Mission Statement

"Stew Mel Lions is committed to providing an environment where rugby is coached to boys and girls from 4 to 14 years of age of all skills and abilities. The coaching is to be completed by suitably qualified coaches. The coaching is to be safe, fun, energetic and enjoyable. The club is open to all and is committed to ensuring that players of every ability are given opportunities to play in games against other clubs. The club does recognise that rugby is competitive and values winning but primarily aims for the children to develop a life long interest in the game of rugby. The Stew Mel Lions aims to gain a reputation for excellence that will ensure that the club is at the forefront of Scottish rugby."

Strategy

Stew Mel Lions aims to provide coaching excellence that develops top class rugby players with high skill level. This is to be achieved by a commitment to coach and player development.

· The club encourages parents to become involved in coaching. They need not have played rugby but have to show an enthusiasm to develop the potential in the children.

· The club is committed to coaching and training volunteers so that they have all the necessary skills to train the young rugby players. Therefore, the club ensures that every age group has a minimum number of SRU accredited coaches and is committed to increasing the numbers taking coaching awards.

· The club will provide the best available equipment and coaching aids to ensure that each session is safe, enjoyable and fun for the children.

· The club recognises that it has a responsibility to develop the children not just on the rugby pitch. It demands that the behaviour and conduct of members of the club is within the traditions of rugby.

· Friendship, teamwork and excellence are key attributes that the club promotes.

· Rugby is a competitive game but the winning is not the main goal. Stew Mel Lions demonstrates the importance of working together within a team so that experiences, good and bad, on the rugby pitch can be shared.

· Stew Mel Lions embarks on tours and trips to broaden the horizons of the players and the club realises that it has an educational role to play in the development of the children at the club.

· Similarly, the club actively promotes the social element of the rugby for the Parents, Grandparents and brothers and sisters.

· The club is fully open and encourages any child to join. It is committed to providing coaching for mixed ability rugby players.

· It is recognised that children develop at different speeds and the coaching of each age group reflects diversity.

· The club has a special relationship with Stewart's Melville College and wishes to continue to provide the pupils of the school additional opportunities to play rugby. The club has a role to play in developing the skill base of the players available for school rugby in later years.

· Equally, the club encourages any child to join so that they can come and benefit from top rate facilities and coaching.

· The club wants more children to play rugby and it views this task as central. The club wants to recruit youngsters who might not have ever had the opportunity to play rugby.

· The club has many members and it aims to operate fixtures for two teams at each age group. The teams are not necessarily to be based on 1st and 2nd teams but must be based on fairness, opportunity and be within SRU guidelines for the amount of competitive games that children should play.

· The Stew Mel Lions exists ultimately to aid the development of the senior club, Stewart's Melville RFC. The club is developing talented rugby players so that they will progress into senior rugby. A key function of the junior club is to start to provide the foundations of talent that will progress through the club so it will return to the higher echelons of Scottish rugby.

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