Boys work hard in the weights room and out on the ground

The Off-Season Training Programme has been going very well. 

The numbers are encouraging and the level of energy and commitment is clear for all to see. Those involved in organising rugby at the College appreciate that many boys are still actively participating in a range of summer sports and therefore are yet to appear.  We wish these boys well in their summer sporting activities. What they are doing now as cricketers, rowers, mountain-bike riders etc. not only refreshes them ahead of winter, but helps them develop a range of skills that will be useful once they kit up as St Bede's College rugby players.

At this stage of the off-season all boys have the opportunity to do at least three monitored sessions a week, (with one in the gym), and another two skill-based sessions per week added to this as the pre-season unfolds. So in total, a minimum of five sessions per week will be available. On top of this we facilitated the refit of the school gym over the summer so that boys will be able to add their own supervised gym sessions – from now on-wards. Combined, this should be more than enough to ensure that all boys will be well prepared and trained, to be better players come the trials for the season.  

The Off-season Programme is being delivered by S&C coach Mark Vanner, who is doing an excellent job. He has clearly established a healthy rapport with the boys and is achieving steady gains for them in strength and fitness.

The Programme has been overseen by St Bede's parent and 2019 1st XV management group member, Angus Gardiner. Angus says: "Attendance at Sunday sessions has been outstanding , with boys pushing themselves both individually and collectively and with a bit under 12 weeks until the Rugby season starts club members who have been following the off season programs put in place by Mark should be physically in good shape for the season ahead."

1st XV coach Dwayne Prendergast attends many of the sessions, even the early morning weights. Dwayne has a very patient approach to improvement and a sound philosophy around making progress in the sport of rugby: "The game of rugby is very simple and through my experience I have wondered sometimes if we over-complicate an easy game. My big learning as a coach has been that we all, as players or fellow coaches learn and capture information in different ways, so we need to ensure that everyone understands what we are trying to achieve. Another big learning is that we can’t change everything all at once so sometimes working on skills may take 3-4 weeks at a time". 

In keeping with Dwayne's thinking we are enjoying seeing the boys making steady progress.