BEN PARKER: SMILES ON FACES IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING

Sustainable growth of the game is the COHDRL management group’s ultimate goal, which is why we share the joy of the entire rugby community seeing Bransholme Bears come to life.

We spoke to Hull Kingston Rovers’ Senior Foundation Coach, Ben Parker who has been one of the main driving forces behind the Bears, here's what he had to say to COHDRL Readers:

On how things started out

“ It all happened quite quickly, Rob Wilson got the wheels in motion and Mike Smith helped us with the RFL side of things, and within 2 weeks of the initial talks, the new club was confirmed.

On how things are going so far

“ We had our first taster session on Wednesday and 17 kids from year 1 and year 2 took part. This was a great starting point to build on from, as Bransholme Bears is within a huge catchment area, we’re really pleased with the numbers because we only had 1 week to promote the taster session.

“ Our next taster session is Wednesday 6th July at Biggin Hill Primary School between 5pm and 6pm. The main purpose of these taster sessions is to engage young people with rugby league in the area. We keep the sessions focused on fun with a bit of catch and grab, grip and carry and team building games.

On the future

“ City of Hull and District are working in partnership with Hull Kingston Rovers Foundation, but in the future we would like to reduce the foundation involvement in order for the club to thrive without us being as hands-on. We’re hoping that within 6-weeks time the foundation can take a step back to a point where we go from running every session to every fortnight, and the great people involved in the club carry on what we started.”

If you have a child in year 1 or year 2, please Bransholme Bears would love for you to join them Wednesday 6th July at Biggin Hill Primary School, 5pm to 6pm.