Two coaches from Northampton Casuals RFC have achieved their Level 3 RFU Advanced Coaching Awards, successfully completing a challenging 12-month study programme.

Lee Lawrence and Nick Smith, both of whom coach the Under 13s side at Casuals, were awarded their new qualifications in late June after submitting a development portfolio and completing RFU assessments.

New knowledge has changed coaching
Lee is also Director of Rugby for Minis and Juniors at Northampton Casuals RFC and took on the course to develop his skills to a high level. With 21 years actively playing rugby for Casuals, Wellingborough and the Northampton Alliance side, during that time winning the Lewis Shield, Lee also took up coaching in 2015.

He says the challenging nature of the course developed his coaching approach: “The course has changed how I coach massively, I plan and deliver sessions in a completely different way. And I have extended my new knowledge out to our coaching team, developing a handbook to support their own session plans and development - creating a really fantastic framework for all of our players at Casuals.”

Focusing on process not just outcomes
Coming into his seventh season of coaching, Nick Smith has a long association with the club having played mini and junior rugby at the Casuals from the mid-1980s before progressing to senior rugby with selection for Northampton Saints and England Colts.

Nick started coaching when his eldest son joined the club, and says the coaching course has developed his own approach: “The course helped me develop my coaching toolkit with more attention to detail and also thinking about the whole child - focusing on process goals over outcomes. I’m more self-aware and a more complete coach. A thread I’ll now bring into my coaching sessions is building player motivation through building connections, giving opportunities for creativity, and developing mastery of the game.”

Player ownership and retention a real highlight
For Lee, a big coaching achievement thus far has been the retention of his players. He says, “From the under 6 level to now under 13s, we have 15 of the current squad who have been with us from the start. That level of retention is fantastic, and seeing their development both individually and as a team has been so rewarding.”

Finally, Nick recalls one of his coaching highlights: “Last year the team I coach got to the plate final of the Land Rover Cup. We decided that we would not give any instruction to our players at half time, in order to build leadership and player ownership. We were losing 3-0 at half time, and the temptation was to go on and ‘tell’ the players what they should be doing. We resisted this temptation, and we went on to win the
game 4-3 in extra time. The impact that our approach had on the players was immeasurable, and
whilst winning some silverware is undeniably nice, the approach we took that day was a real highlight.”

Building the coaching offering at Casuals
Mini and Junior Chair Darren Parnell says that the latest qualifications are a real accolade for the club: “Taking on this level of training is no mean feat - Nick and Lee deserve huge congratulations on their achievement. It reflects our whole attitude and ambition at Casuals; we want to provide a highly-qualified coaching offering, which supports each and every child to reach their full potential.”

Mini and Junior rugby starts up again at Northampton Casuals from 4 September - all welcome. For more information CLICK HERE