Joe Bearman and Tom Isaacs were recent visitors to Cefn Hengoed Leisure Centre in Swansea, when they called in to see the work being done in the region by the team of Community Coaches.
Cefn Hengoed is one of five Active Swansea Leisure Centres that host a specially designed Ospreys rugby course in conjunction with the City and County of Swansea for all children in the city aged 5-7.
The emphasis is on fun, teamwork and fair play with activities based on the fundamentals of agility, balance and co-ordination, essential attributes for developing the skills needed for rugby and many other sports.
Any youngsters who show an interest in moving on to play regular rugby are then directed towards a suitable local club, helping to ensure a pool of new players coming into the Ospreylian rugby community.
The sessions at Cefn Hengoed are delivered by Charlie Murray and Lucy George, with support from Andy Williams, Player Development Officer for the Swansea District, and the newly appointed Participation Officer for Swansea, Tom Sloane.
The visiting players got involved in some skills games and tag sessions, with Joe declaring he was impressed by the work being carried out:
“It’s great to see Ospreys coaches working with young kids like this to encourage them to play rugby. The children really enjoy themselves, learning new skills in a safe environment, and you can see that they’ve picked up some good techniques at that young age. We really enjoyed spending time working with the children.”
Tom Sloane added:
“These Active Swansea Leisure Centre courses are a great way to get young children playing rugby. The more people we have involved with the game, at all ages and levels, the larger player base we’ll have and the stronger rugby in Ospreylia will be.”
The courses are run at Active Swansea’s Bishopston, Cefn Hengoed, Morriston, Penlan and Penyrheol leisure centres.
For more details including costs and enrolment dates please visit www.activeswansea.com or contact one of the centres:
Bishopston Sports Centre - 01792 235040
Cefn Hengoed Leisure Centre - 01792 798484
Morriston Leisure Centre - 01792 797082
Penlan Leisure Centre - 01792 588079
Penyrheol Leisure Centre - 01792 897039