Rugby Canada Paves The Way

Things seem to be getting more and more challenging at the club level as the difficulties of developing and "keeping" players seems to be ever increasingly frustrating.  Oftimes it seems that talent is snapped up into a more and more demanding international fifteens and sevens program.  Officials at the club level can easily feel "beat up" over this, seeming one way street, so it is great to hear of Rugby Canada putting back into development of the game. 

RC Communications recently posted the following article, ralated to the current National Championships in Vancouver;

Close to 1,000 athletes, aged 13-18, are currently in competition at the National Championship Festival in Vancouver, British Columbia. The five day event, which is being held at the UBC Wolfson Fields, features 38 age-grade teams looking to secure the national title in their division.
 
RUGBY CANADA HIGH PERFORMANCE DEPARTMENT IN ATTENDANCE
 
“These tournaments are a chance for these athletes to compete for their provinces at the national level and get valuable game time. For many of them, it’s also their first opportunity to learn about strength and conditioning, nutrition, hydration and concussion management, which is all part of being a high performance athlete,” explained Steve Lancaster, Manager of High Performance for Rugby Canada.
 
All of Rugby Canada’s High Performance staff was in attendance on day one of the festival to take advantage of the opportunity the event presents. With the large volume of young talent concentrated at UBC over the next few days, it’s a chance to assess Canada’s future selections pool for their men’s and women’s programs.
 
The success of the under-20 women’s team, who recently became the first Canadian side to become Nations Cup champions, is a perfect example of this.
 
“This is where the process begins. This is the foundation for us over the next two years in identifying players for selections to the 2015 Nations Cup,” said Sandro Fiorino, who coached the U20 women to the title last month.
 
WORKSHOPS FOR TEAM MANAGEMENT
 
Six workshops will be held throughout the event, including Concussion Management, Nutrition, Hydration and Strength & Conditioning, and Q & A sessions with National Team Staff and Rugby Canada’s General Manager of Rugby Operations and Performance, Mike Chu.  
 
Each workshop is designed to educate team management on the most effective methods of improving their athletes in order to enhance performance. By part-taking in efficient strength and conditioning, recovery and hydration protocols, for example, coaches can be sure the athletes can feel better and perform better in a consistent manner. This education is vital to the development of Canada’s national prospects.  
 
Rugby Canada’s number one priority continues to be player welfare for young athletes in Canada, and the National Festival provides an ideal situation to target 950 of Canada’s best age-grade players. Danielle Mah, the Physiotherapist for the National Men’s Programs, discussed the importance of concussion management and diagnosis with all provincial team staff in attendance at the festival. Rugby Canada, along with the IRB, made concussion a priority in 2013 and is taking advantage of every opportunity to emphasize the importance of effective head injury management.
 
For more information on concussion and player welfare in rugby, please visit www.irbplayerwelfare.com. 

It is imortant for all invloved with rugby to understand and support the pyramid of development from a broad base to a successful apex and even more important for ALL involved to have empathy and support the interdependance of limited talent in this niche sport.  Hopefully, this expert knowledge will find its way back to club age grade players and coaches who will become better for this shared knowledge.  The Ruggernut