Huddersfield Giants is launching a rugby academy this September.
This means youngsters will be educated in sport alongside training and playing Rugby League in a professional environment.
The Rugby Football League Tier 3 Academy will be run in partnership with Huddersfield Elite Sports Education Academy.
Principal James Mahoney said: “The scholars will represent Huddersfield Giants in the College Rugby League and will benefit from an elite player development programme consisting of weekly training sessions, strength and conditioning and competitive fixtures, all under the leadership of highly qualified Rugby League coaches.”
Alongside the player development programme the scholars will study the BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma in Sport Performance and Excellence.
The two year qualification is the equivalent to three A-Levels and provides students with a valuable insight into the variety of subjects within the sporting industry including physiology, psychology, nutrition and fitness testing.
Huddersfield Elite Sports Education Academy has already made a name for itself by offering Futsal Scholarships which mix elite sport with academic qualifications and many students over the last three years have progressed into higher education, scholarships in the USA and employment in the sports industry. The Education Academy also currently provides the academic curriculum to the Huddersfield Giants Academy scholars.
Mr Mahoney added: “We are very excited to announce the introduction of the Rugby League Development Programme in partnership with Huddersfield Giants. The scholarship will give young players the chance to study a full-time academic qualification, whilst also developing themselves as Rugby League players.”
Giants Head of Youth Andy Kelly added: “The development programme has a natural fit and sits parallel with what we are trying to achieve. Rugby League is notoriously a late development sport and what we are allowing for here is players who have not quite got there yet and who maybe deserve a second chance.
“From a performance and academy point of view it gives us a chance to work with more players and monitor their progress. There are some good examples throughout the game at the moment of people from other clubs who have actually come from the Category 3 element of the game into the academies and into Super League rugby.
“Connectivity is really important so having the performance players alongside development programme players in the Education Academy is going to be an incentive for each to mix and aim to bridge the gap.”
For more information go to www.huddersfieldcommunitytrust.co.uk/education
