Rugby Club Issue 48 | Page 63

OLD PLYMOTHIANS THE BRITISH & MANNAMEDIAN AEROPLANE COMPANY keen parents. It has become one of the main focuses of the whole club as it will one day provide us with young players for the senior team. The success of the Juniors has brought new pressures to the club particularly with logistical issues such as providing enough space for large numbers of keen young players to play and train on, finding coaches for all the teams and managing match days with all its organisational needs from catering to parking. The seniors regularly provide coaching and players to provide support to the Juniors and also look to include them in tournaments, pre-game events and socially to ensure that they build on their current successes. The OPM Junior committee and helpers are fantastic with many having never played rugby themselves but are keen to learn and help out.” Integration “We are some years off having our juniors move into the seniors however we have already built a strong relationship with the Junior Committee at OPM RFC. They are involved in all Committee decisions, supported throughout and attend all social gatherings and events in order to ensure that this will provide a smooth transition into the senior section. Many senior players also provide coaching and attend junior events such as prize giving and open days to build that bridge early.” Community “We are absolutely a community establishment, our club is open to everyone, young and old, with many players and nonplayers popping along and never leaving us. We have developed strong links with the local community by supporting local projects such as the sponsoring of the Plymouth Games Touch tournament this year and entering 3 teams. We are always helping out with local projects and invite local people to join the team or spectate as they so wish. We also support and run charity events with a particularly strong link with MNDA (Motor Neurones Disease Association) as our previous Chairman Simon Adams lost his life to the disease a few years ago and we have supported this continuously in his bid to raise £1 million (we are nearly at £500,000 so far!).” ALAN SKUSE CAR, VAN & TRUCK PARTS LIMITED Passionate about parts ..... Products: We stock or can obtain parts and accessories for all makes and models of cars, vans and trucks and offer our products at very competitive prices without compromising on quality. Braking Steering & Suspension Starters & Alternators Shock Absorbers Engine Management Water Pumps Oils & Lubricants Clutch Exhaust Batteries Filters Accessories UNIT A6, PLYMOUTH TRADE PARK, MACADAM ROAD, CATTEDOWN, PLYOMUTH PL4 0RW Call us: 01752 253366 Challenges/Ambitions “The biggest challenge for the next 5 years is to secure investment and resources to ensure that our facilities match our ambition for training, match days and for the junior section. We also need to ensure that our junior section continues to thrive and is fully supported as in 5 years we will have a colts section which will then provide senior players for the future. Success in these areas will see the club grow and become truly exceptional. We aim to become firmly established in the Devon and Cornwall league whilst striving for Western Counties rugby. It is also important to ensure the junior section continues to succeed and see the first batch of players from the youth set up move in F