Rugby Club Issue 45 | Page 58

wIgAN wARRIORS WIgAN WARRIORS Wigan Warriors are undoubtedly one of the biggest clubs in the game and are currently led by Chairman Ian Lenagan whilst Shaun Wane is Head Coach of their first team. They have a history of which they have every right to be proud, having managed to win the World Club Challenge an incredible 3 times. Some of their other triumphs include winning the Super League twice, the Championship 16 times and the Challenge Cup on 18 occasions. Their current group of players will be keen to add to this history over the coming years and are confident of doing so. Indeed, they have made a positive start to the campaign this time around managing to put together a record of having won 10 and lost just 3 of their 13 matches. This sees them well positioned as the table takes shape, sitting in 4th place in the table with a game in hand. This should provide them with an excellent platform upon which to build as the season progresses and so long as they can keep their level of performance up they should be right amongst the main challengers come the business end of the campaign. One of the stand-out features of the Wigan Warriors set-up is the superb youth section that they have in place as they have a number of teams in place. These teams look to provide young players from the local area with an opportunity to play the game in a safe and enjoyable environment whilst helping them to reach their full potential. 56 ISSUE 45 It will be a major boost for the first team if they are able to rely upon talent coming through the ranks to boost their squad. Coaching staff overseeing this part of the club are confident that they have a number of players involved at present with the potential to go on and do just that. It is not just in preparing players for first team action that Wigan Warriors excel in regards to their work with young people however as they also have a strong programme aimed at 16-18 year olds. This is through The Warriors Education Academy which offers a full range of sports related courses. They encourage people to get involved who have a passion for sport as well as health and fitness and look to help them towards a future in the Sports and Active Leisure Sector. Some of the courses they are able to offer include Sports Coaching and Development, Fitness Instructing and Physiotherapy. As well as covering the specific subject these courses also look to help students develop their English and Maths