New Junior Section from 0 – 60 in 18 months
Capenhurst RUFC had one men’s team until a local dad, laughingly known as Grumpy Simon, decided to set up a junior section.
The Cheshire-based club were delighted with this initiative which kicked off a month before Covid struck. “Hardly the best time,” says Simon. “There we were saying come along and bring your friends, swiftly followed by please don’t. Now, however, we’ve done about 18 months and it’s been amazing.”
And far from a grumpy approach, Simon’s junior section focuses on fun. On 15 weekends they play rugby but on another ten they are involved in fun activities with their friends, and it has certainly paid off. Last season they ran U9s, U10s and U12s teams but this season they range from U6 to U13s, with numbers continuing to grow.
“Our motto is you’re here to have fun, there just happens to be a rugby ball being thrown about,” says Simon. “We hardly have any youngsters leave once they’ve joined because we are creating friendship groups they don’t want to lose. We might go to the seaside at New Brighton, to the cinema, last weekend we went trampolining. They way the kids see it is they are trampolining with their rugby friends.”
Simon is Junior Chair and Junior Head Coach. Being from Wigan, he played rugby league from five to 25, and now he’s loving giving back, coaching his son Dan and having fun along with the young players.
“It has been fantastic for me as well as the players,” he says. “We’ve got about 60 involved now, which is great. We’ve also got parents volunteering as well as supporting. We’ve tried to provide more than turn up, play a match, have a hot dog and go home and families love it."
