Sport
When a scrum becomes a Hudl St Albans School takes two more vital steps towards sporting excellence Independent Schools have a proud tradition of attracting former Internationals to their sports coaching staff, and St Albans School has been at the vanguard of encouraging some of the very best to impart their knowledge and experience to the School’s next generation of sportsmen and women. The Hertfordshire School, which can trace its roots back more than a thousand years, already boasts three internationals in its ranks: Martin Langston (England Hockey player, coach and manager) is Head of Hockey and Director of Sport; Mark Ilott, the former Essex and England cricketer, is Head of Cricket; and George Harrison MBE, a former British team manager and coach of international athletes, trains the senior distance runners. To this highly-experienced group, St Albans School recently appointed another high-profile sportsman, Kyran Bracken MBE, to the newly-created post of Elite Sport Development Manager and 1st XV Head Coach. Kyran’s credentials are impeccable: as a former captain of Saracens, a member of the England World Cup winning rugby team and a tourist with the British and Irish Lions, he brings exceptional sporting pedigree to the School. Pupils are now benefitting from his proven rugby and sporting knowledge to improve technique, performance and their overall approach to rugby and other sports. The idea to coach at St Albans School was first mooted by Tony Dalwood, a Governor at the School, with whom Kyran played rugby at Bristol University. There was also a local
connection: Kyran has family who live close to the School’s training ground at Woollams, and his eldest son has been successful in gaining a place at the School in 2017. Kyran has joined St Albans School with a focus on supporting the 1st XV rugby team, but he will also help and guide the junior teams, to embed a strong sporting and rugby culture more strongly across every age group. As well as providing this ‘helicopter’ view, Kyran will also be looking to identify specific boys and girls considered elite in their field, regardless of which sport they play. “My challenge is to give direction and motivation to improve the results in the longterm,” Kyran explained. “There is a great pool of talent within the School that I am excited to be able to work with and support. The School has superb facilities at Woollams, which provides some of the best training grounds in the country. We have a weekly masterclass where I work with pupils from all years on basic skills. At the same time, I hope to improve individuals, especially those who are looking for a career in rugby, by sharing my experience of having been a professional rugby player.” “I have already really enjoyed the experience of working with the boys. We have had a very good season to date and I am looking forward to providing further support, guidance and mentoring to future generations of talented sports players coming through the School as well as to members of staff coaching at all levels.” Kyran is not only using his playing experience to teach
Spring 2017
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