alton
rfc
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Alton
RFC
A
lton RFC is committed to encouraging people to get involved in the game of rugby by providing people with a
welcoming and engaging environment. We caught up with Club Representative Steve Jenkins to find out more
about the fine set up that they had in place.
Involvement
He told us, “I have been involved with Alton RFC, on and off,
for the last 30 years as a player, parent, coach and referee. In my
current role, I am involved in coaching the older youth sides and
also am involved in getting referees and coaches trained and
encouraging them to further develop their skills by attending
CPD events.”
The Role
“The most challenging aspect of my role is fitting all the tasks
into the time I have as well as working full time and managing to
maintain a sensible balance for family life! The most rewarding
aspect is seeing players, coaches and referees develop and go
on to perform at higher levels. It is especially rewarding to see
players develop from the youth section into the senior teams. We
have also seen a number of club coaches go on to coach at County
level and similarly many referees from the club have joined the
referee society and referee around the county on a regular basis.”
2014/15
“Last season was difficult from a Senior point of view, and
resulted in demotion but every cloud has a silver lining and this
has spurred the players on to take more ‘ control’ of their destiny
and a lot of change has already taken place to put Alton RFC in
a position to rebuild and return to higher leagues in the future.
From a Youth perspective, however, things are buoyant with
squads from age 6 all the way up to 18 having good numbers
and making very pleasing progress over the season.”
42 Issue 08
Youth
“Youth development is paramount. Without the players
developing up through the age groups we will never have the
new blood to help keep the senior section going. There are
several hundred youngsters that take part in rugby at Alton each
weekend and our role is to provide them with a rewarding and
fun environment to enjoy their rugby. It is also our responsibility
to embed in them the core values of teamwork, respect,
enjoyment, discipline and sportsmanship that are so important
to our sport.”
Community
“We very much consider ourselves a community club and
have links with the local cycling and hockey clubs who use
the clubhouse facilities. In addition, these are used by local
organisations for presentations and social events. The local
drama society has even used it for rehearsals.
At our recent 90th anniversary lunch there were representatives
from the Town Council as well as many players from previous
eras who had travelled from far and wide to be present. We are
taking part in the NATWEST Rugby Force Weekend (27/28
June) and will be getting volunteers from the local community as
well as club members.”
Facilities
“During the Rugby Force we are upgrading the Ladies toilet
facilities and adding disabled facilities that will make the