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COA


CHING MA


TTERS |COMMUNITY COACHING|


PIERRE AHEAD


Many paths lead to Rugby League, but for one inspirational coach it was a serious knee injury which introduced him to the game he loves, and directly resulted in the conversion of many young London-based recruits to the game, as Howard Foster reports.


P


ierre Aghabala enjoyed all sports growing up, but it was for rugby union that he was awarded a place at St Mary’s University


College in Twickenham. But before he’d played a single competitive game, he dislocated a kneecap in training and began a course of rehabilitation to regain his mobility and fitness. It was during this period he met up with Dan Steel, now the RFL’s London Regional Manager, whom he terms ‘a great influence’ on his career in Rugby League, and who introduced him to the sport.


Aghabala fell in love with the game, a passion which has grown in the intervening years and which saw him this year, at the age of 24, being awarded the prestigious Coach of the Year honour at the Pro-Active London Awards.


This award, in which Aghabala triumphed ahead of 99 other nominees, recognised his sterling work in coaching Rugby Leagueinthe Lambeth, Croydon, Merton and Bromley areas of London.


Another factor was his inspirational coaching of both the Croydon Hurricanes and Brixton Bulls, and his key role as lead coach on the well-regarded London Broncos Scholarship Scheme.


After the presentation, his mentor Steel said: ‘It’s a reflection of the great efforts in developing the sport by Pierre and the whole team of coaches and volunteers at Croydon Hurricanes. This is a great indicator of the standard of coach we have operating in the London Junior League, and this bodes well for the future of Rugby League in the capital.’


Looking back to his early days in the sport, Aghabala recalls how Steel was just one of a number of influential voices he heard along the way, who all espoused the Rugby League religion.


He didn’t take a lot of convincing. ‘I preferred it from the start, the coaching and training is face to face, and the coaching models work for me. I was never what you’d call an academic, and I preferred the personal touch, the one-to-one or small group approach, which works so successfully in our sport.’


Aghabala gained a placement at Harlequins Rugby League, and he never looked back, ultimately securing a full- time coaching role with South London Community Rugby League, getting confirmation he’d got the job just hours after graduation.


A second row/prop (‘I was bigger in those days than I am now!’), he had regained his full fitness when he was


unlucky enough to suffer another severely torn kneecap, which this time put paid to his competitive career.


The playing field’s loss was coaching’s gain, however, as he readily admits: ‘There’s no doubt I’ve always been a better coach than a player. No contest!’


And this fierce advocate of Rugby League is doing a magnificent job in spreading the word about the game to the people of South London and beyond, as the sport enjoys a widening appeal away from its heartland.


He explains his coaching philosophy: ‘I prefer to see personal development. Players returning each season is far more important to me than winning trophies.’ Yet Aghabala is successful at that too. In his first year coaching with the Richmond Warriors they won the league, the cup and the team of the year!’


And he’s rightly proud of his players’ continuing progression: ‘This year we had three age groups win the league with my Under 12’s team being undefeated in the league too.’


A key attraction for young players with an interest in Rugby League is the opportunity to progress – and do so quickly. Aghabala uses this as a


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