My First Rugby Sessions
By Brennen Guy, SportWORKS Officer, Turks and Caicos Islands
Working with the Turks and Caicos Islands Rugby Football Union has allowed me to travel throughout some of the islands in Turks and Caicos. As the Rugby Development Officer my main job is to teach rugby sessions within schools in Turks and Caicos.
My first rugby sessions took place on the island of North Caicos. After a couple of weeks of planning and getting in touch with schools, I had secured rugby sessions with Hubert James Primary School and Raymond Gardiner High School. Accompanying me on this trip were two current rugby players, Tyrese and Tyreko. Tyreko was from North Caicos so was he able to show me around and describe different places on the island to me.
Our trip started off with a 30 minute ferry ride to the island of North Caicos. Travelling across the most amazing crystal clear, bright blue water. Once we arrived in North Caicos we had someone drive us to our first session at Hubert James Primary School.
When we arrived at Hubert James Primary School, we were greeted by 42 eager and excited kids. None of the kids had ever played rugby before so this was a great opportunity to allow the kids to learn the sport and see how fun it could be. We started off the session by giving each kid flags and a belt. Using the flags we played games and drills that the kids would enjoy. In Turks and Caicos kids love to compete against one another, so the ability to rip off each other’s flags made everyone so excited. Everyone was so full of energy and cheerful. They would chase after each other trying to rip off the flags. The kids really enjoyed themselves and were asking us to come back every week.
It was an amazing feeling to have all the kids cheering and screaming because they are having so much fun. Hubert James Primary School has some amazing kids and amazing staff. I really look forward to going back and teaching more sessions in the future.
After we finished at Hubert James we continued on to Raymond Gardiner High School. Raymond Gardiner had about 20 kids that had all played rugby before. Because these kids were older and had played before the idea wasn’t to play little games but to develop their skills. The rugby session proceeded by having the kids complete drills to enhance their skills. Once we finished the drills we played a long game of tag rugby. The students at Raymond Gardiner High School were very eager to learn and were very respectful with what we were trying to accomplish.
I would like to thank everyone for participating with so much enthusiasm and respect. I had a great trip, taught some amazing kids, and can’t wait to go back and do it again!
Brennen Guy is a fourth year Sport Management student at Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario Canada. He is a Queen Elizabeth Scholar and Commonwealth Games Canada SportWORKS Officer, currently on a four month assignment in the Turks and Caicos, as part of a two year project to further develop the sport of rugby on the islands.
Working closely with the TCI Rugby Football Union, SportWORKS Officers lead youth rugby training and development of primary, middle, and secondary students and coaches from schools throughout the TCI. In addition to teaching the sport’s fundamentals, the SportWORKS officers work with players and coaches to promote positive life skills such as discipline, teamwork, humility, and patience.
