Saints » Community

By Louise Gaul

Session starts at 10:45am for the team. Monday is the first time they have met. Tensions are high. But from the word go it is clear that they’re in for a challenging week. A motivating introduction to the course and its aims is followed by training in First Aid; skills that will no doubt come in handy in this field. Once the team have been prepped on the basics of First Aid they move outside to get their first taste of coaching, as they will be putting these skills into practice later in the week.

Today, the session ends in the gym with a competition to physically push their abilities and test their endurance as if they were the Saints First Team training.

Day two kicks off with learning how to plan the perfect coaching session. The team hears about what elements make a good lesson and are then given the task of creating their own plan. The opportunity then comes to put some of those elements into practice as the team then round up the day with a high action practice session on the training pitch. The team agreed; they could all see improvements in their skills and understanding.

Day three and things are intensifying. The team now know the basics of what is required in a training session and have devised their own plans as well as learning the extent of their own physical capabilities in the gym. Now it’s time to take these skills and capabilities out of the class room and onto the pitch as the team prepare to lead a group of students in a series of sporting activities. This is their time to shine! For many this debut coaching session will be the most nerve wracking event of the programme, but, as one team member describes, it was still a lot of fun: “I gave one of the young lads 15 press-ups for cheating in my game, then one of the older coaches coaching me gave me 20 press-ups because he thought I was too harsh! But all the kids found it funny, so it all just ended up being a big laugh”.

Clearly, this was an invigorating and rewarding day once they realised the fun that their pupils had had and how far they had come to achieve this.

The final day of the course. All the anxieties from the first day have gone and the team now truly is a team; strong, motivated, a unit. The coaching skills have hit home and the team are now ready to take their new found skills, motivation and confidence into the real world. But not before one more challenge: learning how to organise a festival. A real festival! It has been arranged for the team to get involved with the World Fire Fighter Games to be held at Knowsley Road on September 2, and our Get Started team were asked to plan certain parts of this. This was something different to the sport they had been doing, and so was enjoyed by all.

The final session involved one-to-one discussions with a Connexions advisor to collect feedback on the course and to ensure that the team receive follow up discussions after the course in the aim of keeping these pupils on the path that they want to be on. Each team member gave positive feedback about their experiences. One member, Phil Brough, described his experience: “I’ve really enjoyed this week. I’ve done things I’ve never done before or would have ever done if I’d not took part in Get Started with Rugby League. I learned about healthier living with diet and fitness and that will help me in the future because I want to join the army. My confidence with sport has improved too, and that will help me in the future as well.”

The only girl on the team also gave her personal account: “I did enjoy taking part in the games even though at first I was really shy, so I struggled a bit. But I didn’t give up. I came in everyday and stuck it out, and I feel really proud of myself for achieving that.”

I think it is fair to say, this week has seen real transformations in the way the team members approach situations and the lessons learned here will serve them well in the future.

A clear victory for the Saints’ Get Started with Rugby League team!

Louise is currently on a four-week placement with the Media and Community Teams at Saints.