Skelmersdale Centurions Academy

09 September 2019

Rugby League academy in gets underway in Skelmersdale

Over the past couple of months Leigh Centurions dual registered player, Matty Costello, has been sharing his rugby skills with the children of Skelmersdale as part of the Centurions Skelmersdale Academy sponsored by AB Sundecks.

At first it might seem an unlikely pairing putting rugby and Skelmersdale in the same sentence but the sport has really taken off in the area courtesy of the committed team at the Leigh Centurions Foundation.

After some intensive research the Leigh Centurions Foundation found that there was very little opportunity for children to take part in rugby league in the area and as such has been delivering Sky Try to all the local Primary schools, introducing the youngsters to this great sport. The superstars of tomorrow are born from these grassroots projects and somewhere in Skelmersdale there could be the next Micky Higham or the next Ryan Brierley, just waiting for an opportunity to shine!!

The Skelmersdale Centurions Rugby Academy was set up by the foundations Sky Try Officer, Tom Simms, who couldn’t be more passionate about grass roots rugby. “Numbers are growing every week and all the pupils are really energetic and love learning about the sport. Like many other towns in the North West there is a lot of deprivation and Skelmersdale is no different. On the first week one of the pupils was distraught because she thought she couldn’t attend as she didn’t have any rugby boots, another came along in rugby boots three sizes to big and padded out with socks! This is the beauty of Rugby League you can simply turn up and play with very little expense and equipment. The excitement and enthusiasm definitely makes for great training sessions.”

There are currently approximately 25 eight to ten year olds desperate to play rugby consistently every week from all across the area and it is growing. With enough support and dedication Skelmersdale will soon be producing their own competitive teams and in time a professional full time squad.

AB Sundecks share the same passion for the sport and feel that the more coverage it receives the more young people will want to be involved. “Rugby league isn’t just about pulling on a pair of boots and charging down the pitch for the try line, it’s about supporting each other, it’s about learning new skills and feeling part of a team, it’s about not being left in the side lines, it’s about making friends for life. All children should be able to have the same sporting opportunities in life and rugby league embraces equal opportunities for all. Find your local team and give it a go!”