Youngsters preparing for next week’s Premier Rugby Academy Christmas camps at Worcester Warriors are in for a great time – with a unique experience thrown in as a festive treat.
They’ll have the chance to go on a behind-the-scenes tour of Sixways to see how Pat Sanderson and his Warriors team-mates ready themselves for the crunch Guinness Premiership clash with London Irish on Friday, December 22.
As they build up to that special moment, the children – aged between five and 16 – will work under the expert eye of Community Rugby Development Officer Matt Sherratt with coaching help from Warriors players.
The npower-supported camps will concentrate on giving them the chance to develop their skills and game understanding, in a fun game-related way, particularly the arts of passing, decision-making, evasion, speed and agility. For those aged eight or older, there’s also contact training.
Every player will receive a Premier Rugby Academy T-shirt, certificate and camp photo and take part in the Premier Rugby ‘Kick, Pass, Run Challenge.’ Then there’s the special tour.
The week’s activities are split into two – a three-day course from Wednesday to Friday for the seven to 16-year-olds, and a one-day course for the five to seven-year-olds on Friday.
There are still places left on both courses so, if you want your budding rugby star to take part, let the opinions of more than 300 past participants persuade you to make a booking. A survey conducted over the past two years reveals that:
o 80 per cent strongly agreed and 20 per cent agreed that the standard of coaching on Warriors camps is high
o 50 per cent strongly agreed and 40 per cent agreed that they felt more confident after attending a camp at Worcester
o 90 per cent strongly agreed and 10 per cent agreed that they felt confident that they were in a safe environment
o 90 per cent strongly agreed and 10 per cent agreed that the coaches were friendly and helpful
o 90 per cent strongly agreed or agreed that they had learned new skills
“We knew the camps were popular and everyone always seems to go away happy, but you never know what people really think until you ask them directly,” says Dan Zaltzman, Warriors’ community manager. “The results of the survey have been fantastic, better than we could have hoped for.
“Without the support shown by npower, we’d have struggled to make the camps such a success,” Dan adds. “Their continued support of the community department is instrumental in the growth of the development work we do.”
For booking information go to the Warriors Community Department’s website section, or e-mail community@wrfc.co.uk