Eastern Counties conference a success
By Hugh Godwin, RFU London & South East Press Officer
Delegates, players and speakers gave a glowing appraisal of the Eastern Counties Rugby Union Coaching Conference that took place at Culford School in Bury St Edmunds last month.. The conference – hosted by the Eastern Counties’ newly formed coaching committee and supported by the RFU – examined coach development, elite player pathways and coaching systems, with an emphasis on learning from international best practice and exploring what a world-leading coaching system looks like. The one-day event was a mixture of keynote speeches and practical coaching demonstrations. The headline coach was Clive Griffiths, former Wales defence coach, supported by Nick Greenhall and John Pulford. Just over 100 local coaches attended the event at Culford, and the Eastern Counties Under 16 squad provided the players for the practicals. Nick Pressling, Chairman of Eastern Counties coaching, said: “This event has been the most successful we have ever held in Eastern Counties. The turnout was testimony to all the hard work that had gone into the preparation. “We need to build on this and make sure that coaches across our region get the best opportunities possible to improve their skills and knowledge. This alone will help us to produce the best players and retain all those youngsters playing in the clubs and schools across Eastern Counties.” A special mention should go to ECRU Chairman Bob Cranna who showed great organisational skill. The conference is part of the Eastern Counties coach development plan that has recently been launched across the region. It ties in with the RFU’s People and Places strategy aimed at providing more people at better places.
Horsman guests at Staffordshire Coaching Conference
By Paul Bolton
FORMER Wales and Worcester Warriors prop Chris Horsman was among the guest presenters at the recent Staffordshire RFU Coaching Conference staged at Willenhall RFC. Horsman, who was forced to retire from playing during the close season on medical advice because of a neck injury, was joined at the conference by Des Diamond, the RFU’s National Coaching Manager, Nick Scott, the RFU’s Coach Development Officer for Midlands East and Colin McDonald, an RFU Referee Trainer. The conference attracted 50 coaches, qualified at different levels, drawn from 15 Staffordshire clubs together with Vic Roebuck of Burton, the Coaching Society President. The Conference was opened by Staffordshire President Barry Tilston and the programme was devised by Ian Bletcher RFU Coach Development Officer for the Midlands West region. The theme of the various presentations was Space Instead of Contact and not one tackle shield was used during the day.
Club Coaching Coordinator Conference
Last month Club Coaching Coordinators from across the Southern Region gathered for the second annual Regional CCC Conference, organised by CDO Gavin Williams and held at the REME Arms School, Arborfield near Reading by permission of the Commanding Officer Colonel David Cowan. The main theme was how the Coaching Department can effectively support and develop the needs of club coaches through a programme of targeted CPD courses. Gary Townsend & Nevil Jeffrey from the Department ran a number of workshops throughout the day. CCC’s are key to the success of the Coaching Department’s strategies and the aim is for all section 1 clubs to have an Active CCC. The Southern Region is particularly fortunate in having a very proactive group who have helped drive up attendances and success levels at every type of course, award, non award and more recently CPD. The conference allowed CCCs to showcase projects or strategies they used successfully in their own clubs and allow others to learn and benefit from them. Of particular note were the Front Row Mentor strategy developed by Cliff Garland at Minety RFC in Wiltshire and the Player Development pathway developed by Wayne Hausen and colleagues at Tottonians RFC in Hampshire. Alongside the Conference a Coach Developer Course was held to train potential CDs to deliver RFU non-award courses. A number present had been recommended by CCCs and once trained and accredited will be able to deliver courses at a local level. Darren Kingham Scott, CCC at Havant RFC said ‘The Conference was excellent and I learned a lot. The CPD courses are excellent and I look forward to hosting one at the club soon ’ Cliff Garland, CCC at Minety RFC said ‘I am delighted that our Front Row Mentor scheme has been highlighted as a Model of Good Practice and equally delighted to be able to share it with others.’ For more details of how your club can benefit from having an Active CCC please contact your CDO.
thousands enjoy o2 scrum fun
Paul Sackey and Joe Worsley helped the O2 Scrum of the Beach tour finish on a high in Newquay over the Bank Holiday weekend. They were joined by England women’s players Catherine Spencer and Georgina Rozario at Lusty Glaze beach for the eighth of this summer’s events. Sackey visited all eight events, also appearing at Clacton, Great Yarmouth,Southport, Bournemouth, Weymouth, Newcastle and Skegness. In all more than 23,000 spectators joined in the fun with 200 teams and around 4,000 players competing on the sand and many more testing their skills in the O2 Play Zone. The teams were also competing for the chance to show off their talent at Twickenham this month with the England players selecting the eight most stylish sides for the September 25 finals day. The Brady Bunch were the final qualifiers at Newquay and join the RP6ers (Skegness), Strongbow Sevens (Newcastle), Dorchester Ducks (Weymouth), Funkypheega from London Italian (Bournemouth), Newtown YC (Great Yarmouth), Too Hot To Touch (Southport) and Jenny’s Wooden Spooners (Clacton).
