Coaching School For Rugby League Players

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28530, 8 March 1958, Page 5

Coaching School For Rugby League Players

'T’HE Rugby League national coaching school which will be held in Rangiora during the next two weeks should do much to raise the standard of play throughout the country. The school will be held in two sections, the first for North Island players starting on Sunday. South Island members will enter the [school on March 16. Birth of Scheme The aim of the school is not only to develop promising young players but to encourage them to return to their own districts and endeavour to engender enthusiasm among the players there. The idea of the coaching school stemmed from Mr W. A. Swift, the West Coast delegate to the New Zealand Rugby League Council. Having obtained the sanction of the council for his scheme, Mr Swift made inquiries in New Zealand and overseas about coaching schemes. Members of the school were chosen from nominations submitted by centres to the New Zealand selectors (Messrs C. Siddle,

W. A. Telford, and T. F. McKenzie). Players who had attained international status were excluded from the scheme, as were those of the Auckland centre. Auckland was excluded because it was felt that it already had a good supply of coaches. The 30 chosen players, 15 from each island, will be under expert supervision* for the director of the school is Mr McKenzie, of the West Coast, and the coach, Mr Brian Nordgren. Mr McKenzie has managed two New Zealand teams overseas, in 1951 and 1954. In their training the players will be able to draw on the valuable experience that Mr Nordgren gained while he was a member of the famous Wigan Club, of England. Right Approach Because Rugby League in New Zealand was an amateur sport, providing Saturday afternoon relaxation, it was difficult to obtain from players the approach and concentration that was so necessary when competing against other Rugby League international teams, said Mr McKenzie recently. League administrators were hopeful that the school would help remedy this situation. The programme*, if a short one, is nevertheless severe, and many of the trainees will feel the strain before the end of their one week. After getting up at 7 a.m. and eating an orange the players will go for a walk to the swimming baths, where they will do breathing exercises under the supervision of a physical training instructor. and then have a swim. Programme ' After breakfast there will be a team meeting at which the programme for the rest of the day will be explained and discussions will be held on what has already been done. Afterwards Vie players will go to Dudley Park where the first part'of the work-out will include speed training. The organisers expect that all players will be equipped with running shoes. During this speed training each man will be timed over a measured distance. The rest of the morning will be used for field coaching. After lunch the players will have a compulsory rest period, followed by a free period, and then field training will be resumed. In the evenings there will be lectures, discussions and films of Rugby League matches and tours.

The organisers do not expect that all will wear the Kiwi jersey but they feel that if even six gain national selection, the coaching scheme will have been sucessful.