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North West Regional Development Squad
An exciting new programme has been set up in order to help raise the standard of girl’s rugby in the North West. Despite a great effort from all the girls involved the North West Under 17’s squad suffered some disappointing results in the 2006/07 season. The Under 14’s were more competitive and played some impressive rugby but still need to develop in order to contend with some of the Southern regions. As a region the North West has a small player base, in fact some Southern regions have as many teams as the North West does players. Therefore we recognise that here in the North West we have three important goals :-
- Introducing and recruiting new players
- Retaining current players and
- Providing all players with the best opportunities possible so that they reach they potential as a rugby player.
Open to all
To support these goals we have set up the North West Development Programme. It is open to all girls aged 13 – 17 years old, irrespective of ability, what level they have played at and whether they are currently playing at a club or not. The aim is to not only to improve the overall standard of rugby in the North West at the junior age groups (Under 15 and Under 18) but also to educate the girls about lifestyle, long-term athletic development (LTAD) and mental preparation for sport.
High quality coaching
The programme is being ran by a group of coaches that between them have experienced both playing and coaching at all levels off the game. The coaches are:-
Rachel Brown - Rachel is a Community Rugby Coach in Manchester, she currently coaches/plays at Waterloo, a Premiership 2 club and has represented Wales at international level.
Jenny Davies - Jenny is also a Welsh international, who has coached the Wales U16’s Girls squad.
Caroline Royle - Caroline has represented the North West at senior level for the past 2 seasons.
Alan Jack - Alan has been involved with male county and regional sides for a number of years.
Phil Clarke - Phil is the Rugby Union strategic development manager for Manchester.
There will also be guest coaches delivering sessions throughout the programme.
Summer sessions
The first of the two summer ‘pilot’ sessions took place on the 9th June, the feedback from both players and parents alike was very positive. The girls worked hard on what was a very hot day and already they recognise the benefits that this programme will have to them and the rugby. The second session is on Saturday 7th July at Broughton Park RFC – All are welcome!
September 2007
Starting from September the group of girls will spend a whole day together once a month and will participate in sessions including: improving general core rugby skills, learning new position specific skills, understanding game play, injury prevention, nutrition, goal setting, general fitness and team building. The cost of the training is still not confirmed but we aim to keep it to a minimum. It is £5 per day for the sessions in June and July (this can be brought with you on the day).
Like to go?
Please contact Rachel Brown or Phil Clarke if you’d like to attend, all are welcome. Rachel can be contacted on 07932 403613 or email at rachelmcbrown@hotmail.com, Phil can be contacted at 07730 814162 or by email philclarke@rfu.com.
A letter describing the training and times can be downloaded here:- Training form. A plan for next season can be downloaded here in adobe format :- 2007-8 Plan.
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