Celebrating UK coaching week with our community recognition award-winning coaches

To celebrate UK Coaching Week this week, take a look at some of our Community Recognition Award-winning coaches and their reasons for getting involved.

Lucy Flett – Volunteer of the Season in Youth Rugby (Caledonia North)

Voted Club Person of the Year at Orkney RFC, Lucy has taken on a number of roles. Formerly a player, she now coaches with the club’s boys U16 team. Her dedication was recognised as a factor for the side’s growing number of participants and success this season.

Lucy cited the inclusivity of the sport and the supportive rugby community as her main reasons for loving the game, and highlighted the volume of children coming along to Orkney training, as well as the growing number of women’s teams across the country, as things to be excited about for the future.

Natasha Cuthbert – Volunteer of the Season in Schools Rugby (Caledonia Midlands)

Initially getting involved in rugby after working behind the bar at Waid FP RFC and finding herself joining in at training, Natasha has taken Waid Academy, a school where rugby had become nearly non-existent and pupils that were interested in rugby attended other clubs and schools to play, and turned the situation around. Waid Academy now sports a 3rd/4th year team with an average head count of 18 per training session, and a further 20-30 pupils take part in touch rugby during their lunch breaks.

During the summer holidays, Natasha was committed to keeping the pupils interested in rugby by hosting rugby sessions that could be attended during the holidays while the school was shut.

Natasha has enjoyed watching players develop and seeing their passion for the sport grow, as well as meeting new people through coaching programmes, and is excited to see how Scottish Rugby’s blueprint for the game will see the sport played in the future.

Natasha Cuthbert was the Caledonia Midlands winner of Volunteer of the Season in Schools Rugby.

Rory Couper – Volunteer of the Season in Schools Rugby (Glasgow South)

Since Rory started the School of Rugby Programme at Irvine Royal Academy 18 months ago, the school now have both girls and boys from S1, S2 and S3 now regularly attending three sessions per week. In comparison, 18 months ago, there were 2 pupils who were keen to attend – the evolution has been beyond the school’s expectation. He has also been building his numbers for both the boys and girls’ team at U14 level, with both groups now actively competing in tournaments across the south west. The pathways that have been strategically mapped out over the next 3-6 years will see pupils progress from S1 to S6. Over the past year, Rory has also visited all of the Cluster Primaries to deliver a 4 week block of rugby. Over 150 primary school pupils have had the opportunity to receive coaching from Rory.

Rory has referenced the joy of transferring skills he values so much that he has learned from team sport to the next generation as one of the reasons he enjoys coaching, as well as seeing the sport grow in an area where rugby is traditionally a smaller sport.

Rory Couper won the Volunteer of the Season in Schools Rugby award for Glasgow South.

Aidan Morrice – Young Person Award (Edinburgh, Midlothian and West Lothian)

Aidan has been making a big impact on Leith Academy’s rugby. He started coaching the U14 boys side, and has grown the team from eight players to over 20, with the credit being given to him going around the school and getting pupils to give it a shot. The school recognised his enthusiasm, positivity and supportive nature as reasons that his coaching has been popular with the pupils.

Alongside a number of other courses, Aidan has completed the Scottish Rugby Coaching Essentials course. He has been grateful for the opportunities for personal growth that rugby has brought him, and the people he has met along the way.