The Algarve University Rugby Club (CRUAL), based in Lagoa, is looking for a new head coach and assistant coaches for its kids’ rugby team for the new season.
The team, consisting of boys and girls of multiple nationalities and aged from five to 18, needs a replacement for Dave Alger, who has been head coach at CRUAL since 2018 and has decided to “step back” to concentrate more on club administration and player and team development.
“It has been a wonderful and greatly rewarding experience to coach the boys and girls at CRUAL Lagoa, but I feel that the time is right for someone to step in with some new ideas and fresh legs and help to move CRUAL Lagoa Kids Rugby to the next level,” Dave Alger said in a statement to the press.
According to Dave, a new head coach will generally need to “know the game” well. Other traits that will be valued include “patience, player skills recognition and development, development of team ethics, ability to use strength of being a trainer/coach more sympathetically and … more patience”.
There is an introductory ‘Level One Trainers’ course that the new trainer can attend, which will provide a formal qualification, Dave told the Resident.
“Most importantly, though, is the ability to develop a fun ethic, where the kids really enjoy the experience of learning and playing a game that they’ve probably not encountered before,” he said.
In his view, the “ideal coach will (probably) have played rugby at some level, but not necessarily continually.
“For example, I had two ‘stints’ of playing – 17 to 21, and 33 to 38, and then picked up the rugby bug again when I was 65. Experience is great, but enthusiasm is just as good,” Dave remarked.
Aside from being close to the sport of rugby, coaching a kids’ rugby team also provides a singular sense of achievement.
“The most rewarding experience is seeing the personal development in the kids over the years, as is bringing different nationalities together with a common ground,” Dave explained.
Meanwhile, Dave also revealed that the club has been told that a rugby pitch, complete with rugby posts, is included in the municipal plans for the redevelopment of the area near the Alagoas Brancas wetland, which CRUAL hopes will “develop a greater interest locally” in the sport.
Dave and the club have also participated in the government’s Summer School initiative over the last three years, which has given around 700 local children a “brief introduction to rugby.”
“We need to build on this, so we don’t lose the momentum,” he added.
Anyone interested in applying for the position of head or assistant coach can contact Dave directly at +351 962315256 or crualg@gmail.com
