Garstang
FOLLOW US ONLINE TWITTER.COM/RUGBYCLUBMAG
The Junior section is a credit to all
involved especially the coaches and
parents and volunteer helpers in the
kitchen. The goal has always been to
have a colts team and Garstang have
now got their very first colts team which
is entering the colts league this season. It
is hoped that the colts will provide the
new players to support the club for the
foreseeable future.”
Integration
table. The ladies team had a wonderful
season and finished 3rd in only their
2nd full season in the league. Garstang
boasts a thriving junior section where we
have full year groups from 6 to 16/colts.
The juniors play against most local sides
including many tournaments and keep
progressing through a domination of
great coaches, enthusiasm and
playing for each other.
In summary, from an
overall perspective,
the season has
been the best
ever.”
2017
“My plans
for the club
for the rest
of 2017 are
simple - keep
the momentum
going. The Club
keeps
expanding
and
consequently
the number of players/
members
keep
growing,
which is a great indication that the Club
is moving in the right direction. The
Club has gained the majority of these
through the addition of the ladies team
and the large junior section.
The 1st team have worked hard to play
Level 8 Rugby and are looking forward
to next season under the guidance of
Gavin Barton, Simon Whittingham and
Ainsley Pye. The men’s second team play
in the Raging Bull league and always
put in commendable performance and
were unlucky to lose to Fylde last season
in the cup final.”
Youth
“ Y o u t h
rugby is key
to the success
of any club
but to a
relatively
n
e
w
club
like
Garstang it
is vital. The
contribution
of people like
Ian Davies who
started the junior
section which was
then taken to the next
level through the efforts of
Bert Cross and Rob Kerr who started
running Rugby Summer camps and
engaging with local schools has been
critical to the overall progress of the
club.
“The aim is to have a sustainable
future with a steady feed of colts into
the senior sections. To encourage
this transition, the club has started to
introduce the two sections (men senior/
colts) to each other. For the last couple
of seasons, we have been running
summer touch rugby sessions which
have had the older junior section playing
with the seniors. The touch Rugby has
enabled the two groups to play together
in a safe environment where they can
share knowledge and exchange some
Banter (nothing like seeing a young
lad side stepping the first team prop,
and listening to the “feedback from his
peers”).
At this stage in the colts development
programme, we are in a situation where
the Colts and seniors are familiar with
each other, with Colts desperate to play
for the seniors and the seniors also keen
for the colts to step up and play at the
higher level.”
Community
“Garstang is a small market town
and Garstang RUFC plays a big part in
the local community. The majority of
players originate from the local area and
the junior teams are also made up from
schools from the local area. The club has
a thriving social section and organise
regular events in the Town throughout
the year. We also hold an annual Summer
fun day where everyone is welcome and
both adults and children have a great
time regardless of the weather.”
“The biggest challenge for any club is to attract
new players and player retention. A successful junior
section is key to attaining this goal.”
52 Issue 73