Denstone College is steeped in rugby tradition and history with the 1st XV honours boards dating back to 1899 aligning the North Wing corridor of the main school building and several Old Denstonians gaining international recognition: Phil Davies representing the Bristish Lions on the South Africa Tour in 1955, playing for the Barbarians against New Zealand in 1954 and playing for England from 1954 to 1958, Tommy Kemp captaining England and playing between 1937 and 1948, later on becoming the R.F.U. President from 1971 to 1972 and Alastair Hignell playing for England from 1975 to 1979 and gaining an Oxbridge Blue in both rugby and cricket.

I was appointed Director of Rugby, the first, at the College in September 2005 after the Governors wanted Denstone’s rugby put back on the map after a long period in the doldrums.

With a blank canvas to ‘Move Rugby Forward’ and shape and develop the rugby in the best way I thought possible…I walked into a baptism of fire with the 1st XV losing the first 4 games of the season by 40 points or more…and taking 13 weeks to win their first game in a 15 week season. I was continually questioning myself whether I had made the right decision during this time…during the early stages…

Over the course of time I applied Long-term Athlete Development (LTAD) model principles to the Denstone College Rugby Club Experience and the investment in the processes came to fruition with an holistic, Player-centred approach that created a balanced environment for all the boys in the College.

The biggest area I focused on was teaching…coaching…mentoring…the players to be the best they could be…on and off the field…when walking around school…by being good role models to the younger members of the school…in the classroom…meeting homework deadlines…studying for exams…maintaining discipline…in training…in the Performance Centre…by offering them advice…guidance…by sharing my own personal experiences with them…all aspects of life…

Many different areas contributed to the unprecedented success from 2009 onwards…against a much tougher fixture list year on year playing against some of the best schools in the country…Bromsgrove School…Ellesmere College…Kirkham GS…King’s School, Macclesfield and the Northampton School for Boys (NSB).

In 2009 the 1st XV achieved the 1st unbeaten season in 43 years. In 2010 they lost one game by one point. In 2011 they achieved the 2nd unbeaten season in 3 seasons. In 2012 they beat Daily Mail Cup Runners-up NSB and lost 3 games by one score.

Overall they produced the 4th and 5th unbeaten seasons in the History of the College dating back to 1899…they were Staffordshire Champions in 2010 and 2011…they appeared 6 times in the ‘Schools’ section of the Rugby World magazine…Rhys Morgan and Chris Galloway were selected in the Rugby World ‘Team of the Michaelmas Term’ in 2011 and 2012 respectively…and the 2009 1st XV won the Rugby World Schools ‘Team of the Month’ award…

1st XV records 2005 to 2012:-

So in 10 less games…against much stronger opposition…the 1st XV scored 41 more tries and conceded 135 less tries. They scored on average 7.2 points more per game…and conceded 15.6 points less per game.

The comparisons with Ellesmere College and Worksop College…both part of the same banner of schools as Denstone College…the Woodard Schools Organisation…therefore very similar in pupil numbers…and ethos…show the effect the Denstone College Rugby Club Experience had on the rugby at Denstone College…

All these achievements and successes were as a result of focusing on the ‘Process’ NOT the ‘Outcome’. You’ll read below the key and fundamental principles that I put in place to create the holistic, Player-centred environment to allow the players to become the best that they could be…

At the very beginning I thought about, created and instilled a ‘Philosophy and Ethos’ for the Denstone College Rugby Club so that all stakeholders knew where they were going, what they were trying to achieve and how they were going to get there…

PHILOSOPHY

To produce by the end of the 6^th Form the ‘All-around’ rugby player, a committed and enthusiastic individual who through coaching and match experience has the knowledge, understanding and skills to progress in their playing of the game at the appropriate level. Above all, they should uphold the spirit of the game of rugby football.

ETHOS

TEAM   PRIDE   COMMITMENT   ENJOYMENT

At the beginning of every season…which coincided with the beginning of the new school year in September…the very first ‘rugby session’ of the new season was a ‘Rugby Club’ presentation to all the players and coaches…with the youngest players sat at the front…with the age of the players moving up chronologically towards the back. Each year the presentation had the same ‘core’ values…highlighting the ‘History’ of the rugby at the College…the ‘Philosophy & Ethos’ so people knew what the ‘Rugby Club’ was about…the ‘Standards & Expectations’ during training and at matches…the coaches that would go ‘above & beyond’ for them countless times during the season…The presentation was tweaked from year to year in places to make it relevant each year. During the presentation I would announce the Club Captain and Vice-Captain aiming to send the message to the players and coaches of everyone all being part of a bigger identity…a club…a family. I would announce the 1st XV Squad…with the players walking across the front…so everyone could see who they were…thus being able to recognise them around school. The presentation ended with a challenge that I would set to the ‘whole’ Club…’to be the best you can be’…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opX4YLZtQ3A

After the 2005 season I made the decision to start from the bottom and work my way back up…so for the 2006, 2007 and 2008 seasons I spent the vast majority of my coaching time with the U12s (1st year at Denstone)…whom many of the players joining the school had never played rugby before…getting to know the new players coming into the College each year I saw as a vital part of the process. My 1st XV coaching over this time period was focused during their Pre-season training camps to Heidelberg, Germany. From 2009 onwards I coached the 1st XV alongside Jon Tuxford (Forwards) and Simon Francis (Backs)…creating a very healthy coaching environment that would play its role in the success of the 1st XV during this time…

One of the proudest moments during my time at Denstone was the make-up of the 2011 1st XV squad and how far the Denstone College Rugby Club had come along since 2005…where 15 out of the 26 strong 2011 1st XV squad joined Denstone College in the 1st form (U12) having never played rugby before…consisted of 26 ‘rugby players’ …and had 17 U6th players in the squad. By contrast…the 2005 1st XV squad consisted of 1 ‘rugby player’ and had 5 U6th players.

The 7s season played a huge part too…over the course of the Lent term…January to the end of March…in providing a broad rugby experience for the players to express themselves on the pitch. The 7s programme was a process…a journey…where the players took ownership of their teams…their development…all part of the Player-centred approach…

Over the course of being at Denstone…players would typically experience the National 7s Tournament 4-6 times…U13, U16/1st VII, 1st VII, 1st VII…or U12, U13, U15, U16/1st VII, 1st VII, 1st VII…with each occasion having a crucial psychological impact in preparation for when they would participate for the 1st VII in the Festival Tournament. The participation for the U13 VII in the Junior Tournament was solely to enjoy the experience…to do their best on the pitch…and start to see and get a feel for the Tournament venue…which covers 3 very large playing fields on Wimbledon Common in London…and around 30 rugby pitches. The participation for the U16 VII in the Colts Tournament was to enjoy the experience…to do their best on the pitch…and start to test themselves against the best schools in the country…a key developmental part to the process. The participation for the 1st VII in the Festival Tournament was to enjoy the experience…to do their best on the pitch…and test themselves against the top schools in the country…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfxiqBxsyyE

On the 7s circuit the 1st VII broke new ground too…qualifying for the knock-out stages of the “Rosslyn Park” HSBC National 7s Festival Tournament 3 out of 4 seasons from 2010 to 2013 (P21 W16 D1 L4)…finishing in the Last 8 in 2010…losing to the winners in 2011 in the group stages…finishing in the Last 24 in 2012…and reaching the Last 16 in 2013, losing to Tonbridge School by one point who ended up Runners-up to Wellington College. From 2006 to 2009 the 1st VII never qualified for the knock-out stages.

After my Professional Development Experience in Australia and New Zealand during the summer holidays of 2009 I returned with plenty of experiences that I could apply to the Denstone College Rugby Club Experience…

One of the biggest things that I took away from my time in the Southern Hemisphere, especially at Nudgee College and the Crusaders, was the way they brought the history and traditions to life in today’s world…to today’s players…having watched both of their motivational videos for the season ahead…which gave me great inspiration for the future of Denstone College Rugby Club…

I applied this principle by creating my own ‘Goal Setting’, ‘Pre-game Motivational’ and ‘Highlights’ videos during the course of the Denstone journey…Using photos and videos…courtesy of the Management Group…with messages in them…to ignite a spark deep inside…to provide inspiration and motivation…to build and maintain confidence…knowing that we were all heading and going in the right direction…It produced a key ‘sense of belonging’ to the environment…one of great pride…

Some of the key messages I used over the years are below:-

“…what will it take…to be the best you can be…to do what no other Denstone team has done in the last 40 years…to be part of a special team…”

“Are you ready to continue the Crusade…”

“…and become a part of history…”

I believe this process was fundamental to the unprecedented success from 2009 onwards…You should not underestimate the power of training the mind in creating and building a fantastic ‘team ethic & spirit’…built on trust, respect and lots of hard work and effort…in trying to achieve what the team set out to achieve as a group…and ‘be the best you can be’…

The ‘Goal Setting’ process that evolved over the years played a key part in the players ‘driving the ship’ and knowing where they were going…as I helped guide, advise and steer the ship…

In the early years I had to do a lot of the work in this department with the players…driving the standards and expectations of a holistic rugby player because the understanding the players had was not at the level it should have been…No work had been done in this department before…So the early years began this cultural change…the ‘mindset’ change…and having younger members observing the processes…each year…played a crucial part in them gaining more experience of ‘what’ the process was all about…’how’ they could learn from the experiences and ‘apply’ their experience to when it would be ‘their turn’ to lead the ship…and ‘why’ the process was so important to the overall Crusade…

From 2009 onwards I did all of ‘my’ work behind the scenes…thinking…creating…building…the ‘Goal Setting’ motivational videos…as when it came to the goal setting session…the first Saturday in the school term after all of our pre-season preparations (which included a pre-season camp, a pre-season tournament, plus the first week of term)…I would just ‘click play’ on the video, walk out of the room and let the players watch the video as a group…When the video had finished it was then up to the players to decide what they wanted to do and where they wanted to go without any of the coaches present or having an input…The opportunity gave the players chances to express what they were thinking and to discussion the points…One of the players would act as a scriber on the board…The leaders in the group would drive the chat…After the players had finished their discussions I would walk back into the room…We would have a discussion to make sure everyone understood what had been said and agreed where the ‘team’ wanted to go and how the ‘team’ was going to get there…The ‘leader’ of the group…and myself…would both sign off what was written on the whiteboard.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oo1dH0DAu_8

Prior to the ‘Goal Setting’ session…were the pre-season preparations…and during the camp…on one of the evenings…which was allocated to ‘Team Ethos’…played a crucial part in setting the standards for the season ahead…Each season younger members of the College (a small group of U15s with ‘potential’) were invited to attend the camp as well…to see ‘how the 1st XV train and prepare’…and to pass down the traditions of the 1st XV to the next generation…The session saw the squad split into small groups…with each group led by one of the senior players…to discuss one of the key areas i.e. one group had one of the areas to decide what the expectations would be for the area they had…training…matches…school…kit/uniform…discipline/standards…Each group would then feedback their ideas and decisions to the rest of the squad…Finally I would ask one of the leaders of the group to come up and sign off the ‘standards and expectations’…I would sign them off too…so every knew and understood that we…players and coaches…knew what would be expected of them moving forward…

One of the most rewarding processes during the Crusade was forming the ‘Leadership Group’ each season…to see the boys grow as people…grow in to being men…leaders that had the respect of their peers…were very proud moments…I picked up on this principle while reading Sir Clive Woodward’s “Winning!”. The ‘Leadership Group’ consisted of the following players:-

• 1st XV Captains;
• Club Captains;
• Influential/Key 1st XV Players;
• Future “leaders” from the L6th and 5th form age groups.

The following players were instrumental in driving the standards and expectations of the team each season:-

• Andrew Tattersall (2009 1st XV Captain)
• Mike Meredith (2009 1st XV Vice-Captain)
• Jack Moran (2009 Club Captain)
• Jack Sampson (2010 1st XV Captain)
• Keifer Laxton (2010 1st XV Vice-Captain)
• Chris Galloway (2011 1st XV Captain)
• Harry Parker (2011 1st XV Vice-Captain)
• Alex Thomson
• Jack Hughes (2012 1st XV Captain)
• Oscar Bunce (2012 1st XV Vice-Captain & 2013 1st VII Captain)
• Jack Fielding (2013 1st VII Vice-Captain)

These players were a crucial piece in the jigsaw…alongside the other players that were part of the ‘Leadership Group’…leading from the front…setting the standards in training…and making key decisions on the pitch in matches…sometimes under intense pressure.

Developing a ‘People-centred approach’ to my philosophy brought huge pride to my time at Denstone as well…Providing opportunities for non-players to be a part of the team was very important to me…evidence of the holistic approach. I created a Management group that consisted of cameramen, photographers, waterboys, and match analysers who significantly contributed to the success of Denstone Rugby on and off the pitch. The cameramen and photographers brought to life the rugby experiences on the pitch enabling me to create motivational and highlight videos. The water-boys brought much added enthusiasm, encouragement and hydration to matchdays…and the match analysers created much valued analysis to help me identify any trends and patterns. They were true ‘unsung heroes’ and I am forever grateful to the commitment and dedication they all gave to the Crusade…

The following boys played such a vital role in the Crusade:-

• Will Dobson (Photographer 2009 to 2012);
• Derry Creighton (Cameraman 2009 to 2011);
• James Dewsbury (Photographer 2011 to 2013);
• Fred Whitwell (Photographer 2012 to 2013);
• Robyn Grey (Cameraman 2011 to 2013).

Buidling a coaching team was a very important part of the process too…I was very fortunate enough that three fellow coaches, all very experienced in the game in their own right…joined Denstone when I did in 2005 so they did not know anything about what had gone on in the past…The coaches already at the College were very passionate and enthusiastic about rugby and were open to a “new” way of thinking about the game…and more coaches would join the College as time moved on. The evolution of the coaching team created a very solid base from which we could build ‘success’ on…and ‘success’ was built on…Having the right coaches in the right places was another crucial part of the jigsaw. I am endeared to the enthusiasm…commitment…dedication…effort and professionalism they showed throughout our time together…To Paul Brice and Mike Skipper for providing such an enjoyable environment for the 1st formers entering the College. To Matthew Porter…Jon Tomlinson…Roger Farrington…Andy Hennigan…Luke Cottrell…Trevor Mayhew…Richard Lightfoot…Jon Tyler… James Young…Roger Waller…and Miles Norris…for providing a smooth transition from 2nd form through to 4th form. To Guy Mason…Andy Wray…and Chris Sassi…for creating a great environment for the ‘Crusaders’ to enjoy playing ‘with their mates’…and to Simon Francis and Jon Tuxford for creating and providing an excellent environment for the 1st XV and 2nd XV squads to become the best they could be…

During 2005 I let things flow as they had been so that I could take my time weighing up what were the good things…the bad things…and the areas to improve in…The only thing I implemented straight away was a ‘Dynamic Warm-up routine’ for all training sessions and matches…

At the beginning of each season I would host a coaches INSET session…on the first Wednesday afternoon of the new school year…using the 1st XV squad as ‘guinea pigs’…which formed part of their pre-season preparations. I would use a mixture of Theory and Practical sessions to sell my ‘principles’…I did not tell them what to do…I gave them ideas to think about and showed how they could be applied to coaching sessions…aiming to ’empower’ the coaches. This was important because the coaches all had a wealth of different rugby experiences and it was important to allow them to have the opportunity to express themselves in their coaching…During the season the coaches had the freedom…within the broad framework and long-term vision and process…to take their team where they would like to go…

Jordan Davies would play a huge part, without realising it, in changing the mentality of the rugby players at the College…and the standards that could be achieved with lots of commitment and hard work on and off the pitch…Jordan was the first ‘Rugby Scholar’ to join Denstone in 2006 which gave opportunites for players with ‘potential’ and good ‘character’…During his U6th year he was selected to represent the England U18 AER team. Jordan would be an inspiration to all the boys younger down the school…an ‘ignition’ that would spark many flames throughout the Rugby Club…

From 2006 onwards…Jordan would be the first among a long list of boys to achieve representative honours…Saaed Agboke England U16A…Jack Fielding, Charlie Venables and Ben Bryan Midlands U18…Jack Sampson, Charlie Venables and Ben White Midlands U16…Jordan Davies Sale Sharks Professional Contract…Jordan Davies Salford Red Devils RL Professional Contract…Saeed Agboke London Broncos RL Professional Contract…Saeed Agboke, George Prince, Charlie Venables and Ben White Leicester Tigers Academy Contracts…Ashley Elvers Northampton Saints U18…Rhys Morgan Worcester Warriors Academy Contract…Saeed Agboke, Jamie Curry and Rhys Morgan Worcester Warriors U18…Levi Davies, Sam Lewis and Ben White Leicester Tigers U16…Sam Alderson Cambridge University Blue Varsity Match…Keifer Laxton Nottingham 1st XV (Championship and British & Irish Cup)…Keifer Laxton Loughborough University BUCS 1st XV…plus numerous Leicester Tigers EPDG players…and many Staffordshire County players…

A big part in the success on-the-pitch was the preparation of the rugby players off-the-pitch…The players drove the standards and expectations in this department…I just provided them with the tools necessary to help the players get to the level they aspired towards…This process played its part in developing the tight-knit bond amongst the players and their excellent team spirit…where they would put their bodies on the line for their teammates week-in…week-out…

Speed, Agility & Quickness (SAQ) sessions…once a week…played a part too into the performance of the players on the pitch. My philosophy stemmed from the fact that if you are able to run…sprint…mechanically more efficient…you would then walk…jog…run…sprint…much better on a rugby pitch…thus wasting less energy…and putting more energy into the actual rugby actions needed…required…on the pitch in training…and competitive matches. Therefore being able to last the whole game and not run out of gas.

The design and creation of the Performance Centre during the start of 2012 was the next stage in improving the Strength and Conditioning facilities available for all the players in the Rugby Club…I would start introducing the U14 players…educating them on the philosophy of improving performance by reducing the chances of injuries and increasing their strength. Reciprocal teaching…using information sheets…provided an opportunity to empower the players to increase their understanding and retention of why they were doing what they were doing…I used players from the 1st XV squad to be a part of this process as well…demonstrating exercises…coaching the younger players on the different techniques that they needed help on…This also helped to build up the knowledge and understanding of the senior players for when they would carry out their own sessions…This created a ‘buddy’ system and was another way of linking the younger players with the older players.

The creation of the Athletic Development Management Team was fundamental in providing the best possible environment for the players to try and be the best they could be…The first member in the team…joining in May 2009…was Rob Barraclough (‘Wrestling with Rugby’)…a professional wrestling coach who had played professional Rugby Union for Sale Sharks and Rugby League with Warrington Wolves…Rob would do the vast majority of his work during the off-season and pre-season phases…with top up sessions during the first half of the season…The second member of the team was Jamie Bodden…joining in January 2012…a physical therapist and strength and conditioning coach…Jamie helped build an athletic development culture amongst the players…The FMS Functional Movement Screen played a part in identifying players’ strengths and weaknesses in basic movement patterns…The third member of the team was Jackie Clark…joining in December 2012…a sport and remedial massage therapist…who would come in on a Monday and/or Tuesday afternoon and treat the players who required it…targeting specific areas of their bodies to increase the amount of players she could see during her hours…

Jamie Bodden: http://uk.linkedin.com/pub/jamie-bodden/54/a94/6a3

Jackie Clark (InBalanceUK): http://www.inbalanceuk.com/

All three members of the Athletic Development Management Team played their part in providing a balanced, holistic approach to the preparation of the rugby players to meet the demands of the modern game…

On arrival to Denstone in 2005 the state of the school’s PE and Games kit was not very good, was overpriced, outdated and very poor quality…By the end of the school year in 2006 I ‘sold’ the vision of ‘Look Good…Feel Good…Play Even Better…’ to the Headmaster, the Bursar and the Games Committee to introduce a more modern, better value for money and “professional” looking PE and Games kit across the whole school…

The partnership that was created with Kukrisports…built…and developed over the years played its part in the success of rugby on and off the pitch…with all the rugby players looking very smart and professional on and off the pitch…and feeling great wearing it…

http://www.kukrisports.co.uk

Trips to watch Premiership matches were organised to Leicester Tigers and Sale Sharks over the years…the first one of which over 150 Players, Pupils, Friends and Family went to watch. This provided an opportunity for the Denstone College Rugby Club (DCRC) community to taste the beauty of the culture of the game of Rugby Union together. It provided opportunities to see their heroes up close and personal…The whole process and experience gave an added bonus to the DCRC experience…especially being so close to the school

Numerous trips to the home of rugby, the Twickenham stadium…an 85,000 seater stadium…one of the best rugby stadiums in the world…to watch the Premiership final…England Internationals (Autumn and 6 Nations)…and the IRB 7s Series Tournament added another dimension to the Denstone College Rugby Club experience…

All the ‘Rugby Match Trips’ played their part in providing opportunities for the players to ignite their own spark…catch their imagination…and build their inspirations…especially those boys who had never ever been to a “live” match before…

Another one of my proudest moments at Denstone was the creation of the first ever ‘C’ team at Denstone College…testament to the philosopy of the Rugby Club and the groundwork going on behind the scenes and the Player-centred approach to coaching by the coaches…Luke Cottrell…and Trevor Mayhew…created excellent enjoyable environments for the players to have fun with their mates…

The culmination of my original 5 year Strategic Plan…created in 2005 for the period 2006 to 2010…ended with the 1st XV Tour to South Africa during July/August…a fantastic life experience…playing the toughest rugby of their lives…visiting townships…seeing many wonderful sights and sharing many excellent experiences…Part of the planning and preparation saw me lead a fund-raising committe of parents to raise over £45,000 for the tour…helping to reduce the cost of the tour by £550 per person…paying for many trips while in South Africa…and plenty of tour ‘stash’ provided for by our partners at Kukrisports.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8hqI0EEobM

The next Strategic Plan…for 2011 and beyond…was another challenging exercise…It evolved around the continual strive for the rugby at the College to be the best it could be…what things could be put in place to improve the experience…what things could be added and taken away…what things worked and did not work in the past…and how the Denstone College Rugby Club Experience to get to the ‘next’ level…

The final outing as the Director of Rugby of Denstone College was at the 2013 Nationals 7s Festival. This was another proud moment during the Crusade…as they reached the Last 16 losing 12-11 against eventual runners up Tonbridge School. What made the achievement all the more rewarding was the fact that many of the players had never played rugby before joining Denstone and some of the players had only taken up the game this season after a 2/3 year absence of playing…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdZVJfM4Jg8

The only regret I have of my time during the Crusade was the fact that the 2013 U16 7s Squad never got the opportunity to compete at the National level…testing themselves against the best rugby schools in the country…at the HSBC National 7s Colts Tournament. Unfortunately the typical British weather waterlogged the pitches and so the tournament organisers cancelled the Colts tournament in 2013…Wednesday and Thursday…to save the pitches for the U18 Open Tournament…Thursday and Friday. The squad put such a tremendous amount of time and effort into the season…in training…in pool sessions…in numerous Tournaments…it was very inspiring…and they fully deserved to test themselves against the best schools…

The 2013 U16 7s won the Oakham 7s Tournament…beating top rugby schools…Millfield School…Bedford School…St. Joseph’s, Ipswich…and Oakham School along the way to the victory. At the Newark 7s I gave a chance to the squad players to stake their claim for a National 7s spot…This was an excellent exercise…a great developmental tool for those players… gaining very valuable match fitness and experience…At the Sedbergh 7s Tournament they won the Plate Competition…beating more top rugby schools…including Bradford GS.

The preparation started way back in 1st form…in the U12s…when they were introduced to the similarities and differences between 7s and XVs rugby…as they are different games…played in completely different ways…The group hit the ground running at the 2012 U15 Warwick 7s…where they reached the final…losing narrowly to Solihull School. Along the way to the final they beat some top rugby playing schools…Millfield…Sedbergh…Warwick…Portsmouth GS…Nottingham HS…The success of this tournament gave them the self-confidence going into their U16 7s season…that they feared nobody…and had the team spirit to be the best they could possibly be…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dnlqNA-QfY

During the early days…at the end of each 1st XV season we celebrated the season with end of season dinner just for the 1st XV players held at the College…where speeches were given and presentations made.

From 2009 onwards I decided to open the occasion up to the whole community…The Denstone College Rugby Club (DCRC) dinner was held at the Castle Hotel, Tamworth sometime during May…where all stakeholders…players, parents, friends, family, teachers, coaches, supporters…were invited to attend and celebrate the rugby at the College. The evening consisted of taking the audience on a journey through the season that had just occured in both XVs and VIIs at the College…Numerous events occurred throughout the evening starting with the showing of the 1st XV ‘Goal Setting’ video to set the wheels in motion…Guests were invited to vote for their DCRC ‘Photo of the Season’…their 1st XV ‘Try of the Season’…and their DCRC ‘7s Try of the Season’…after watching the respective video…throughout the course of the evening. Speeches were given by the Club Captains and the 1st XV Captains to share their thoughts and experiences with everyone present…The evening was rounded off with the presentations for the various awads voted for by the audience…the 1st VII ‘Player of the Season’…the 1st VII ‘Most Improved Player of the Season’…and the 1st VII ‘Players’ Player of the Season. Then the 1st VX ‘Player of the Season’…the 1st XV ‘Most Improved Player of the Season’…and the 1st XV ‘Players’ Player of the Season. Finally ‘special awards’ were given to those members of the Rugby Club who had gone above and beyond for the greater good of the ‘team’. The final event was to show the 1st XV ‘Highlights’ video to round off the evening in style.

The over-riding aspects of my time at Denstone College were…spending my first year taking my time to weigh up all the aspects of that make up rugby at the College…thinking…developing…and writing an initial 5 year plan…so I knew where I was heading and how I was going to get there…selling my vision to the Governors of the school…the coaches…and the players…giving everything I could possibly give to the job…continually striving to be the best I could be…every day…every lesson…every session…every game…then…with great pride and accomplishment…my plan coming to fruition and then some…and more…

If you were to read me the long list of achievments that has occurred during my 8 years at Denstone…at the beginning of September 2005 I would have said…”yeah…whatever…you must be kidding”…and at the same time bitten your hand off…

Leaving Denstone College was a very tough decision to make after spending so many rewarding and fulfilling years there…what made it hardest were the players that I would be leaving…the families I got to know…plus the people in the school community who I got to know well during my time at Denstone.

I have to thank the Headmaster, David Derbyshire for giving me the opportunity in the first place to build the rugby experience at Denstone College. Plus his, and the Governors’ support over the proceeding years…Then the support staff who do the work no one ever sees…the lovely laundry ladies who wash the match shirts every Monday morning…the ground-staff who tirelessly prepare the pitches for training and matches…in sometimes atrocious weather conditions…the catering team who provide nutritional meals for after match teas…the secretarial staff who send numerous letters home to the community…

Then the numerous people involved in the ‘partnerships’ that we created and developed…who supported the Rugby Club with great dedication and professionalism…Rob Barraclough ‘Wrestling with Rugby’…Jamie Bodden…Jackie Clark…Tim Wedgewood of ‘The Castle Hotel’…June Sampson of the Staffordfore University Sports Science Department… PPScreeds…and the Kukrisports Clan…

Then there are the group of coaches who dedicated so much time for the good of the Rugby Club…and the players…for their support and belief in the system…their tireless effort, enthusiasm and commitment…the families who support their children on the touchline and the numerous events hosted by the Rugby Club…

The final big thank you goes to all the players that were a massive part of the Denstone College Rugby Club (DCRC) experience…for their commitment…their dedication…and huge efforts on a consistent basis throughout my time at Denstone…The players in the early years at the beginning of the Crusade…who set the tone…and showed what it meant to be a ‘DCRC Player’…The 2nd generation who took over the baton…rising to the challenges…and then some…and more…taking the DCRC experience to the next level…Finally the 3rd generation who made it so hard to make the decision that I made for the next stage on my coaching journey…

#DCRC #TEAM #PRIDE #COMMITMENT #ENJOYMENT

#BeTheBestYouCanBe #ForTheTeam

http://www.denstonecollege.org/