Cliff Garland (centre) receives the Certificate from Senior VP, RFU, Willie Wildash. photo by Nick Dark
Value the Volunteer
Citation for Cliff Garland of Minety RFC
written by Doug Warren, Bournemouth.
Presentation at Bournemouth on 14 May, 2011.
Rugby would not function without the voluntary efforts of any number of people off the pitch.
Many, of course, are ex-players who want to ‘put something back into the game’ they loved but many have not even played the game. Mums and dads supporting their children of all ages, for instance. Where would mini rugby be without those tireless efforts on a Sunday morning and increasingly,so it seems to us, throughout the week.?
However, that is just a fraction of what goes on in making sure the youngsters can enjoy the game. Are these efforts recognized? Are they just taken for granted? We hope the latter is not true but the RFU wish to do something about the former. They have launched a scheme to publicly acknowledge all these unsung efforts and that volunteers are in deed ‘valued’ by awarding a certificate: ‘Value the Volunteer’. It is the pleasure of the Dorset & Wilts Committee to present such a certificate today.
The individual concerned has been a strong driving force in the development of his own club which has become one of the most, if not the most, proactive clubs in their local community. Through his efforts they help at the local secondary school, especially with the girls, where they have provided a fantastic route into club rugby, as they have with numerous primary schools. He has also managed to start an academy which has given the players an opportunity to attend coaching courses and CPD events as well as play. The older players, in turn, have started to give something back to the club by supporting coaches of younger age groups. For a small club with limited resources, through his efforts as club coach coordinator and club volunteer coordinator, they have many coaches and volunteers. As a result, the club has started to see the benefit of all this work with two players being selected for Dorset&Wilts at their given age-group.
From the county’s point of view he has made the coaches task ‘much easier by being so proactive and happy to help’. He is a very active county selector and sits on the Coach Development Committee. He, all in all, is the type of guy community rugby needs, as without him we are sure Minety RFC would not be doing anywhere near as well as they are.
He is Cliff Garland. Many congratulations Cliff from the committee of the Dorset&Wilts RFU.
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