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Launch of our Boys Colts Programme

Launch of our Boys Colts Programme

mikael biard6 Jul 2020 - 14:00
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Bridging the Gap Between Youth and Senior Rugby

A new approach to handling the transition from youth to senior rugby has been introduced at Shelford Rugby Club, with the aim of creating a more seamless progression for budding young male and female players.

Former Shelford player coach Mike Gillick along with former player Chris Clayton-Smith, will lead the programme in conjunction with Will Cotterill and work closely alongside Andy Taylor and Carl Taylor who have coached the current Boys Colts squad through the age grades.

Gillick commented “I look forward to working with Andy and Carl who will know their squads inside out, and also with Chris who shares a similar philosophy to my own when it comes to the development and growth of these young men as well as to coaching.”

“I have always been a firm believer of growing a club from 'within' and given the current climate, I'd struggle to find a more important objective. I have always been impressed with the youth set up at the club, the dedication and love shown by those committed children, parents and coaches does not go unnoticed and it's a real honour to be asked.”

The two-staged transition programme, launched by Director of Rugby Will Cotterill, is intended to gradually introduce players to adult rugby without overextending them and will ultimately maximise the volume of players that successfully progress to the senior squads.

Chris Clayton-Smith said “I think it's a real statement of intent for the club to view the Colts and Youth programme as an area that deserves a huge amount of attention and Will has a clear vision of how to bridge the gap between Colts and senior rugby, these young men and women are the future of the club.”

“Will is all about the long-term development of players and coaches, which ties in perfectly with my personal coaching philosophy and Mike's, so when I was asked to join the team it was a no brainer.”

Stage 1 of the new transition programme focuses on the Boys Colts squad. Supporting the existing coaching staff of parents with external coaches who will work alongside them will help to align the Boys Colts programme more closely with that of our senior men’s programme.

While stage 2 relates to the club’s Men's Academy team, which will focus on integrating the Upper Colts into the senior rugby programme as well as provided additional playing opportunities for younger senior squad players and players away at university. The Academy program is essentially another rung to the ladder for our youth players to continue their journey up into senior rugby.

Will Cotterill summarised by saying "Having worked alongside both Mike and Chris at St Faith's, i have no doubt they are the perfect coaches to lead our Boys Colts transition programme. They both have the players best interests at heart and will focus their energies on encouraging all the players to reach their full potential through this crucial period of not only rugby development but also personal development. I am very excited to see how Mike and Chris prepare these young players for senior rugby as well as life beyond school."

Although the start of the 2020/21 season is still up in the air, the aim is launch the Boys Colts programme later in July. This program is open to players turning 17 or 18 years of age sometime between September 2020 and September 2021.

For more information about the Boys Colts programme please email: gillickcoaching@gmail.com

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