Accies’ Development Officer upbeat about his new role

OMAGH Academicals RFC have appointed Darren McGuigan as the club’s first Rugby Development Officer.

With over 20 years’ experience, working with Ulster Rugby, McGuigan is looking forward to returning to the community where he started as a Youth Development Officer.

He hopes to build strong and effective relationships with club volunteers, feeder schools to support the growth and development of the club, improving the quality of experience for new and existing players and coaches whilst implementing strategies to grow and promote the game throughout the Omagh area.

A long standing Accies member, Darren will be responsible for three main areas: player recruitment from local schools (girls and boys); coach development within the mini and youth sections and player development within all age grade teams.

Darren will also work closely with Omagh Academy to ease the pathway between the club and school, hopefully making the transition from minis to the Academy and back to the club easier for young players.

McGuigan has a host of experience in youth coaching, having worked his way up from the under-14 Accies with Keith Hamilton to becoming backs coach for Ulster under-18s when Ireland international Chris Farrell was partnered by Omagh’s Yonga Taleni in the centre.

He has also been the club youth convenor so he has a good knowledge of the provincial youth landscape and the work coaches and volunteers do to get kids of all ages playing most Saturday mornings.

Through his role as Regional Development Officer with Ulster Rugby, he has built up a great relationship with lots of youth coaches throughout the province.

His main aims in his new role are to increase participation across the board and to develop Omagh as a ‘community club’.

To achieve those aims he hopes to ‘get kids playing in the schools again, run some open nights to get them down to the club and integrated into the club’s age grade teams, grow the girl’s section and recruit some new coaches to help develop the players and assist the coaches to develop themselves’, while helping the club ‘become a community club where everyone has an opportunity to be members of a welcoming, friendly environment, play with their mates and stay well into their adult life’.

And with over 20 years of experience working full-time in the game, he’s well placed to achieve those goals.

“Firstly, I was a club volunteer before a Development Officer, I know both the challenges and rewards involved in running an amateur rugby club,” he explained.

“I built up a rapport with other club personnel as a Youth Coach/Convenor when taking teams during games many a Saturday morning.

“Being able to communicate with others is a good start. I have developed strong working links and relationships with various sections within rugby clubs across Ulster, from Minis, Youth , Women and Girls and Adults.

“A major part of my role at Ulster was in delivering male and female participation programmes, organising, managing and evaluating events for all ages of the game.

“Many hours were spent unsocially, working with clubs to support volunteers and assist them with on-field development for coaches and players through Talent ID and Coach Education.

“I have good relationships with current school staff in the Omagh area and an ability to connect with young kids to promote the crazy game of rugby to them,” he concluded.