1. POST 16 PATHWAYS Dave Rotheram National Player Development Manager

2. INTENTIONS FOR TODAY Put in context where you are at currently The Club Academy and England International programme in Rugby League Outline the AASE programme Next steps..

3. TALENT DEVELOPMENT Increase the quality of players that progress to the full England squad. Increase the quality of player supply to Super League and Championship clubs. Increase number of and quality players with access to a quality talent development system.

4. MORE SKILLED HOME GROWN PLAYERS MORE COMPETITIVE TEAMS HIGH PERFORMING INTERNATIONAL TEAMS BETTER SUPER LEAGUE COMPETITION HIGHER STANDARD OF YOUTH DEVELOPMENT

5. ACADEMIES Professional Sport in the UK use Academies in order to identify and develop talented athletes to be able to compete to a “world class standard” (RFU), “produce football excellence” (FA) and provide a “ modern Rugby League education” (RFL) Academies must equip young athletes for the transition between youth and senior sport

6. ADVANTAGES OF THE ACADEMY SYSTEM Players identify more with the local community Show good value for money Sustains more than one team Potential “sell on” value

7. PLAYER PATHWAY England Academy England Knights England Youth RFL Regional Academy U-16 RFL Regional Academy U-18 Professional Club Academy U-19 Professional Club Academy U-16 SUPER LEAGUE ELITE TRAINING SQUAD

9. ADVANCED APPRENTICESHIP IN SPORTING EXCELLENCE (AASE) Used by clubs & regions to enhance the delivery of the Academy programme Players are apprentices, not students 30 hours per week in a high quality FULL TIME environment Up to 16 hours per week (recommended) 3 A levels or BTEC

10. WHAT DO YOU GET OUT OF AASE? An increased sporting knowledge and understanding Better equipped for the demands of being a full time athlete A level 3 NVQ in ‘Achieving Excellence in Sport’. This can be advantageous when apply for university especially sporting university’s like Leeds Met, UCLAN, Uni of Glos. No UCAS points directly associated but qual is looked upon very favourably.

11. AASE PROGRAMMES 2012-13 Widnes VikingsSt Helens Wigan WarriorsCumbria Regional Academy North East Regional AcademyMidlands Regional Academy Huddersfield GiantsBradford Bulls Leeds RhinosWakefield Trinity Wildcats Castleford TigersSheffield Eagles Hull FCHull Kingston Rovers CURRENTLY 107 ATHLETES ON PROGRAMME

13. DECLARATION OF INTEREST DATEEVENT 1 st July 2013Clubs may “declare an interest” in others’ players 23 rd July 2013Declaration of interest period closes 6 th August 2013Players notified by RFL of declarations from other clubs 1 st Sept 2013Contract commences

14. CONTRATCT OFFER Must meet minimum contract value (TBC) Is for 27 months (Sept 2013-Nov 2015)

15. WHAT IS A CONTRACT? It is a Contract of Employment A legally binding agreement which describes how the relationship will work within the framework of employment law

16. STANDARD FORMS Only two types of form (full or part time) Will be different for each player:  Name & Address  Start and finish dates  Payment details  Additional individual clauses

17. DISCRETION Clubs/Regions are signing your potential Individual and club dependent (clubs will have different wage structures and recruitment needs)

18. AGENTS Must be authorised Players under the age of 18 can only have a 1 year agreement with an agent with parental consent www.therfl.co.uk/the-rfl/rules

19. ADVICE TO PARENTS Speak to people who have been through it No such thing as a daft question Meet with club representatives Use the RFL for impartial advice