Westcliff
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old players falling in love with the game
again and new players wanting to try
rugby and enjoy it. However, the poor
performance by the home countries last
year did not get enough interest back
and we have not had the usual influx of
players again – all theory of course!”
Youth
“A cliché, but the youth is the future
of the club. They are the future first team,
the future board of directors and future
coaches and managers. At Westcliff, we
have sides from three year olds all the
way to colts, with approximately 401
children regularly training and playing
in a Westcliff jersey… it is a remarkable
sight on a Sunday morning.
We invest heavily in the minis,
midis and youth to ensure they have
the equipment, support, coaching and
facilities they need to play rugby safely
and to the highest level we can provide.
Many of our senior players are also
coaches to the youth sides which helps to
bridge the gap, we try to coach the same
moves (and same calls) and drills as we
use for the senior sides, as well as guest
senior coaches and regular visits from
senior captains and coaches so they meet
the players they will be playing with
on a Saturday. The colts also train with
the senior sides after Christmas to learn
names, drills and processes that we use
on a Saturday, a tool that has been most
effective.”
Community
“We are very much a community
club. It is difficult to quantify how
much of a community club Westcliff
is, as we have a variety of events
aimed at getting the rugby and
non-rugby
community
together.
Obviously, the rugby fraternity is
cemented by the love of the game, but
we also get involved with numerous
charities, Cancer Research, HARP and
ALF (the Aaron Lewis Foundation – a
WRFC player was killed in Afghanistan),
we have a float at the local carnival every
year, strong ties with local schools, clubs
and businesses.
We are also the only National League
Three team that do not pay our players
or charge people entry to watch the
game… this is something we are strongly
passionate about and very proud of!”
Challenges
“Westcliff, like most clubs, will need
to concentrate on player recruitment and
retention, as well as ‘pre-habilitation’ to
“Westcliff, like most clubs, will need to concentrate
on player recruitment and retention, as well as
‘pre-habilitation’ to avoid injuries.”
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