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By Louise Gaul

Saints run a number of coaching and sporting academies through the summer and this year they have teamed up Haydock Sports College and invited their Gifted and Talented students to take part in a three day coaching programme which aims to build on their sporting skills and motivate the students to continue in their achievements.

The students are specially selected by their teachers and ages range from 11 to 16 with both girls and boys taking part.

The course incorporates key elements from Saints’ Scholarship Academy and the Get Started with Rugby League programme.

On the first day the students take part in a positive and upbeat discussion with the clubs’ Foundation Manager, Gordon Pennington about healthy lifestyles, good and bad diets (with a run down of what the First Team eat to stay fit and healthy), the children’s favourite sports and what skills they can expect to enhance here.

All through this discussion hands were raised and questions were asked; participation was flowing from the offset.

After the discussion, the students are lead outside into the grounds to learn some of the fitness techniques that the Saints players themselves would use.

It involves a series of stretches and warm-ups before running up the steps of the stands and walking back down for roughly 10 minutes, though it feels like much longer!

The students easily completed this challenge but were shocked to be told that they had just successfully run one mile. An achievement some of them could hardly believe, but it fuelled their desire to push themselves some more. And be pushed some more they were!

The final stage to the first day is a tour of the changing rooms and the gym. The discussion in the changing room was mainly stemmed from the questions and interests of the students. One question that got the room giggling was with reference to the big mirror on the wall: “Is that where Sean Long does his hair, Sir?.”

The second day begins with a quiz to test what was learned from the day before. This is lead by former Saints player Tim Jonkers and a few young coaches from other Saints programmes. This is followed by an early lunch and then the real fun begins!

In the afternoon of the second day the students are lead to the playing field where they will be taught rugby skills through fun games and activities. It certainly helped that the sun was shining in all its glory as it added a very light and relaxed atmosphere to the activities. When the children spilt into groups for the competitive activities, the teachers and coaches took part too, which turned the session into a fun for all as the children laughed at their teacher and their coaches who lost most games to the students.

Spirits were high after the afternoon playing sports and it left a positive feeling inside all of those involved in running and taking part in the course.

The final day and it is announced that those who attended the course for the full three days were to be given complementary tickets to the Saints versus Warrington match on August 9 much to the delight of the avid fans in the group.

The afternoon was spent on the playing field again but this time we were joined and lead by the members of the Get Started with Rugby League team, who were putting into practice the skills they had been learning on their course this week.

By now the children on the Gifted and Talented course had perfected their rugby techniques and knew exactly the skills to use to maximise their performance. The sun was out again and it was laughs and smiles galore as the teams had a wail of a time playing rugby all afternoon.

On the way back to Knowsley Road the streets echoed with discussion about the past few days.

One of the older girls on the Gifted and Talented course described her favourite moment: “I think it’s all been really good. I liked the gym best though. I found it really hard at first to do some of the things, like the pull-ups, but I felt great when I actually achieved it. I’ve achieved loads of things here.”

Louise is currently on a four-week placement with the Media and Community Teams at Saints.