Having got used to the time change we had loads to keep us busy in the second half of the week in New York.
â00On Wednesday we coached at two schools on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. PS279 was the first school in the city to work with Play Rugby USA. Rugbyâ00s now their first sport, and since taking part with Play Rugby USA theyâ00ve won six trophies in six years! Thatâ00s despite not having any outside areas in the school for over a thousand kids to play in! We also coached at PS208, which had three schools come there for their rugby coaching.
â00Later in the week we held a Sevens tournament by the Hudson River for both boys and girls from schools where we had all been coaching during the week. The school that I was coaching â00 Canarsie High School from Brooklyn â00 won!
â00Our final event in New York was a rugby taster session as part of the Great British Race in Central Park. Kim Catrell from Sex and the City was the star guest who started the race â00 we need to get more celebs like that in Northampton!
â00On Saturday we headed to Philadelphia to run some skills sessions for Sevens teams who were competing at the US Collegiate Tournament. We had three work stations working on different skills.
â00I also had a chance to meet Kelly Crigger, a Saints fan who lives in Washington DC. He watches Premiership games on TV and follows the team on Facebook and Twitter. Itâ00s good to see the Saints going global!
â00All in all it was a good week and a good experience, meeting and coaching people from all backgrounds and lifestyles in New York City and from across the country in Philadelphia. Itâ00ll be good to put the lessons Iâ00ve learned into practice back at the Saints, but Iâ00m glad weâ00ve had a couple of bank holidays to recover first!â00
Coaching at PS208
Canarsie High School won the Sevens tournament at the end of the week
Running a taster session in Central Park
Putting Sevens players through their paces in Philadelphia
The Aviva Premiership Rugby trophy was centre stage at the USA Collegiate Sevens
