Career progression advice

[Buddy1]

Hi all, am a bit afraid of posting this in case I get some bad news but here goes.

I'm 19, currently playing for my local club's 1st team in England which is basically amateur (South Lancs to be precise but not exact) and I play for my university team as well (though I'm not enjoying it a huge amount because of the social stuff). I've just passed my driving test so should be able to expand my horizons a bit and look at clubs further a field. I stopped playing for a couple of years at a crucial time.

Anyway, I really enjoy playing and want to play at the best level I can, I was just wondering what direction is best to go. It's obviously too late for me to become professional but is semi pro an option? A couple of my team mates are playing for National League clubs (Fydle, Sedgley Park) but they are a couple of years older than me and I don't know how to get to that level. I've set a goal to try and play for my county team (county not country).

At the minute I'm quite happy playing every week, I'm a fly half so just playing games is massive but I was just wondering what steps to consider in the future. I know it's not clear but just thought I'd sound it out. I know a lot of this is theoretical but I just wanted to know what routes are available as far as playing at a decent level goes. Thanks again.

Thanks all.

 

[BenJeffrey]

Hi all, am a bit afraid of posting this in case I get some bad news but here goes.

I'm 19, currently playing for my local club's 1st team in England which is basically amateur (South Lancs to be precise but not exact) and I play for my university team as well (though I'm not enjoying it a huge amount because of the social stuff). I've just passed my driving test so should be able to expand my horizons a bit and look at clubs further a field. I stopped playing for a couple of years at a crucial time.

Anyway, I really enjoy playing and want to play at the best level I can, I was just wondering what direction is best to go. It's obviously too late for me to become professional but is semi pro an option? A couple of my team mates are playing for National League clubs (Fydle, Sedgley Park) but they are a couple of years older than me and I don't know how to get to that level. I've set a goal to try and play for my county team (county not country).

At the minute I'm quite happy playing every week, I'm a fly half so just playing games is massive but I was just wondering what steps to consider in the future. I know it's not clear but just thought I'd sound it out. I know a lot of this is theoretical but I just wanted to know what routes are available as far as playing at a decent level goes. Thanks again.

Thanks all.

Good to be in this sort of position really, I'm only a couple of years older but have done a similar thing now. A few factors though.

Which South Lancs league do you play in? 1,2,3? Moving straight up to Fylde's level if you were playing in a mid-table 2/3 side would be a huge jump, but a lot of it would be down to self belief and your work rate initially. Some of these boys will hit like any professional as well, so you have to be in the physical shape to take it!

 

[Buddy1]

Good to be in this sort of position really, I'm only a couple of years older but have done a similar thing now. A few factors though.

Which South Lancs league do you play in? 1,2,3? Moving straight up to Fylde's level if you were playing in a mid-table 2/3 side would be a huge jump, but a lot of it would be down to self belief and your work rate initially. Some of these boys will hit like any professional as well, so you have to be in the physical shape to take it!

Yeah we're League 1 mate but as you say it'll still be a big jump up. I'm hoping that I'll keep improving here for a year or two and then look at other options so it's a natural progression type thing. How did you get yourself up to that level from where you started?

 

[RedruthRFC]

Which South Lancs league do you play in? 1,2,3? Moving straight up to Fylde's level if you were playing in a mid-table 2/3 side would be a huge jump, but a lot of it would be down to self belief and your work rate initially. Some of these boys will hit like any professional as well, so you have to be in the physical shape to take it!

You're right that it's a big step up, but not impossible. A couple of Devon and Cornwall league (level 8) players who have never played at a higher level have stepped up and played for Cornwall in the last few County Championship and not looked out of place. Among the handful of sides that take the competition seriously, I'd say that the County Championship is National One standard. Saying that, it look likely that Fylde will be in N2N next season, which shortens the gap a little.

The standard advice is to contact a club at the level you're interested in playing at and see if you'd be welcome to attend pre-season training.