Mentoring in the WP
They have paired their returning Craven Week and Academy Week players with a Stormers player who will mentor the boys for the season. There was much excitement as the boys and their parents met the Stormers players on the field after the match and started what will hopefully be a beneficial relationship going forward. After an initial introduction and chat they could swap numbers with their heroes/mentors and begin communicating them.
The senior players all volunteered of their time and have all played extensively at Super rugby level for a number of years. There are 10 Springboks amongst them so there can be no better way to learn about the game and what it takes to get to the top than from these current players. The mentorship program allows for the top schoolboy talent in the Western Cape to build a relationship with a current player and to learn from the best.
Greg Hechter, Western Province High Performance Manager, who set this programme up had this to say: “This program will go a long way towards ensuring that WP rugby has a healthy pipeline of talent emerging out of our schools in the years to come. Due to the contribution to the program from the WP senior players it will ensure that our young schoolboy talent understands what it takes to get to the top of the game. This program also serves to strengthen WP ties with our schools by improving the relationship and providing assistance to the schools rugby program.”
He outlined the goals of the programme.
* Firstly, We want our schoolboys to become better rugby players and people through this program
* Secondly, we want them to get to know and understand the WP Way – our culture, our values, our beliefs and our playing style as we strive to be the best rugby franchise in the world
* Finally – just like the senior players we want our youngsters grow a massive affinity, love and passion for this jersey, the Disa, this stadium and this organization.
The players have been paired with players who play the same position and where possible with Old Boys from their school. If that was not possible Hechter tried to ensure the player lives in an area close to the school so he can visit the player, attend practices and matches. If the Stormers player is unable to watch a match a video of the match will be uploaded for them at the HPC in Bellville so the mentor can view the match and feedback to the schoolboy player on their performance.
It sounds like a wonderful initiative and one that can only benefit both Western Province and South African Rugby!
