What on earth is SRDG?

The SRDG, what’s that all about then?
Sounds as though we have another splinter group intent on reigning terror across the land. Well it is Sandwell based, hence the S. It is Rugby orientated, hence the R, its aim is Development, hence the D and there is a whole Group of Sandwell based institutions which have signed up to it, hence the G.
Tuesday evening (2/11/04), at Wednesbury RFC, saw the second official meeting of the Sandwell Rugby Development Group. The first, having been held at Warley the previous week. After months of head banging, pleading, conniving and down right satanic practice, there has been a meeting of minds and an agreement of finance.
Who constitutes the group?
A number of organisations, primarily Warley and Wednesbury Rugby football clubs. Add on Wood Green Sporting College and Warley High Sporting College. Add to that Sandwell Leisure Trust and Black Country Active Sport. Add a company called Sporting Structures and sprinkle in the Black Country Rugby Development Officer from the RFU. A pretty powerful group and with plenty of focus.
What are the aims?
Obviously the aim is to develop the playing of rugby within the Sandwell area. The plan, which is coming together nicely, is to reach out to as many primary and secondary schools within the borough as possible. We will do this by supplying coaching sessions. Those sessions will be carried out by coaches, supplied by both Warley and Wednesbury RFC. The majority will happen within the schools, some will happen at the respective clubs. The aim is to provide an exit strategy from the schools and to harvest interested youngsters to either Warley or Wednesbury, dependent on their residency.
What will it cost the Clubs?
Nothing, except the pain of head banging, pleading, conniving and Satanic Practice. Applications are well under way to secure a £12,000 grant through the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund.. There are also smaller sums supplied by Sandwell Leisure Trust, Black Country Active Sport and not so smaller sums from the two Sports Colleges. This will cover the first year of delivery, of both coaching and administering the scheme.
How long will it run?
The entire head banging has eaten into year one but we are now set to proceed. Year one has to finish on March 31st 05. Plans are already in place to secure year two and the hope is to at least run into a third year. If the will presides, then hopefully we can make into a rolling process.
Who is running the show?
We have now set up a constitution during meeting number two. Chairing the group is our own President, Barry Davies. Vice chair is Dave (H) Orme from Wednesbury. Secretary is Dave Spacy from Sporting structures, Treasurer is the old skinflint Dick Timmons, with vice Treasurer Pete Hughes of Wednesbury. Spencer Lamb takes on publicity and fundraising. Other input comes from Jamie Elliott, Sandwell Leisure Trust, Dave Simpkin, Black Country Sport, Alan Hubbleday, Black Country RDO, Gary Steel, Woodgreen College and Martin Johns from Warley College.
How will it all work?
Dave Spacy is a Sports Development Officer with the company Sporting Structures. He is co-ordinating the administration of the group and will seek to drive the process on. Initially all efforts will be channelled through the two Sporting Colleges who in turn will reach out to the local primary and secondary schools. Conveniently we have a Sporting College in both the North and South of the borough. This should back up an even-handed approach by the two rugby clubs involved. By using our own coaches when ever possible, we achieve a two-fold result. One, our own coaches will be financially rewarded for their efforts and Two, it ensures that the recommendation to all interested youngsters is the appropriate rugby club. A club based in Sandwell.
Jamie Elliott, for those of you who have not met him at Tatbank with his Warley Borough football team, is a Sports Development Officer with Sandwell Leisure Trust. He has a special remit to the Rowley Regis area and has already set up two schools to receive these taster sessions. The first being St Michael’s who are to visit Tatbank.
Without challenge there is no achievement.
We have seen valiant efforts in the past to kick start a junior set up at Warley. Both at junction 2 and St Johns I have witnessed Sunday mornings on a freezing January where those efforts were made to pursuade tomorrows talent that a bleak St Johns is a good place to start. Perhaps almost inevitably those efforts floundered. This has to be the most co-ordinated approach ever involving Warley. It has the ability to really secure our future as a club. It can succeed because of a number of things, firstly the pure back up of the SRDG and the funding within it. Secondly the facility at Tatbank, which already finds favour amongst our youngsters and their parents.
It can fail through us sitting back and thinking it will run itself.
If this comes off in the way that we all hope, we will need to be in a position to react and react fast. We already have a team of youth coaches. This will satisfy the delivery but we still need more assistance on a Sunday afternoon. Give it some serious thought boys and girls. The qualifications needed are funded and provided by the club. They are held locally and are well within the grasp of most of us. Once funded and provided we need to utilise them.
The question is not ‘Is it time that you as an individual started to give something back to the future of the club?’ The answer to that is undoubtedly YES.
The question is ‘Are you prepared to give something back to the future of the club?’
Are you?