Thames Valley Rugby: Big turnout of coaches at Tairua training camp

Coaches enjoyed a break from the books at Tairua Beach, where they worked on set-pieces.

By Don Mackay - Thames Valley Rugby Manager

Thames Valley Rugby Union hosted their annual World Rugby Developing Rugby Coaches Level 2 Coaching Course in Tairua on Saturday, February 18 and Sunday, February 19.

A mixture of 16 amazing coaches comprising secondary school students and coaches and junior and club coaches, both male and female, attended from Ngātea, Te Aroha, Whitianga, Thames and Waihī - a remarkable number willing to learn and upskill.

Over the weekend, coaches were educated on topics such as values and philosophies, planning, attack and defence systems, game analysis, principles of play, culture, selection processes and more.

Because of the location, participants were lucky enough to get down to the beach for a set-piece session. A mixture of in-the-classroom and on-the-field activities kept coaches engaged throughout the two days, and some much-needed Vitamin D meant sunblock had to be applied.

Thames Valley Rugby Union hosted their coaches' Level 2 course in Tairua recently.

Throughout the presentations, endless amounts of beautiful food and drink were consumed, and a nice Saturday night in Tairua town was on everyone’s mind. Pizzas and chips from Manaia Café & Bar went down a treat, as did the ice-cold beverages.

A big thank you must also go to our five coach educators and Tairua Rugby & Sports Club, who put on an amazing show of fun and games. Our educators did an amazing job engaging our coaches, delivering a professional approach and showing the vision of Thames Valley Rugby. Coaches have said they felt “inspired”, “encouraged”, “honoured” and “made a number of life-long friendships.”

From this course, the 16 coaches now head away to their respective clubs and schools. To complete the course, they must create a six-week training programme, be observed by one of our coach educators and also complete two online prerequisites.

These people will do an amazing job in our community, and we can’t wait for them to give 320 players a quality experience and retain them in our game. We have some amazing people in this region, and this weekend amplified that.