New Coach for DIRECT
Craig Collins
From the DIRECT office this week comes news of their newest member of staff, Craig Collins.
This week I met Craig to talk about his role with the Knights’ sister charity. CRAIG is taking over the role of multi sports
coach within DIRECT, so I was interested to be find out what is he’s going be doing.
“Well I’m the multi sports coach and I’m going to be delivering Tackle Health to primary schools in Doncaster,” he said.
“It’s all about teaching the children about their bodies and showing them the best ways to keep
themselves active.”
He has just finished a degree at university, so I wanted to ask Craig about that and any experience he has on the back of it. “Yeah, I’ve just finished my degree at Leeds Met University in Sport and Recreation Development,” he said. “Whilst I was at there I gained three years’ experience working with Leeds Council, going out delivering all kinds of sport to children. “I’m really excited about the new role. To be honest, I can’t wait to get started full time. I’ve got a few innovative new ideas that I want to bring in and give it a bit of fresh look. With just finishing the uni course, I’ve got all the up-to-date knowledge.”
Craig isn’t new to Castle Park either, having been part of a rugby tournament here whilst attending the local school in Armthorpe. “Yes, when I was at school I came here with our team for a rugby tournament on a matchday,” he recalled. “Since I last came down, there have been a lot of changes, though. I remember the old stand being here. obviously before this fantastic
new one was built.” For those that haven’t heard about Tackle Health and don’t know what it is, here is a brief summary of what Craig’s role is going to entail.
The Tackle Health programme began in January 2008 and is kindly sponsored by Wilbourn Associates. Tackle Health aims to address the growing problem of childhood obesity and inactivity. A combination of classroom-based activities and outdoor physical sessions introduces young people to the benefits and needs of a balanced diet, the need to keep their heart and lungs healthy and gives them the tools they need to keep themselves active. Tackle Health does not solely focus on rugby as a sport of choice, showing young people a range of different activities that they can take part in, depending on the number of people that are taking part in activities and the equipment they have available. Tackle Health creates opportunities for young people to attend Doncaster Knights matchdays and meet with the first-team squad so that the children can have an experience of the professional sporting environment and learn from the players themselves about health and fitness.
