He was ringing to invite the principal officers of the Supporters Club to come and have a chat with him about the club, the players and the support and how we can have an input to changes going on at the club this season.

So on Tuesday evening Darren , Tracy and Lindsay all met with Richard in his office to chat about how things are going to change at the club and how we as supporters can help and have a say.

My first impression is good to say the least, the invite was enough to initiate that. He carefully listened to our gripes about lack of player contact and how there seemed to be a growing separation between the support and the players. It was made clear that there are many calls on the players attention after a game, they need to be debriefed, start their physical recovery, see their families, fulfil corporate responsibilities, refuel (eating to you and I) and also make themselves available to the supporters. He is very keen on the players being made aware of their responsibilities on and off the field of play.

He is in the process of instituting a “High Performance Structure” within the club, which covers everything from coordinating nutrition and conditioning to every player knowing the name of the all of the non playing staff at Sixways. Homework has been set and there will be a test!! It’s all about earning and giving respect. One of the areas that has come into focus first is coordinating nutritional requirements and physical conditioning. For physical conditioning to be effective the right foods have to be consumed in appetising meals. 20 to 30 percent improvement can be achieved by supplying the body with the right nutrients. There is now reporting structure being put in place with a chef, the conditioning team, a nutritionist all getting feedback (excuse the pun) from the players (after all they are the ones who have to eat the food!!) Food has to be more than protein drinks and energy bars after all.

The conditioning team have impressed Richard and he is very happy with how that part of pre season is progressing. He is in the process of putting into place a progressive skills structure that will have conditioning that is matched to the specific skills of a player’s position. For example, he wants his scrumhalves to be able to dart in and around the breakdown area, able to get through tackles either by power or speed, so there will be specific conditioning to target 5 meter explosions, picking up an object (ball) at speed and breaking through tackles.

The Stourbridge connection is all about getting the most for the Academy players, there will be duel registrations and Reg will take 2 or 3 focussed sessions with Stourbridge. On the subject of players and who will be wearing which shirt next season, well it would seem that all the players start on the same step of the ladder as far as selection is concerned. Whether someone has 2 or 3 1st team appearances or over 100 it will make no difference, everyone will have to earn their place in the team.

What I got most is that he is going to instil a professional approach to everything, and the players will know un-equivocally what is expected of them on and off the pitch.

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