A Safer Rugby Environment

This past weekend, over 60 coaches from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, PEI, and Newfoundland convened at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax for Rugby Nova Scotia’s first-ever East Coast Coaching Conference. Included in that group of 60 coaches were four of our very own KES staff members. Boys’ coaches Jason Verryn-Stuart and Headmaster Joe Seagram were joined by members of the girls’ coaching staff, Rory Campbell and Nathalie Hardy, for this two-day event which covered a broad range of topics including “Building a Positive Team Environment” to “Building Game Variations”.

The workshop presenters had a wide range of expertise and included Player and Coach Development Officers from the Irish Club Leinster, Colin O’Hare and Damien McCabe, as well as former Olympic Bronze Medalist and current Rugby Canada U20 Women’s Defensive Coach, Kelly Russell.

Perhaps most exciting for our coaches, however, was the opportunity to work with Dr. Mike Hislop and Scott Harland. Dr. Hislop is a Technical Services Researcher for rugby’s international governing body: World Rugby, while Mr. Harland is the Training and Education Manager for Rugby America’s North. Dr. Hislop first introduced the research behind a new warm-up proven to reduce injuries and then taught its components to the coaches. Meanwhile, Mr. Harland took the attendees through the first of many Safe Tackling workshops which will be given to all high school rugby players in the lead up to the spring season. These two workshops provided excellent insight into how best we can continue to teach our KES athletes to enjoy the great game of rugby in a safe environment.

The opportunity to learn from some of the leading rugby minds in Canada and abroad was exceptional, and we all left in eager anticipation for the spring high school season.