RFU
RFU COACHING
& Education
C
Coaching & Educatio
n
oaching is one of the
most crucial factors in developing,
sustaining
and
increasing
participation in rugby union,
securing the future and quality
of the English game. The RFU is
committed to offering a worldleading coaching development
service, from helping volunteers
who want to coach junior tag
rugby on a Sunday morning to
assisting people who aim to reach a
professional coaching standard.
RFU Head of Game Development
John lawn took the time to tell us
more about what they are able to
offer. He started by telling us about
his involvement saying, “I started
working for the RFU in 2001 as a
Rugby Development Officer. The
opportunity to work in sport and
specifically the sport I played,
coached and enjoyed was one that I
couldn’t turn down.
It’s a very diverse role and because
of that it is very rewarding. We
provide training and development
for coaches, referees and pitch side
medics. I think the biggest challenge
is keeping our courses fresh and
current and making sure that we
maintain a big enough team of rugby
educators and developers to service
the training programmes we run.”
Structure
“We have a structure for both
coaching and refereeing. This
includes entry level/foundation courses.
People can come along and do a two or
three hour course. They find out more
about the role, get the chance to ask
questions and most importantly it gives
us a chance to remind them what great
fun and enjoyment they can have but
also what a tremendous responsibility
they are taking on. We take player
welfare really seriously and insist that
anyone wishing to get onto the coaching
pathway through our award courses
does some player safety training first.
Our initial refereeing training courses
are about getting people out onto the
grass and letting them have a go at
making decisions and managing the
players. We are really fortunate that
there are a number of referee societies
across the country. If someone wants to
take their refereeing more seriously they
can join their local society. They will be
observed, coached and can join together
with other referees and receive really
specific training.”
Aims and Objectives
“Player safety runs through our courses
and as a result of people attending our
programmes we hope that they are
more informed and more capable of
providing a positive environment for
the players to learn and enjoy. We also
want to contribute to retaining people in
the game.
Our Rugby Development Officers
really help us to understand the training
support that our clubs, schools, colleges
and universities need. They work with
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