Bowdoin’s Polar Bear Rugby Camp Coach Education Course gave me an entirely new perspective on the game, tactical vision, and the player/coach relationship. The experience was an outstanding investment in my coaching self development.

“The Polar Bear coaching clinic offered the opportunity for me to expand my comfort zone in my coaching style.  I learned different styles by observing the coaching staff and in residence coaches.  The opportunity to build lesson plans with various coaches enabled me to better connect with my athletes, experience different view points to get skills across to the athletes, and to feel comfortable in adding new skills into my toolbox. The environment was presented in a way to allow for idea growth, allow for mistakes, and to gain the satisfaction in seeing the athletes enjoy the game more.  The coaching staff and coaches in residence were very supportive of each other, learning from each other, and helping each other expand their networks.  We were able to be open with each other on our abilities and our flaws and work to improve both. The soft skills learned are valuable life lessons, and I was able to even transition those skills to my work environment as well as the rugby coaching environment.”

The Coaching Workshop at the Polar Bear Rugby Camp offered the unique and challenging experience of working one-on-one with some of the most accomplished rugby thinkers in coaching today. MaryBeth, Griff, and the other head coaches worked with me to customize their messages to suit my exact experience level and coaching needs. Though only a single weekend long, the intensive workshop pushed me to develop my observational, analytical, introspective, and communicative skills in a nuanced, holistic way. I had never–and have not since–experienced a coaching-educational opportunity that offered such depth and support with a personal touch.

“The coaching clinic at the Polar Bear Rugby Camp was well worth the cross-country flight from California. Marybeth, Rusty, and Griff created such a positive, accessible learning environment that encouraged me to be innovative and critical about my own coaching. The camp provided all of the coaches many opportunities to put their ideas and plans into practice and we also were able to learn from each other. It was my impression that I was able to gain so much from the coaching course because the theme throughout the clinic was that rugby is fun and so it stands to reason that learning how to grow within the game of rugby should also be fun for the players and the coaches. When I first watched Rusty running around with the boys playing touch I initially thought, look at this crazy fool – is he coaching or just having fun? Fast forward to the end of camp games, and the young boys’ game was by far the best display of players who were able to identify and exploit space, work well with their teammates and just have fun playing rugby. It was a testament to how Rusty’s coaching gives players the opportunity to express themselves, have fun, and learn how to play rugby at the same time. Thinking about how to create a positive learning environment and encourage joy and understanding with our players was a very important concept that we were able to expound and study and learn about. I enjoyed the camp immensely and was able to rediscover meaning behind why I continue to coach. The coaching clinic was hard, exhausting at times, lots of work, lots of thinking, and lots of fun. There is great coffee nearby and a beautiful campus to enjoy. I would highly recommend the coaching clinic to all coaches.”