This weekend see’s Perthshire Rugby Club launch our brand new Athlete Development Programme which is being run in conjunction with the Sport Scotland Direct Club Investment Programme. What is even more exciting is that Pentland Land Rover (based on Dunkeld Road and part of the John Clark Motor Group) will be sponsoring this ground breaking initiative for Perthshire. This programme gives all athletes at Perthshire Rugby Club the chance to reach their full potential and an opportunity to reach their sporting goals. The programme will run closely with Scottish rugby and the Scottish Institute of Sport and this strong linkage will ensure that players can continue to develop talent at the club, whilst also participating in SRU and Institute of Sport development programmes. Players will not have to “drop-out” of the club programme in order to progress through the National age-grade set up.

The programme officially launches this weekend, however the programme has been running in a pilot format for the past six months and has been open to more clubs than just the rugby club. In fact 12 swimmers from Perth City Swim Club, who have become associate members of the club, have been attending the pilot programme, along with over 60 under 15’s and 16’s from the rugby club. Great results, success stories have already been seen from both the swimmers and rugby players and we look forward to seeing more over the coming months and years, and Perthshire Rugby Club looks forward to continuing to work with local sports clubs, athletes and communities from across Perthshire in the future.

The programme will also focus on educating the participant’s on other elements of athlete development such as nutrition, growth mind-set and strength and conditioning. This will be done through qualified coaches, nutrionalist’s and elite athlete’s. The aim is to provide additional teaching and practice, on top of the coaching, training and game-time that the club already provides. The programme will focus on moving the behaviour of parents, players and club coaches from a fixed mind-set towards growth behaviour. Overall the main aim of the programme is designed to increase local pool of talent that we have here in Perthshire, and give them the opportunity to reach the highest level of sport available to them.

Of course, this programme would not be possible without the funding of the programme’s sponsor Pentland Land Rover, who the club thanks greatly for their investment. Their investment means they along with the club are providing a great opportunity for the young athlete’s of Perthshire’s sporting clubs. The Athlete Development Programme will officially be launched by the club at a lunch this Saturday prior to the 1st’s penultimate home game against Dunfermline which kick’s off at 3pm. We look forward to seeing you all down at the inch to cheer on the 1st’s and help officially launch this great initiative for the club.