Ospreys in the Community have confirmed three key appointments for 2016 that will enable the region to enjoy increased and improved links with local clubs and schools.
- Three new recruits join Ospreys in the Community team for 2016
- With a strong background in the community game the new team will be tasked in growing the Ospreys' community activity
- Newly relaunched Schools Programme will reach 30 schools per term
- The trio have also been tasked with engaging with the region's community rugby clubs
The trio of recruits will make up a new team working at the coalface of the many communities that make up Ospreylia, growing the physical presence in the region day-to-day.
Overseen by Community Programmes Co-ordinator, Tom Sloane, all three of the new appointments are familiar faces in the rugby community.
Former Wales age-grade scrum half, Alyn Lake, joins Ospreys in the Community with a wealth of rugby experience having coaches at Cowbridge and Gilfach Coch RFC, and with Aberavon Schools and the Ospreys East U16s.
Chris Jones has been Head Coach of his junior club, Penybanc RFC, for the last two years having played the majority of his senior rugby with Ammanford RFC. He has also been assisting the WRU Schools Hub Officer at Amman Valley School, working within the feeder primary schools.
Clive Oliver coaches within the junior set-up at Morriston RFC, the club he represented throughout his rugby playing days. Already well known to parents of rugby mad toddlers in the region, he runs the successful and popular Rugbytots operation in Swansea and Neath, delivering rugby fun to pre-school children.
Pictured below are the new appointments at the Liberty Stadium with Paul Whapham, Foundation Manager
Paul Whapham, Foundation Manager, Ospreys in the Community, said:
“The creation of this new team is a key strategic landmark for Ospreys in the Community following our formal launch at the end of last year.
“With these appointments now in place, we immediately have a far greater presence in the local communities that make up the region. The team will have a broad spectrum of activity to keep them busy, not only rugby activity but also tackling some key educational issues in hard to reach communities.
“At the forefront of their work is the delivery of the newly relaunched schools programme that will see us reach 30 primary schools across the region per term with a quality, meaningful experience that is mapped to the national curriculum, providing teachers with classroom support. With the help of the new appointments, the Ospreys will aid these schools engage children who find traditional numeracy and literacy topics boring.
“In addition, the team will be tasked with increasing our links into local clubs, as well as the wider schools community, so that we can turn the very obvious support we have at community events all year round into support at the stadium on a match day.
“Crucially, the three of them don’t just bring with them rugby qualifications and experience. They have all been working in the commercial world and have a grasp of the importance of converting the goodwill there is out there for the Ospreys into meaningful support. If Ospreys in the Community Rugby is going to assist the region to achieve its goal of sustainable success, on and off the field, then Alyn, Chris and Clive will have a key role to play.”
Launched at the Liberty Stadium last November by Julie James AM, Deputy Minister for Skills and Technology, Ospreys in the Community is a brand new, not for profit, Foundation that will work in close partnership with Ospreys Rugby.
Whilst sharing a strong relationship and forming a key part of the Ospreys’ long-term business strategy Ospreys in the Community will operate on an entirely independent basis to the professional rugby organisation.
Working in conjunction with commercial partners, public sector bodies and third sector agencies to generate financial support and resources, the aim of Ospreys in the Community is to create a vibrant and sustainable Foundation that utilises the undoubted power of the Ospreys brand, and players, in a positive fashion, to harness social good and make an impact in communities.
