We would like to extend a warm (and very excited) welcome to our 2019 Senior Men’s and Senior Women’s coaches: Roger Coombs and Katherine Martin!
Award-winning coach Roger Coombs will be joining Pirates as the 2019 Senior Men’s coach. He hails from the UK and will be arriving in April 2019. Coaching rugby since 1974, he has been taking ruggers world wide to their peak in Wales, England, Italy, the USE, the Bahamas, South Africa, Nigeria, and Pakistan. Mr. Coombs has coached famous teams such as the London Irish, Woodbridge, Suffolk, the London Welsh, Boca Raton, Cowrie and formed and directed national teams for both the Bahamas and Pakistan. Heavily involved in grass-roots rugby, he has also coached all ages from minis to seniors and both men’s and women’s sides, and has brought many a school, club and representative side to championship seasons. Roger has been awarded the Welsh Rugby Union Coach Award, taken the U19 Pakistan team to a national win, been an active “coach the coach” member and has formed many a team across the globe. An experienced rugby coach, he also brings with him a passion for the sport and a desire to help grow rugby in Pirates and Edmonton. We are very excited to welcome Roger to Pirates RFC and to Canada.
We are also extremely happy to announce that Katherine Martin will be returning as the 2019 Senior Women’s coach. A lifelong Pirate , Kady debuted in 2018 as head coach after retiring as a seasoned player since 2001. Intro to Competition Certified, she has been spotted working with some of Alberta’s best known coaches, including those found at the U of A, Edmonton Gold and Wolfpack, developing her coaching skills. The 2018 season finished out with our AWP women finishing in 3rd place overall, with an improving score over the previous season. Kady also coaches several rep players on the Pirates AWP side, including those at Edmonton Gold, Wolfpack and Team Canada U20, who trust her skills to get them to their rugby goals. Having taken the premiership Pirates women to semi-finals last year, we know that Kady is a winning bet for our club. She has also coached the mini’s for several years and has been an active board member in the past, proving that her love of Pirates, rugby and coaching extends into her past and future.
If you’d like more information, contact info@piratesrugby.ca. Welcome to our Coaches!