A national Advanced Level Apprenticeship in Sporting Excellence event aimed at improving rugby for young players saw top England coaches join with Loughborough College – who have been rated Outstanding for apprenticeships by education watchdog Ofsted.
England’s Peter Walton, John Fletcher and Russell Earnshaw shared their expertise with 30 AASE coaches representing major clubs including Leicester Tigers, Worcester Warriors and Northampton Saints and Loughborough College’s Women’s RFU high performance programme also benefited from the trio’s skills when they joined 15 young players out on the field.
In addition, coaches heard from psychologist Suzanne Brown and Ben Jones from Leeds Beckett University who offered valuable insight into physical and psychological approaches to managing the demands on young players.
“This was an incredibly successful event which offered everyone the chance to hear from leading names and watch them in action,” said Chris Parr, WRFU AASE Coordinator at Loughborough College.
“It was brilliant to see England coaches Peter, John and Russell demonstrate how classroom learning can be taken onto the pitch.
“This really was a fantastic opportunity to boost coaching quality for young players and to improve the game.”