Northampton Saints - News : More than 80 children enjoy Saints' Easter coaching clinic

13 April 2006, 2:48 pm

More than 80 children enjoy Saints' Easter coaching clinic

Children being put through their paces at the Saints Easter coaching course

Children from all over the area besieged Old Scouts Rugby Club last week when it hosted the Northampton Saints community department�s three-day coaching course. More than 80 boys and girls aged seven to 16 took part in the course, which taught handling, running and contact skills. The difference this year was that children also had the chance to compete for the opportunity to represent Saints at Twickenham in the O² Kick, Pass, Run Challenge.

Three different age groups were tested on their abilities when they had to firstly land kicks in a target on the ground, then use their handling skills to pass five to 10 metres to another target hanging from the rugby posts. Finally, they ran through a course including poles for weaving through and crash-bags for jumping over, finishing with a 10m sprint. All the challenges earned points, and the winner from each age group will compete against boys and girls representing each of the other 11 GUINNESS PREMIERSHIP teams.

The winners from the three days were:

Up to 9: Oliver Burgess
10-13: Alexander Morin
14-18: Russell White

The three boys will appear in the O² Kick, Pass, Run Challenge at Twickenham on the day of the GUINNESS PREMIERSHIP play-off final on May 27. Good luck to you all!

At the end of the training course, Saints players Luke Myring and Seamus Mallon awarded four Saintsman prizes, which are given to the children who showed a good rugby ethic and worked hard.

The coaches chose the winners, who were:

U7/U8: Oliver Burgess
U9/U10: Robert Povey
U11/U12: Henry Stride
U13/U15: Rory Sarjeant

As ever, Old Scouts RFC provided a fantastic venue for the course, and the Northampton Saints community department would like to thank everyone involved.