played in a few leagues around the world. Those leagues were his only ticket to competing against international players and further develop his game.
"It was very difficult to break into the Proteas or SA A squads at that time," he says. "There were so many good and settled players in the squads. It wasn't easy to get in."
In fact, he had already won a title with the Vancouver Knights in the inaugural season of Canadian Global T20 League. He just wasn't part of the winning team, he was the leading run scorer for the Knights in a team that boasted the talents of players like Chris Gayle, Evin Lewis and Andre Russell.
?si=wnVPG-9mT-yeY2-PtFOoBA&dl_branch=1
"When I got picked for the Global T20 league in Canada," Rassie recalls, "I was picked very low in the draft. But for me it was not about the money, it was about the opportunity to play there. The experience that I would gain from it. To play against world class players."
Doing well at these leagues, the Global T20 League, the Caribbean Premier League and others, against bowlers like Lasith Malinga, Sunil Narine and others, reinforced his belief in his skill as an individual.
But, Rassie's story in all those leagues around the world is not one of a trailblazing superstar. Yes, he has found success on a lot of his trips abroad on an individual level - emerging as the top run scorer for his teams on numerous times - but his aim is to always add value to the team. Personal accolades always take second place, the team comes first.
"He is a great team man, always putting the team first," says Toyana.
Of course this does not mean that he doesn't enjoy the individual milestones, he does, a lot. No player would honestly say individual success doesn't matter. Hey, one of Rassie's most treasured memories is his century for the Proteas.
But, he also understands that the team has to come first, because without the team, those milestones would not come about. Van der Dussen's team first philosophy is in large part because of his upbringing in the Pretoria and Northerns cricket circles where he learned his trade.
"The way I have been brought up in cricketing circles in Pretoria is to always work hard, leave no stone unturned. To lead from the front, to lead by example, to be on the frontline with your teammates. That is my philosophy when it comes to team dynamics," he says.
Rassie is the kind of man you would want by your side when you go into battle, because you know that he will put you and the team first and lead by example.
"For me it is important to be the guy that leads by example. If guys can see you putting in the extra yard, putting in the work and not being scared to front up, that is quite important," he says.
And in keeping with his team first philosophy, Rassie tries to help players that come after him avoid the mistakes he made on his path to the present. If there is anything that he can do to help in a teammate's development process, he will do it.
"I try to share what lessons I learned in my career up to this point. If I can make the learning process shorter for someone, then I am happy."
And this is a role that he takes very seriously whether it is with the Proteas, the Lions or any other franchise that he plays for.
"I try to be laid back and approachable to everyone," he says. "And I try to understand where those guys are coming from, what they are thinking... I try to build relationships."
Thank you to everyone who has shown their appreciation of my work and this newsletter. I am entirely freelance and have no intention of putting content behind a paywall. However, for me to be able to continue producing more content, I depend on your patronage. So, please do support my work on Patreon.
Also, please encourage anyone whom you think may be interested in my work to subscribe.