I am delighted to be welcoming all our members back to the club for the start of the 2022/23 Season. It is set to be a very exciting year ahead for every age group and playing section in the club. The rugby management team has been working very hard over the summer to continue to improve and provide the very best rugby experience for all our members, in line with our five year rugby playing strategic objectives which we set in September 2020. With this in mind we have some exciting new initiatives for the season ahead as we continue to grow and improve our rugby playing & support services.
MIXED ADULT TOUCH RUGBY LAUNCH
Firstly, I am very pleased to announce the club are now providing an official Mixed Adult Touch Rugby offering, led by James Mitchell & James Bavin. Sessions will take place every Wednesday evening between September and April, either at the club or a local floodlit facility. We invite all members regardless of gender, age, ability or fitness level to come along and enjoy playing Touch Rugby.
If you are interested in joining our Mixed Adult Touch Rugby section please visit the club website for more details. https://sevenoaksrugby.com/mixed-adult-touch-rugby
SENIOR WOMEN’S RUGBY HAS ARRIVED AT SEVENOAKS
Secondly, our new Senior Women's section is up and running, managed by Catherine Hurst and coached by Grant Scandling! We have over twenty women who have signed up and we are really excited to see how this grows.
Training takes place every Thursday evening at the club between September and April and the objective for the season (set by the group) is to enjoy playing the game, to learn and understand the game, build fitness levels, and of course socialise! If you are interested in joining our Senior Women's section please visit the club website for further details. https://sevenoaksrugby.com/womens-rugby
MINIS & YOUTH - INVESTMENT IN PITCH SPACE, EQUIPMENT AND COACHES
Our superb Mini & Youth section, led by Hendo, returns this Sunday and we are very much looking forward to seeing everyone back out on the pitch, enjoying playing the game, spending time with their friends and making memories.
We are very pleased to say we have secured priority booking for the new rugby artificial pitch that is currently being built at the Tunbridge Wells Boys Grammar school (Sevenoaks site), and from the 2nd of November (when the build finishes) we will have exclusive access to the full pitch every Wednesday evening and Sunday morning. This is a huge addition for the club and significantly supports our drive to improve the facilities we have on offer to ensure we do not have to cancel any rugby playing services due to bad weather or pitch space.
Do also watch out for the addition of two new communal Veo cameras and subscriptions, which the Youth Girls & Boys will have access to, where appropriate. These have been donated by a family within our Sevenoaks Rugby Club - we thank you greatly for your generosity.
In addition, we are pleased to be developing our coach education programme with the inclusion of "The Art of Coaching Programme'' initiative, where we have an external specialist coaching consultancy providing ten hours of practical and theoretical "how to coach" material to over sixty Mini & Youth coaches during September. We will also shortly be circulating our SRFC Coaching Academy CPD Programme for the season ahead along with access to The Rugby Site, a good tool to support coaches with session design.
We’re extremely lucky to have so many fantastic, dedicated volunteer coaches, parents and age group leads at the Club - they really are the heart and soul for Sunday mornings! We’re really pleased to be adding to those ranks with our youngest crop, the Under 5s (Reception) who train on Saturday mornings and will be led by Aidan Brennan, who has played for the Club for a number of years and has lots of experience working with young children.
This year also sees us expanding Youth Girls rugby - with the countrywide change to U12, U14, U16 and U18 girls rugby - we’re pleased that James Bavin has agreed to coach the new Under 12s!
There is change in the Under 10s, too; where Iain Aitken is standing down as the age group lead after a couple of seasons at the helm. He’s done a great job and deserves an enormous thank you. We’re excited that Alex McLennan has agreed to lead U10s moving forwards - he brings a wealth of rugby playing experience which will stand him in good stead and he has a really good group of coaches in support, too.
ACADEMY RUGBY CONTINUES TO GROW
Our Academy Boys squad have been working hard during pre-season, as they prepare for the season ahead. With over 120 players in the squad, four regular sides playing, it is set to be an exciting season ahead and I know there are some good away days planned for the group.
We are also really excited to build on the growing momentum within our Academy Girls Squad, and are planning some coaching visits from our very own Tori Sellors, now of Worcester Warriors.
And yes of course we cannot forget the stash, this will be arriving soon for both the Academy Girls & Boys!
SENIOR SQUAD
To the Senior Squad and our performance offering, it has been a busy summer preparing for life in National 2 (Level 4) & Counties Kent (Level 8) and the players & staff we are all very excited for the challenges we face this season. The club and its members have had a vote on the payment of players this summer and our model has evolved where we are now providing a benefits package to our players, which has been carefully thought through, budgeted, and we are confident will benefit the club & every playing section overall. The whole squad are very much looking forward to your support on the sidelines and we will do our very best to put on a show for you. Our Senior Squad players will also be coming down throughout the season on Sundays to share some wisdom with our Mini & Youth players and to support the coaches throughout the club.
Our Senior Social offering kicks off on Saturday 10th September with a friendly against Old Williamsonians, and we are delighted our social side will be competing in a new local Kent League, where we do not need to travel further than 45 minutes!
A tremendous thank you to club stalwarts Dave Paton and Miles Hayward who have stepped up to manage the side at the weekends, and Pete Wilson who will be captain.I wish everyone a great season and I look forward to watching all rugby playing sections in action throughout the season. Please feel free at any point to get in contact if you need anything.
Up the Oaks!