…& Making A Difference
Rugby is in my genes; I have played the game, coached the game and been an administrator. My son had no choice in choosing his sport and neither of us have any regrets. It’s cliché, but we learnt the power of teamwork, discipline, work ethic, trust…. I could go on. And I have friends still who I played with over 40 years ago.
Last year after a 20-year gap I reconnected with a rugby friend who has been heavily involved in East Grinstead rugby club for years. A few years ago, the Director of Rugby at the club was tragically murdered; Matt Rātana was a serving police officer in Croydon and was shot by a youth being held in custody. The Matt Ratana Rugby Foundation (MRRF) was set up in his honour and to create a positive legacy from this tragedy working with children and young people from disadvantaged communities who may also have to deal with Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs).
MRRF is a partner with two charities: star* scheme and The Atlas Foundation. Together, they established TackleLondon, launching our work in Croydon, where Matt Ratana served as an officer. With support from the Mayor’s Office and the New Deal for Young People initiative, we are now expanding into other London boroughs to make a greater impact.
Initially, we go into local schools and look to work with secondary children who are perhaps on the edge of being expelled or are disruptive in class. We run a series of sessions with a trained adult coach / mentor using a rugby ball as the glue to provide the players life lessons through a trusted-adult relationship. The feedback we receive from the schools, families and critically the pupils is that they are happier, more confident, and more resilient. Our mentors bear witness to the change catalysed by community rugby. Hear from them now:
TackleLondon looks to migrate as many as possible of the young people from our schools’ sessions to our partnered, local, community rugby clubs to integrate them into the junior and age group sections. By engaging the students with wider communities of rugby that exist outside of school structure, TackleLondon helps ensure the support provided by these communities continues beyond their time in education.
Many of the young people we work with have seen or are at risk of seeing violence either at home or in their communities. TackleLondon is working to minimise the risk of children and young people being drafted into gangs or county lines by offering them another way to live their lives supported by teammates and the rugby communities they become a part of. We aim to be active in 5 London Boroughs by the end of 2025 and ultimately be collaborating with schools, rugby clubs and community policing across the whole of London because we recognise the impact we can have.
If you would like to know more about our work at TackleLondon or support us in some way, please contact Ellie Yarwood at ellie@starscheme.co.uk
All photos supplied by & used with permission from TackleLondon
