The rugby coach
Investment banker Richard Seaward played rugby for 30 years in the UK
before moving to Hong Kong. When his daughter Imogen turned seven, he
decided it was time for her to learn the sport and he wanted to be involved.
“Rugby is a great game for encouraging teamwork and responsibility
for others,” says Richard. “I wanted Imi to get exposed to all these positive
things, and coaching made sure we both got up early on Sunday morning to
go.”
As coach of the Sai Kung Stingrays Under 8 team, Richard says that
during training, his daughter is one of the team and he treats them all the
same, but he also has his moments of being a proud dad.
“It was great when she scored a couple of excellent tries in the last
tournament, I was definitely a dad then,” he says. “She thinks it’s great that
I’m the coach – kids love their dads being around, although it might be
different if she was in the Under 15s.”
On a typical Sunday morning, Richard says there are at least 50 dads
(and some mums) running around with the kids on the field. “When you see
this, you have no doubt that parent coaches are essential – without them, we
would not be able to offer the opportunity to play and involve so many kids.”
Richard says the rewards of coaching can be unexpected. “In the last
tournament we put four passes together and scored a great try, and I was
surprised how excited I was by that,” he says. “But the most rewarding
aspect is that a lot of kids have discovered how good it is to be part of a
rugby team.”
For more info on children’s rugby go to
;
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The Aussie Rules
football coach
Pok Fu Lam resident Andrew
Mellor is passionate about
Australian Rules football – as
a supporter, player and coach.
Therefore it’s no surprise his
seven-year-old son, Sam, has
caught the Aussie Rules bug.
When Sam turned five, Andrew
signed him up for Auskick and
decided to join the host of parent
volunteers turning up at 8am on
Saturday and Sunday mornings to
help coach.
“Auskick is a great team sport
for kids and it’s growing rapidly
in Hong Kong,” says Andrew.
“There are now five Auskick clubs
with more than 400 boys and girls
aged from four to 16 taking part,
and it’s 100 per cent run by parent
volunteers.”
While the early weekend mornings
interfere with any ability to sleep in,
Andrew says coaching offers parents
the chance to be involved in their
child’s experience of team spirit
and bonding. “It’s great to see them
enjoying sport with all their mates,
but it’s usually the other kids that
listen to you, rather than your own,”
he says. “Fortunately there are plenty
of great coaches to share the load
and we can parent each other’s kids.
Hopefully they get as much out of it as
we do, and I think the kids love having
their parents involved.”
And what’s most rewarding?
“Tracking the improvement in their
ball skills from when they started as
four-year-olds to now as six-year-
olds, is great to watch, and to just
see them develop a love of the
code,” says Andrew. “While it is
an Australian sport, we also enjoy
having plenty of non-Aussies getting
involved and loving our sport – it’s
great to see!”
For more info on Auskick, go to
June 2015
51
