When Work is Play

4 December 2009

Dyl Daurie busing working through some reposrting wjilst learning the ropes in his work experience at Sunshine Coast Rugby Union.

My name is Dylan Daure and I am a year eleven student currently attending Sunshine Coast Grammar School. From Thursday the 27th of November to Wednesday the 2nd of December I had the pleasure of being part of the S.C.R.U, in particular the Sunshine Coast Stingrays. This was all possible through the work experience program run by my school and with the help of Franky Bourke.

Over the course of my involvement with the Stingrays I have had an insight as to what it would be like to be a member at the Stingrays HQ. During the 5:30am starts to the 3:00pm finishes I have been educated further in every aspect of the game of Rugby Union. I also had an in-depth view into what being a Rugby Development Officer involves. The countless coaching aids and reports on everything from lineouts to hypertrophy training have given knowledge which I believe will help me develop as a rugby player.

I was privileged to have Glen Panoho discuss with me the pros and cons about several types of lineouts I had created and how they could be improved, he also showed my one of his own lineouts . The first morning that I began work I watched a scrum session led by Panch and took in his style of coaching and his scrimmaging tips. My time spent at Stockland Park was enjoyable however the gym sessions were painful, this was normally due to Franky and his vast array of equipment that he could ‘bring the pain' with.

At the end of each day I had have learnt a lot about strength and conditioning from the several types of workout programs I took part in. These sessions showed me the hard way how to perform the required exercises properly. I can thoroughly say that had I settled with just stacking shelves for work experience I would be lesser off. I would like to finish by saying thanks to all the staff at Stingrays HQ for all their help and willingness to make me feel part of the team, in particular Franky who made all of this possible.