Rugby Club Issue 55 | Page 82

kippax welfare FOLLOW US ONLINE TWITTER.COM/RUGBYCLUBMAG Kippax Welfare K ippax Welfare ARLFC Juniors does a fantastic job of providing young players in their community with an opportunity to play rugby league in a safe and enjoyable environment. Their Chair, Simon Adams took the time to tell us more about the good work that they’ve been doing lately. He told us, “I brought my eldest son to Kippax four seasons ago. He had previously been playing elsewhere in a lower league and I felt that the time was right for him to be challenged by moving to a better club. We contacted several clubs close to where we lived and they either failed to get back in touch or were reluctant to take on a player they had never seen play before. “Kippax, although a bit further away seemed an obvious choice as it was right in the middle of the catchment area for our local high school so my son had the opportunity to make new friends whom he would end up at high school with. Another attraction was the fact that my son is a prop and the team at the time were being coached by Andy Lynch who was playing prop for Bradford Bulls in super league – what a great learning opportunity. “We arrived at Kippax and have never looked back - we were all made to feel very welcome, which I know is still the case with all newcomers to the club. In February 2014 I felt it was time to put something back into the club and was elected as vice chair of the junior committee, taking over as chair six months later, a position that I still am proud to hold. “It is still very early days in our season, most of our clubs are having success on the field, and most importantly every age group is showing an increase in the numbers of players. “All our coaches are fully qualified, in addition we work closely with Castleford Tigers Youth development programmes and likewise at Wakefield Wildcats. For the younger children we have hosted training sessions led by professional players and by the coaching teams from the local professional clubs. “Kippax runs just one senior side at present then an under 17’s and then there is a gap to under 14’s. The senior side is now focused on youth and is made up predominantly of young men who have progressed through the junior ranks. In order to try and ease that transition further, the under 17’s have now moved over to be run by the senior section, working in tandem with their open age peers. “Kippax Welfare is at the heart of the community, running rugby, junior rugby, c ɥ