Following the exciting news of the club’s plans to launch an academy breaking last week, the EggChaser group have now outlined in detail their plans to produce a development pathway to the club’s first-team, with the process launching in the coming weeks.
How Do I Play For The Academy?
Players over the age of 18 will be able to apply for an invitation to attend one of our regional Talent ID Days, applications shall open in due course with an announcement on our website in the coming weeks.
Players who progress from the Talent ID Days shall then gain selection into one of our Elite Development Squads.
Players under the age of 18 will be selected from our academy masterclasses (to be released in the coming weeks), at these events, scouts shall invite standout players to our academy talent ID days providing a pathway into our academy group.
Elite Development Squad (EDS):
Players who make it through our various pathways and are selected for our EDS’s shall be given the opportunity to perfect their rugby league skills and techniques via our dedicated team of coaches.
With input from the club’s first-team performance staff alongside expert support from our academy staff, the EDS teams shall receive the best available advice in terms of nutrition, strength and conditioning, fitness programmes and general skill and technique development.
Meeting to train regularly at regional hubs in North Wales, South Wales, London, Manchester and the North East, our EDS squads shall compete against each other in fixtures which shall take place prior to our first-team games at Stadiwm CSM.
Stand out performers will then be invited to step up and enjoy training sessions with the club’s reserve side.
All EDS players shall also receive a full academy kit bundle.
Reserves:
Following the conclusion of the Elite Development Squad’s fixture calendar, the best players from all of the EDS squads combined shall be selected for our reserve side.
The reserve squad shall enjoy opportunities such as linked training sessions with our first-team, greater involvement for first-team performance staff and also individual plans and analysis sessions.
Following a period of training, and towards the later end of the season, the reserve side shall compete in their own fixture calendar of test matches against the reserve teams of Super League and Championship clubs.
Stand out performers within the reserves shall be invited to train with the North Wales Crusaders first-team.
From here, players who impress shall have the opportunity to earn themselves trials or professional contracts to play in our first-team.
All Reserve team players shall also receive a full academy kit bundle.
Long-Term:
The above pathway has been crafted to generate a player pool for our first-team and shall be replicated year-on-year whilst developing the North Wales Crusaders brand as one of the leading when it comes to developing rugby league players.
With plans to develop alongside the crucial work undertaken by our community foundation, we firmly believe that the academy will harness the potential of young athletes for the good not just of the club, but the game as a whole.
Tournament Squads:
Players within the structure shall also be eligible to play for our representative Crusaders squads who shall compete in nines and sevens tournaments in Wales, the UK and around the world.
We believe this provides experiences for members of our academy to compete for silverware whilst developing their skill sets and also forging greater bonds between them as teammates. In addition to this, worldwide exposure for the North Wales Crusaders brand shall help increase revenue potential which can in turn be invested back into the club.
