Widnes welcome the next generation of talent down to training as implementation of youth pathways grow closer than ever before
Tuesday evening the Widnes Vikings women’s team hosted an open training session for girls between sixteen and eighteen to attend. It was the beginning of a journey to provide pathways for young girls into the Widnes first team.
The desire is to form at least an Under 18’s team and possibly an under 16’s team, to nurse young talent into the first team.
Pathways are challenging in the women’s game, as most teams only have a first team, meaning that any girls not selected on a match day struggle to find game time to aid their development.
The development of the youth system at Widnes will provide a route for rising stars into the first team, whilst still offering regular fixtures and game time to those who continue their Rugby League development.
Widnes currently sit with a 50% winning record in the National Championship, following their promotion to the division last season.
This is yet another crucial step in the history of Widnes women’s Rugby League within the town.
Talent on show
The open training session proved a huge success, featuring girls from Halton Hornets, Blackbrook, Haydock. Girls in attendance took part in training drills alongside the senior Widnes players, working on ball skill and structure.
Participating in regular sessions alongside the first team will no doubt accelerate players development and drive training standards at the club.
The next open session is later this evening, with dates also confirmed for 30th June, 2nd July, 28th July and 30th July. All new players will be made to feel welcome with an opportunity to develop their game to the next level and be a part of the Vikings history.
Talking about the ongoing implementation of pathways within the women’s game in the town, vice captain Jenny Moss went onto say
“It is fantastic to see pathways for the under 16’s and 18’s finally put into place at Widnes.”
“I have been at the club since the birth of the Widnes women’s team and when I was transitioning into open age Rugby, opportunities like this simply did not exist for players back then.”
“Dom arrived at the club with a vision to implement youth pathways within the town, it has took a lot of hard work to get them up and running, but we are now beginning to see the green shoots of his hard work.”
“The natural talent on display was really encouraging, with players who could play several positions.”
“Given it was the first open session, it was a huge success and it was pleasure to share the field with hopefully the next generation of talent to represent the town.”
