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Students coach inner-city school kids to national competition
Posted on 06/03/08
P. Klein
A group of Leicesters inner-city schoolboys will compete at one of the largest school rugby festivals in the world next week thanks to a Loughborough University coaching programme.
Twelve pupils from English Martyrs Catholic School and Winstanley, Hamilton and Soar Valley Community Colleges have been training together since the half-term holidays in preparation for the National Schools Sevens which take place at Rosslyn Park RFC in London next week (10-11 March).
The training has been coordinated by Loughborough Universitys Building On Overlooked Sporting Talent (BOOST) programme which aims to help students become quality rugby coaches and referees through tailored education and the provision of practical coaching opportunities.
BOOST coaches have delivered a series of coaching sessions since the start of the year at four Leicester city centre schools, identified as part of the Rugby Football Union (RFU) Emerging Schools programme. All schools competed at a regional rugby festival in February where a final training squad of 15 was selected.
The training squad took part in an intensive three-day camp at Loughborough University during half-term where players combined classroom sessions with up to four hours of rugby training each day.
The final 12 were selected from that and had a promising start last month at the Berkhamsted 7s in Hertfordshire. The team, competing as BOOST, now travels to London on Sunday for the National School Sevens which kick off on Monday (10 March). As part of the trip, players will also take a tour of Twickenham, the home of England rugby.
The squad are competing in the junior (under-13) age group and are drawn against Llanishen RFC, Chislehurst and Sidcup Grammar School and a Manchester side in their early group matches.
112 teams have registered for the junior competition and more than 7,500 schoolchildren of all ages are expected to converge on Rosslyn Park for the tournament.