The first Beeston Broncos training session after the recent Beeston Festival in Cross Flatts Park in mid June looked very different to how a typical training session at our club would have looked just seven short months ago - when a parents’ take over prevented the club from folding.
On our training pitch behind South Leeds Sports Centre on an unusually warm Thursday evening after the Festival were upwards of 30 youngsters. They were aged between 5 and 13 and made up of virtually every part of the Beeston community - White, Black, Asian, British, Ukrainian, and Singaporean – including a couple of disabled kids and two girls!
They were put through their paces by four coaches, 3 of whom have joined the club in the last few months and have just been enrolled on coaching courses plus our female Head Coach. Back in November 2007 - it seems so long ago now - we would typically have had maybe a dozen under 10s boys (the only team we currently have registered) attending training.
We made a decision at the outset that we would strive to become a “Community Club” in practice and not in name only. We decided that we would be open and transparent in our management and dealings both within our club and in our community. This made the decision to become involved in our local community Festival an easy one to make, especially when the Hamara Healthy Living Centre invited us to be part of the RFL’s SkillZone initiative.
The sport of rugby league and the Beeston Broncos in particular were the major sporting presence at the Festival. How did we make this happen? We produced a flyer for parents outlining why we were attending the Festival. It emphasised that it fitted with our expansion plans and would be a brilliant opportunity to showcase ourselves and the game of rugby league in our community. The result was a virtual 100% turnout from our Under 10s boys and parents. The boys were decked out in their smart new kit and enjoyed using and drawing new youngsters to come and try out the SkillZone.
We also played a demonstration tag game which involved around 15 youngsters who had not played any rugby league before. In addition we ran a stall promoting our club and raising funds in a different part of the park.
The Festival in many ways was the culmination of seven months work and effort by a lot of people. Our success can be measured by the fact that we are now seriously considering fielding three new age groups next season.
We’ve got a long way to go – we’ve only scratched the surface and we’ve a lot of work to do to consolidate our gains and move forward. We’re aware that every growth spurt brings with it new challenges to overcome. We couldn’t have got this far without the assistance of the local community – sporting and non sporting – financial and in kind. But above all we couldn’t have got this far without the commitment and desire of our boys to play rugby league for Beeston Broncos, and the support and hard work of our coaches and parents.
We are happy and proud to positively identify with the RFL’s “In League Together” initiatives, not least because Beeston Broncos Junior Amateur Rugby League Club now consider ourselves well and truly “In Beeston Together”.
On our training pitch behind South Leeds Sports Centre on an unusually warm Thursday evening after the Festival were upwards of 30 youngsters. They were aged between 5 and 13 and made up of virtually every part of the Beeston community -
They were put through their paces by four coaches, 3 of whom have joined the club in the last few months and have just been enrolled on coaching courses plus our female Head Coach. Back in November 2007 -
We made a decision at the outset that we would strive to become a “Community Club” in practice and not in name only. We decided that we would be open and transparent in our management and dealings both within our club and in our community. This made the decision to become involved in our local community Festival an easy one to make, especially when the Hamara Healthy Living Centre invited us to be part of the RFL’s SkillZone initiative.
The sport of rugby league and the Beeston Broncos in particular were the major sporting presence at the Festival. How did we make this happen? We produced a flyer for parents outlining why we were attending the Festival. It emphasised that it fitted with our expansion plans and would be a brilliant opportunity to showcase ourselves and the game of rugby league in our community. The result was a virtual 100% turnout from our Under 10s boys and parents. The boys were decked out in their smart new kit and enjoyed using and drawing new youngsters to come and try out the SkillZone.
We also played a demonstration tag game which involved around 15 youngsters who had not played any rugby league before. In addition we ran a stall promoting our club and raising funds in a different part of the park.
The Festival in many ways was the culmination of seven months work and effort by a lot of people. Our success can be measured by the fact that we are now seriously considering fielding three new age groups next season.
We’ve got a long way to go – we’ve only scratched the surface and we’ve a lot of work to do to consolidate our gains and move forward. We’re aware that every growth spurt brings with it new challenges to overcome. We couldn’t have got this far without the assistance of the local community – sporting and non sporting – financial and in kind. But above all we couldn’t have got this far without the commitment and desire of our boys to play rugby league for Beeston Broncos, and the support and hard work of our coaches and parents.
We are happy and proud to positively identify with the RFL’s “In League Together” initiatives, not least because Beeston Broncos Junior Amateur Rugby League Club now consider ourselves well and truly “In Beeston Together”.
