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E-LEARNING
ULSTER RUGBY LAUNCHES ONLINE RESOURCE
FOR COACHES, PARENTS AND PLAYERS
Ulster Rugby recently launched a new e-learning resource with a focus on
fitness education, nutrition and player welfare.
The Ulster Rugby Resources YouTube channel
includes seven nutrition and seven concussion
related videos, which have been developed by the
IRFU and are aimed at various stakeholders within
the game including players, referees, coaches and
parents. These have been supplemented by 22
fitness education pilot videos, which feature Ulster
Rugby stars Chris Henry and Darren Cave, as well
as Ulster Women’s players Claire McLaughlin and
Jemma Jackson.
The fitness education videos focus on fundamental
movement skills and body weight exercises and
the content is aimed at coaches working within
stages 1 and 2 of the IRFU’s Player Development
Pathway. The aim of this pilot scheme is to attract
funding to further enhance the resource, offering a
full curriculum of videos for all stages of the Long
Term Player Development Pathway.
Commenting on his involvement with the pilot
fitness videos, Chris Henry, said: “This is a superb
initiative and it is refreshing to see something like
this being developed. The pilot fitness videos are
a great addition to the nutrition and concussion
resources, which have been developed by the
IRFU and are also extremely useful.”
Ulster Rugby’s Fitness Education Manager, Chris
Shields, added: “This was a great opportunity
to take our paper-based exercise directory and
put it into a visual context. This resource will
be instantly accessible to our coaches and will
add further support to those attending IRFU
accredited courses. However, with only a small
sample of videos currently produced, we are
merely scratching the surface. The aim is to create
a comprehensive directory of exercises and to
demonstrate how they can benefit rugby players in
match-specific situations.
“I would like to thank Jemma, Claire, Chris and
Darren for their help throughout this process. The
videos would not have been possible without the
availability of players from the Portadown Panthers,
Rainey RFC mini rugby, Rainey Endowed School
Medallion squad and Dungannon RFC U18 Girls.
A big thank you must also go to videographer, Ben
Simpson, whose expertise behind the camera and
knowledge of the game was invaluable.
“Suggestions, recommendations and feedback
are appreciated as Ulster Rugby is committed
to producing resources that add value and are
appropriate for all levels of the game.”
To view the videos please search for Ulster
Rugby Resources on YouTube.
For more information, please contact Chris
Shields, Ulster Rugby’s Fitness Education
Manager:
chris.shields@ulsterrugby.com.
