The Eagles Nest Update: Looking forward to a summer of rugby and the Lions Tour of South Africa.
By Lee Bradshaw – Chairman, Minis Section
As much as this last season of rugby has been disjointed, stuttering and a nightmare in terms of administration, I have been really pleased to see the way that the kids have dealt with it. Their resilience knows no bounds. While they’ve had to cope with the endless sanitisation, reduced levels of training, irregular training sessions and all of the rest, I haven’t heard a word of complaint and always see an array of beaming faces every Sunday morning. This is what makes it all worthwhile.
Kudos also to the Management Board, the Year Group Managers and the team of volunteer coaches at the club. Season 20/21 has been literally awful in operational terms, with different regulations on a seemingly weekly basis that we’ve had to interpret and work around on-the-fly, and a level of bureaucracy and risk assessments that make you question whether it’s all really worth it… Which of course, it absolutely is! Thanks also for the parents and members for supporting the club with memberships, attendance and the amazing response to our crowd funding exercise, for which we are ever grateful.
In terms of playing members this year, some really unexpected good news. Despite all of the difficulties above, we’ve actually increased the number of players in most of the year groups, from Seniors all the way down to the U6s! This bodes really well for next season when we can hopefully get back to a level of normality in rugby, and start playing matches, attending festivals and entering tournaments and leagues.
In many ways it’s this resilience, doggedness and sense of determination that sets us apart from many other sports, in fact it’s less about the sport itself and more about being part of The Rugby Family, where the rugby values of Teamwork, Respect, Enjoyment, Discipline and Sportsmanship are so very worthy and present. In fact, there was recently a study done by the RFU that found that the number 1 key factor in why participants play at a club, was the quality of the social experience provided by the club, which far outweighed many of the factors that we would traditionally expect.
Social Engagement
During the summer break this year, and to continue this social engagement, we will be hosting a series of events around the British and Irish Lions tour of South Africa, starting with a community day on 26th June, from 12pm. There’ll be a Minis Rugby Rounders Tournament for kids and parents, some Juniors Touch games, Seniors Rugby Challenges, a fantastic barbecue, inflatables and bucking bronco… all followed by the Lions v Japan game live at 3pm. Obviously, coming fully out of lockdown is not guaranteed in time for this first event, but we’ll be going ahead in-line with what we are allowed to do at the time.
Please support both the club and the kids continued contact with their rugby ‘brothers and sisters’ during the closed season, by attending this event, and joining in the fun on Sat 26th. The event is a great opportunity for us to showcase the club to the local community and potential new members and players, so please spread the word far and wide!
Other events will take place prior to the Lions Test Matches during the summer, with details to follow.
See you on the 26th!
Eagles Community Day – See you there
O2 Touch
Please join this WhatsApp group if you play O2 Touch, or are thinking about playing…
It’s purely for comms and info re sessions and you won’t be bombarded with unnecessary messages 24/7
Open this link to join the Eagles WhatsApp Group: https://chat.whatsapp.com/CkvbNiRQVHEKNFeWKh8o81
O2 Touch from Wednesday 31 March at 7.30pm. For those of you who do not know, O2 Touch is a year-round, minimal contact, inclusive version of the game. With an emphasis on social fitness, music and pitch up and play activity it is a rugby format that is intended for everyone – so why not come down on Wednesday and give it a go?
Eagles Strength and Conditioning Fitness Classes
Nick Butcher Ultimate Fitness classes twice a week.
Every Wednesday 7-8pm (Strength Training)
Every Sunday 10:00am-11:00am (Cardiovascular Training).
Volunteering
Effingham & Leatherhead RFC relies on volunteers – for coaching, first aid, management of teams and age groups and much more. Volunteering can be incredibly rewarding, and community sports clubs provide long-term benefits to physical and mental health, so please consider getting involved. There are loads of ways in which you can help, and at the moment we’re particularly looking for more people to get involved in coaching mini rugby.
If you’d like to find out more, please email: volunteering@eaglesrugby.club.
