For this week's spotlight we spoke with Martin Mashiter-Coates about his and his families experience at Blackburn RUFC, his personal health issues, and how rugby and Blackburn RUFC has helped his recovery. This is his story...

"Well, Will's and my journey started with Rugby Tots in 2018 when he was 6. After enjoying that, we made contact with Blackburn RUFC and we were invited down in September 2019 to have a taster session. William really enjoyed it and could not wait to be back the following Sunday. As time went on, his confidence and enjoyment of the game bloomed.

Moving to the under 9s, he loved getting involved and getting stuck into his tackling, establishing himself as one of the powerhouses of the team. I was asked to start helping out with the training which was brilliant and I received amazing support from the club to progress with my RFU qualifications.

Sadly, in 2021 I was diagnosed with diverticulitis and feeling uncomfortable during a game, I was admitted into hospital the next morning and there I stayed for the next four weeks and was discharged after having a stoma created

The support that my family received from the club was brilliant, regular support calls were made, cover for me provided so the players were not affected and offers of transport for William to home and away games were very much appreciated.

Fast forward with the clubs support, I gained my ERCA 2 and with having a stoma I was made aware of Team Colostomy which is a rugby league team for those who have had stoma surgery and they represent the charity Colostomy UK.

Team Colostomy UK Rugby League - Click here

After having my surgery, I was worried about the future and it was inspiring to see people from all walks of life, from amateurs to semi-professional rugby players from Leeds Rhinos and other rugby clubs to show that there is rugby after surgery and me and William have been able to play in their team at Sheffield Eagles, Widnes Vikings and at Chorley Panthers.

The parents of my age group at the time were absolutely fantastic, stepping up to help with training and I moved onto a team management role with the pending reversal surgery and recovery. Moving towards 2023, I was able to have my stoma reversal carried out at a hospital in Manchester and with being based in Blackburn, it was a challenge due to the distance.

The family sense of community at the club is fantastic as when I was recovering in hospital, we received lots of messages of support and offers to take William to his team and also 1st team home and away games. This took away so much stress from us.

Club life is so important to William and we wanted to maintain a sense of normality as much as possible and we didn’t want him to miss out because of my surgery. It was a very heart warming time as Will was taken to the club to enjoy a three course lunch and my wife was having chicken bites and chips at the hospital in Manchester.

Blackburn rugby club means so much to us, as we have been able to have some amazing opportunities where we have been able to meet Joe Carpenter from Sale Sharks at our club, being able to play on the Sale Sharks pitch at full time and to meet a number of players.

Rugby has taught William so much and his love of the game is infectious and I want to help as many people as possible to enjoy the wonderful game. It’s also given me so much experience that I have been able to use in my day to day work as well."

Martin is an ever prominent figure for Blackburn RUFC, volunteering his time in numerous roles such as coaching the U12's to joining the new BRUFC Media Group. Everyone at Blackburn RUFC wants to thank Martin for sharing his amazing story and for all of the hard work he puts into our club, it's greatly appreciated.

Who should we put under the spotlight next week?

#Spotlight #UpTheBurn #TacklingTheStomaStigma