west park
leeds
Simon Lowe, Head of Games and PE at Richmond House School took the time to tell us more about their positive association with the club,
saying, “Our relationship started in 2008 when the new Headmistress of Richmond House School was approached at the school ball by two dads
who already had links with West Park Rugby Club.
They were keen for the school to consider introducing contact rugby to its sports curriculum as up until then only tag rugby had been played.
The Headmistress's husband had been an avid rugby player for many years so she was easily persuaded and so the relationship with West Park
unofficially started. In 2012 greater links with the club were established.
The school set up an after school rugby club at Richmond House School helped by the dads who also coached at West Park. It was a thrill to
see the rugby posts rise up for the first time, again the dads helped us get these sorted and then we were off! Many of the boys who played for
Richmond House also played for West Park. Since then, we have sent several children there who have good rugby potential. The facilities and
standard of coaching were amongst the key aspects that attracted us to send children to the club.
Rugby is a big part of sporting life at Richmond House School. Children start playing Tag Rugby in Games from Year 1. For many of our children,
rugby is an excellent way of learning team values, keeping fit and above all, a fun pursuit. The discipline learnt on the rugby pitch is evident off the
pitch too, pupils learn to adhere to the rules otherwise there will be consequences!
The link now is sustained by continuous support from the dads who also coach at the club, and the children being sent there if they want to try
club rugby. We have some exceptionally talented rugby players at Richmond House School who we believe will also be an asset for West Park.
This means that the parents know of a well-established local club that is a safe environment for children to play a good standard of rugby with
excellent, state-of-the-art facilities. The support we had meant that our progress with contact rugby was rapid - we were soon taking part in and
doing very well in high profile schools' tournaments across the north of England.
Hopefully, this link will continue and West Park would provide taster coaching sessions for any children wishing to take up the sport.”
West Park Leeds RUFC is not a club to focus
solely upon their senior section however
and they also have an outstanding youth
section. This part of the club looks to
provide youngsters 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.
It is important for any side to produce
their own talent if they are to be successful
and this is an area that they appear to
have covered. It will certainly be excited
to see how their juniors can progress in
the coming years.
In order to help these players to make
the sometimes difficult transition into
the senior game they also run a number
of additional sides. This allows them to
give players experience of adult level
rugby even if they are not yet considered
ready for first team action which can be
an important step in the development
process.
Another benefit of having so many sides
is that it allows the first XV to benefit from
far greater strength in depth. If they are
ever left short on numbers through injury
or work commitments they have the
option of calling up replacements with a
limited amount of disruption.
There is much to admire about the fine
work that West Park Leeds RUFC have
been carrying out across all levels of
the club. Hopefully they will be able to
continue in the same manner for many
years to come.
www.pitchero.com/clubs/westparkleedsrufc- Twitter : @WPL_RUFC
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