Douglas
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Youth
“In the playoff game just played
only five players did not come from
our junior section. A lot of juniors
have made the leap from Juniors
into the Second XV and this has
shown with the way they are
playing.
We have to have juniors as
without them the club would
struggle to continue and play
at the level it does. Only four
squad members are over the age
of 30 so this shows our reliance
on the youth to build our team
of the future. The Old Mutual
Douglas Academy was launched
this season; it will be a major tool in
preparing our junior players for senior
rugby.”
Integration
“We have started an academy
structure where the players have
strength
and
conditioning
sessions or skill sessions
dependent on the coaches for
each session. The RDO is very
supportive and has helped
set up Colts rugby on the
island as we lost players
once they hit sixteen and
had to wait to play seniors.
This is where Casual
rugby has come into play
also – these younger players
can have a run out against the
older rugby lads and learn while
playing. Casuals rugby is about
bringing players back to the game or
even starting afresh.”
“For the first team National 3 is within
our five year goals, moving up to North
West 1 is part of that process.”
14 Issue 72