Sarawak Education welcomes more rugby coaching courses

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KUCHING: Sarawak Education Department welcomes more rugby coaching courses to upgrade teacher-coaches from schools throughout the state.Human Administration and Development Sector head Ellen Manium Enggang said the first IRB Penguin-Cobra Level One coaching course here was the beginning of better things to come for rugby development in the state.

“We are actually looking forward to having more such courses aimed at upgrading the skills of teachers in coaching their school teams,” he said at the closing ceremony of the five-day coaching course at Kolej Datu Patinggi Abang Haji (DPAH) Abdillah here yesterday.

He expressed confidence that the 26 teachers from primary and secondary schools in Kuching, Samarahan, Betong, Sibu and Miri who attended the course would be able to impart their knowledge to their students and promote rugby in their schools and divisions.

Two representatives from Kuching Rugby Football Club and one from Politeknik Kuching also took part. Ellen hoped that the teachers would strive to overcome the challenges faced while carrying out rugby development in their schools.

He also hoped that the principals would support the teacher-coaches in carrying out their programmes.

He thanked the course facilitators from HSBC Penguin Rugby Academy of United Kingdom, comprising Robert Clilverd, Simon Jones and Graham Lindsay, for coming over to conduct the course.

Meanwhile, Cobra Schools Development Programme director Colonel (rtd) Wong Hin Jee said the programme was initiated by Cobra in 2005 in co-operation with Education Ministry and Malaysian Rugby Union (MRU).

“The main objective is to promote rugby through the school system and the key feature is to develop teacher-coaches who are deemed the best people to promote the sport in their schools,” he said. Wong said since the inception of the programme, over 500 teachers and members of MRU affiliates had participated in the development courses.

In addition, 17 had undergone the Level Two Course while two teachers had attended the Coach Educator Coach in England.

Course coordinator Zulkarnainhisham Sarbini said the course was the first of many activities to be organised this year under the CIMB-Cobra-SRU-JPNS Rugby Development Programme.

“We have planned to organise a statewide clinic cum league competition for eight groups of schools with four schools in each group, starting next month (February),” he said.

According to him, the clinics will be conducted for each group on the first weekend while matches will be played in the second and third weekends.

There will be four groups in Kuching, and one each in Samarahan, Betong, Sibu and Miri-Bintulu.

Another possibility is having a competition for the champions of each group, depending on the availability of funds to organise them.

“We are waiting for the CIMB Foundation’s approval because it will take about RM2,500 to organise the clinic-cum-competition in Kuching and even more money outside the Division,” he said at the closing ceremony.

Also present were Sarawak Rugby Union (SRU) vice-president Abang Azman Abang Annuar and Kolej DPAH Abdillah principal Johara Zen.