Canberra Raiders Head Coach, Ricky Stuart, and assistant coaches Dean Pay and Mick Crawley met with 120 local coaches last Tuesday night to assist them with their coaching programs for junior players.
The three coaches discussed different training drills and other ideas to help develop the basic skills of junior players while ensuring kids were enjoying playing rugby league.
“It was great to be out amongst the local coaches,” said Raiders Assistant Coach Mick Crawley. “It’s a good opportunity for us to discuss coaching with likeminded people.”
“It’s important for us to stress the basic fundamentals of rugby league to the local coaches. Coaching isn’t rocket science but it’s important for us to make sure kids enjoy training and playing.”
NRL Game Development Officer, Adam Kyle, said he appreciated the Raiders coaching staff taking the time to focus on grassroots football.
“It was great to see Ricky, Dean and Mick teaching our local coaches,” said Kyle. “Having the Raiders coaching staff speak to so many of the coaches in the region allows us to get the message across that rugby league is a fun experience and winning isn’t the be all and end all.”
“The development of players is the most important outcome. We want kids in the Canberra region to improve their basic core skills so they can be the best possible players they can.”
“For this to happen, coaches need to be able to teach kids these basic skills. Having the Raiders coaching staff run through training drills with the local coaches is a great display of commitment to developing local players.”
