London Broncos have announced their brand new talent pathway which will see them nurture the talent of 500 players from the capital and beyond.
Through ‘Lion development days’, Broncos will work closely with the Rugby Football League, obtaining data which they share back to their community coaches.
The Head of Broncos Talent Pathway, former player and Academy Coach, Nash Cohen said: “We wanted to create not just a pathway but an ongoing relationship with the clubs.
“From under 12 all the way through to under 18, we’ll pull in this set of data, we’ll analyse it and as we go through age groups.
“We will be evaluating their invasiveness, their ball handling ability, their tackling ability and again, working hand in glove with those community clubs to nurture and develop.”
Four dates have been announced for U12-U15 Lion Development Days:
West London: U12 and U13 – 14th February at Springwest Academy
West London: U14 and U15 – 15th February at Springwest Academy
East London: U12 and U13 – 19th February at Brentwood Eels
East London: U14 and U15 – 20th February at Brentwood Eels
They are also running 12 week origin elite programmes for U16 and U18 boys, and for the first time U16 girls.
The origin concept comes from Australia where they have three game series’ between rival states like New South Wales and Queensland, and so in the UK it is replicated between counties, for example, Lancashire vs Yorkshire.
Cohen said: “What we’ve done with that concept is kind of enlarged it and created a professional elite programme which won’t just be focused on coaching rugby specifics.
“But we’ll have a holistic approach to looking at areas that complement the game, enhance the game.
“We’ve got a duty of care to develop them as people and I think if you look at rugby, whether it’s union or league, something you’ll constantly see is certain ethics and morals that goes into the playing of the sport.
“We want players to develop as people and we have a saying at London Broncos: good people make good Broncos and that’s really what our programme is about.”
Last year the Broncos made the decision to reevaluate their academy system and build something that aims for long-term success.
Cohen said: “The South has gone through some interesting times, but realistically, we have the biggest catchment, the best athletes, and the best exposure to sporting facilities and funding.
“This is a programme which we’re building from the ground up includes the best coaches that London Broncos has to offer.
“They’re all involved in the programme and we are bringing them in to actually nurture and develop those under 12, 13, and 14.
“So we’re now able because of the difference in the nature of the programme to get those players in front of our best coaches, whilst at the same time nurturing the actual coaching talent that exists at our community clubs.”
Feature image credit: London Broncos
