Rugbytots coach shortlisted for national award
Sophie Cole, writer
Published at 09/06/2018, Updated on 07/10/2020 , Reading time: 2 min
Macclesfield Rugbytots coach shortlisted at ‘What’s On 4 Kids’ Awards after being nominated by parents.
Macclesfield Rugbytots coach, Alick Willis has thanked parents for their support after being shortlisted for the ‘Most Outstanding Activity Leader’ in the under 5s category at the What’s On 4 Kids Awards. Willis runs over 30 classes across Cheshire, coaching around 500 budding rugby players every week.
He started running Rugbytots sessions five years ago, which combine education and fun rugby-based activities for boys and girls aged 2-7. The What’s On 4 Kids Awards is run by mums who are passionate about keeping their children active, award groups and leaders that go the extra mile in what they do. The results are decided by parents and carers, who can vote for their favourites in over 20 categories online.
Willis expressed how thrilled he is to be shortlisted, saying he is “overwhelmed by the response and kind comments” from both past and current Rugbytots users.
“This is all down to parents wanting to vote for me. I work with lovely children and great parents and hope they voted because their children love the classes. But it might just be because I make them laugh when I go through the tunnels.”
Willis, who has previously won a ‘Mums in the Know’ award for ‘Best Local Classes for under 5s’, added that he encourages his kids to follow the rules of rugby as early as they’re able to.
“I’m better known to the children as ‘Sir’, just like in all rugby, as it’s a respect for the person in charge of the game. Our fun, structured play sessions take children on a journey of sporting imagination with engaging and energetic coaches supporting them every step of the way while teaching how to catch, pass, kick, run with the ball and play as part of a team.”
Founded by rugby-loving parent Max Webb in 2006, Rugbytots offers a unique coaching service, encouraging under 7’s into fun, age-appropriate rugby play classes. It now operates in 17 countries, coaching over 60,000 children, with more than 4,000 classes every week in the UK alone.
Rugbytots
Since Rugbytots began in 2006, we have grown significantly. 70,000 children in 17 countries on 7 continents are now part of the Rugbytots family. Key to this growth has been our network of like-minded, determined and passionate franchisees. Here in the UK, over 100 franchisees deliver more than 4000 classes per week. The demand for classes keeps rising, which means that the opportunity for new and existing Rugbytots franchisees has never been better!
Sophie Cole, writer