The Ospreys Community Rugby team are preparing a series of three pronged events designed to support and promote rugby across Ospreylia.
The region’s three Participation Officers, Lisa Jones in Afan Nedd, Tom Sloane in Swansea and Mike Williams in Bridgend, will each run schools festivals which will be linked to the local clubs.
These festivals will be followed by Club Development sessions run by the Player Development Officers, Andrew Thomas and Dai Arthur in Afan Nedd, Andy Williams in Swansea and Tom Cole in Bridgend. Ospreys players will attend these coaching sessions to assist the Development Officers.
Finally, Coach Development Officers Tony Thomas and Dan Owens will conduct seminars that will be open all coaches within the club, delivering modules that will be beneficial to coaches operating at all levels from junior to first XV and coaches from all other local clubs will be welcome to attend.
The first events will take place at Porthcawl RFC on Wednesday 3rd October and Abercrave RFC the following night, Thursday 4th October
Ben Rose, WRU/Ospreys Rugby Development Manager said:
“These events aim to service the whole club from mini to junior. The support that the Ospreys give to these events via a player appearance helps the club attract new members. The coach development sessions also help develop the coaches to create an environment that will help the club retain their existing players.”
Andrew Hore, Chief Operations Officer at the Ospreys, said:
“The Community team are very much the unsung heroes at the Ospreys, putting in a huge amount of work that goes largely unseen by the media and the wider public. The reality is that they are crucial to the long-term sustainability of the Ospreys, working hard to grow the game at all levels.
“By interactively working with clubs in this way, they are helping to not only increase the player base, they are helping to create a stronger rugby community right across Ospreylia.”