US Youth & HS Unveils Coaching App For All Their Members

01.25.2023HS Boys, HS Girls

Washington, D.C (USAY&HS Release)—USA Youth & High School Rugby (USA Y&HSR) and Six Degree announced today that 6 Degree will be the official online coaching app for all registered Youth and High School coaches across the country with a core curriculum provided free of charge.

The partnership will provide online access to a wide range of practice drills and corresponding game videos, a designed curriculum for age-appropriate lesson plans that span an entire season and access to advice from the best coaching minds in the game.

“Coaching support and continued coaching development is a top priority for the USA Y&HSR Board. This partnership will allow coaches to tap into a developed free curriculum and laid out season training plan with video instruction to assist in delivering high quality practices for each and every coach across the country,” said David Pool, President of USA Youth and High School Rugby. “The coaching platform and curriculum is designed to support each coach in their own development pathway and is a total game changer for Rugby."

The announcement of 6 Degree as the partner for Youth and High School comes after a lengthy period of due diligence where multiple providers were looked at and tested. The organization determined that the 6 Degree platform has the right capabilities. The platform’s features include time-coded videos for each activity or game, and in the subscription-based version, session customization to suit the needs of a team or club of any level, along with in-video communication with players.

The wide range of features make this an effective tool for the individual coach looking to incorporate new drills and skills to the Director of Rugby who is imparting a coaching philosophy across all of their teams.

“Our Vision is to provide a resource that puts the world’s best skills, activities, and games into the hands of everybody," said Mick Byrne, 6 Degree Director and Head Coach of Fiji Drua. "Our IP is accumulated from AFL, Super Rugby, Heineken Cup, Olympic, NRL experience and success that has ultimately produced three World Cup Gold Medals. The Six Degree Sports Platform is the enabler and with this, we felt that we can genuinely make a difference.”

Six Degree began working with NSW Positive Rugby Foundation in Australia back in 2019. The feedback and success of the program has been incredibly positive with over 1000 coaches accessing the platform weekly. This success has provided the launchpad for the product to be rolled out to the USA Youth and High School community.

“We have been in discussions with Mr. David Pool and the USA Youth & High School Rugby organization for some time about how our IP and Platform could assist in scaling and delivering their vision to maximize participation through resourcing coaches and players alike," continued Byrne. "Six Degree Sports is excited to be part of the USA Youth & High School Rugby partnership by bringing technology to the forefront of coach education and playing development. The first stage being the rollout of the free curriculum.”

The partnership is being supported by Major League Rugby (MLR), who will be the presenting sponsor of the coaching platform. As a result of the agreement and MLR's sponsorship, every USA Youth & HS Rugby member can use the initial level for free. The involvement of the MLR highlights its continued commitment to the development of coaches and the youth game in the United States.

US Youth & HS Unveils Coaching App For All Their Members

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