Coaches from across Saints’ DPP and EPDG regions met at the Gardens on Saturday for the first Coaching Conference.
The first Saints DPP & EPDG Coaches Coaching Conference saw over 30 coaches from across Saints’ region met to reflect on the DPP and EPDG’s coaching this season and look ahead to the coming year.
Joined by Russell Earnshaw from the RFU, the Saints’ coaches shared valuable experience which will work to improve the coaching in the region at a grassroots level.
The group were also joined by Army Major Chris Chudley who worked through some typical drills used by the armed forces. These drills, while mostly quite a lot of fun, will assist the coaches implement discipline within their rugby coaching.
“We found the first Coaching Conference to be a great success,” Saints’ Academy Development Coach, Jon Curry said.
“It was a good opportunity to review this season and look ahead to next season. We talked a lot about what we need to help each other with going forwards.
“Over the day we had some really important chats which were interspersed with some fun energisers lead by our guests.
“We were very lucky to have the assistance of Russell Earnshaw from the RFU.
“Russell did a fantastic job of opening coaches minds to the availability of things that are out there in terms of coaching and using games and how you approach that.
“He helped explain how it was important to use the full extent of the imagination and the inclusion of the players in that.
“We were also joined by Major Chris Chudley from the Army who led a very splendid marching demonstration in the afternoon.
“The whole day was designed around us finding out more information about what the coaches wanted to make them better for next season, as well as looking at how they’d found this season.
“We spoke about things our EPDG and DPP coaches had done this season and if there were any elements of their coaching that they would like the share with the rest of our group as ideas.
“What things they’d found had worked, what things they’d found that we perhaps needed to do in a different way. It was a highly beneficial day.”
