IRFU President John Callaghan recently paid a visit to Royal School Dungannon to support the Level 1 Head Coaches (Stage 3 LTPD) course organised by the Ulster Branch.
A total of 35 club and school coaches from across Ulster attended the recent course, which is a vital part of the IRFU National Coach Development Pathway, catering for coaches working at stage 1 on the IRFU Long Term Player Development Programme.
The course deals with the ‘Principles of Play’ by developing them through the use of Key Factor Analysis, which are then applied to individual, Mini Unit, Unit and Team Skills.
The aim of the course is to ensure that by the end, coaches should be able to identify and rectify technical deficiencies, together with the ability of planning, organising, communicating and developing the skills of his/her players through the implementation of sport specific and generic modules.
IRFU President John Callaghan attended the final day of the course and addressed the participants, highlighting the importance of improving the standard of rugby coaches at all levels of the game.
He emphasised the fact that coaching is an essential component of player enjoyment and development, and highlighted the IRFU’s desire to ensure that all participants, teams and players involved in rugby union in Ireland have access to effective and appropriately qualified coaches.
John concluded by praising the commitment, enthusiasm and quality of all the coaches – not only those who were present on the course, but in Ulster as a whole, and wished them well in their coaching participation.
In addition to the staff from the Ulster Branch Rugby Development department and Ulster Rugby Academy High Performance Unit, a number of guest tutors delivered various modules over the course of the three days.
These included the following:
Alistair Brown – former IRFU Ulster Branch PDM, IRB trainer and educator, IRFU Level 2 coach and Coaching Ireland tutor
Clem Boyd – former Ulster player, former Ulster ‘A’ coach and current director of rugby at Instonians RFC
Gary Longwell – former Ulster and Ireland player and current Ulster Rugby High Performance Manager
Jonny Bell – former Ulster and Ireland player and current Ulster Rugby Elite Player Development Officer
Chris Galway – head coach of Irish Colleges and University of Ulster Development Officer
Brian Leslie – master in charge of rugby at Banbridge Academy and former Ulster Schools coach
Terry McMaster – former Ulster and Ireland player, former Ulster Under-20 and Ulster ‘A’ coach, IRB trainer, IRFU tutor and Level 3 coach
Course director Darryl Callaghan was delighted with the quality and commitment shown throughout the weekend and would like to thank all the participants and tutors involved for their contribution.
Ulster Branch development staff will now mentor and monitor the coaches who attended to ensure that they pursue their accreditation and continue to develop through their coaching participation.
To learn more about the IRFU’s Coaching courses, please click here.
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