Paul Wood, Adrian Morley and Jon Clarke lend a hand with Warrington Wolves' future stars (From Warrington Guardian)

Paul Wood, Adrian Morley and Jon Clarke lend a hand with Warrington Wolves' future stars

11:27am Monday 6th July 2009

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WARRINGTON Wolves have appointed their Super League player Paul Wood as head coach of the under 16s scholarship squad for the 2009/10 season.

He will have assistance from teammate Adrian Morley and former Leigh Centurions boss Darren Abram, while another teammate Jon Clarke will look after the conditioning.

Wood and Morley first became involved in the under 16s squad last season and were a great influence as 11 players were signed up, including Rhys Evans and Ryan Shaw who trained with the first team last week.

“They are two players that we all look up to and respect,” said Evans.

“The knowledge they passed on was really good."

Wood will work closely with director of youth performance John Bastian and player performance manager Ben Lazenby to refine his coaching skills.

He sees the coaching as a new challenge and has learnt a lot so far.

"As a coach I try to relate to the players through my playing experience when developing skills,” he said.

“One area I try and get the young players to buy into is how hard it is to be a professional sportsman in a tough sport and I try to help them develop mental toughness and a good work ethic.”

Morley added: "I really enjoyed coaching the lads and seeing them develop is brilliant.

“I have been lucky enough to experience international rugby league and sharing my experience with these talented youngsters will hopefully help them develop and spur them on to one day play international rugby league themselves.

"I use a variety of different coaching methods I have picked up from different coaches over the years within my sessions, underpinned by my knowledge of the game.

“Rugby league is a very honest and tough sport and it is important that the players understand the hard work they must put in and sacrifices they must make to progress to becoming a professional, but the rewards are far the highest in any sport."

Quality coaching is vital to Wolves’ youth development programmes and having coaches with international playing experience certainly helps the young players’ development.

"We understand that developing coaches as well as players is important," said Lazenby.

"Having international playing experience is certainly an advantage and a great asset for a coach, not to mention that the young players really look up to these guys.

“It goes without saying that through coaching, these senior players have a huge influence on the young players' careers."

All of the youth development coaches undergo a programme through the year in order to improve, develop and share ideas.

Bastian sees the calculated appointments as a huge step forwards for the senior players, a great opportunity for the junior players to learn and a great move for the game of rugby league itself.

"The addition of Adrian and Paul to the coaching set-up sets a great example as they both play the game hard, play the game smart and are great role models for young players.

“In addition, it provides a strong base to develop their own skills in coaching or conditioning which will benefit the game of rugby league and prepare them for the transition from player to coach."

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