I was thinking the other day about Kevin Maggs and his future thoughts and aspirations as a coach.
Whilst I am not all qualified to offer sound coaching advice to Kevin I do feel that I am qualified - from a loyal supporters stance - to give my thoughts and reflections on his performance since he has been with us. But let me set the scene.
In the round I feel that in the main stream of rugby coaching there are three types of coaches; National team coach, premiership team coach and the championship. Now that might seem more than obvious but consider the following, starting with our National coach, Stuart Lancaster.
It has been a long held conception - and still is to a large degree - that a National Coach should, ideally, come from the ranks of the elite international players. Whilst there is a lot going for that view; playing experience; personal skills; streetwise; leadership, to name just a few the transition from successful international player to successful National coach, however, is not a forgone conclusion, far from it. To my knowledge rugby history is not "littered" with many high profile national coach failures but there are some and in the case of England Martin Johnson and Andy Robinson, both exceedingly good international players found difficulty in adapting to National coaching demands.
Stuart Lancaster, our current England coach follows a coaching style in the vein of Dick Best. To my knowledge neither were former internationals but both possess proven man management skills and an acute vision of their destiny and how he wants to get there. They are the coaches who can see an individual players potential and have the confidence and patience to nurture and develop that potential. Stuart Lancaster has proven beyond any doubt at all that a pre condition to being a National coach is to have been a full international player. In fairness to all club coaches Stuart Lancaster, as do all the other national coaches, has the distinct advantage of coaching a group of proven players.
At the higher level of coaching, but underneath the nation level are the premiership team coaches followed by the championship coaches and here, I perceive, there is subtle but distinct difference between the two.
The premiership coach is more likely than not to be backed by a money man in some form or other. To the money man, winning, come what may, is the prime objective. The coach, on the other hand, has to deliver that win, consistently, or else he is up for the chop. Rugby is not quite as bad a football, yet, with it's owner / management interference, but I can see some parallels developing.
Coaches, naturally, will go for the best players around that RFU backed money can buy - were back to money - and inevitably, certainly with the premiership clubs many of those players will be of international standard. However, international duties, certainly in the UK, tend to take priority over club games which means that club coaches may have to play difficult "club" fixtures without their best players.
In the Championship there is not a dissimilar "money driven" organisational set up. Granted the championship clubs are supported financially by the RFU and whist many championship players aspire to playing at the highest level i.e. the premiership I have my suspicions that the "money men" have their eye on the RFU pot of gold that comes with the premiership. There are some former championship players who have made it right to the top; Billy Twelvetrees, Johny May, Dan Norton, James Rodwell to new just a few.
So where does this place Kevin Maggs?
Kevin is one of those unsung championship coaches who has to manage a semi professional club squad with a limited budget. But,that is it, far from it.
Moseley, in recent years have supplied the premiership clubs with a steady trickle of established players. It started off with Cecil Duckworth financially enticing the bulk of the then Moseley team to move to Worcester. But more revealing than that is the fact that coaches such as Kevin Maggs have the coaching skills to develop raw talent. To a degree any "coach" can put 15 proven players out and win and then take the credit for it.
Kevin Maggs can take great satisfaction from the simple fact that HE chose the players HE wanted to develop and that HE developed them into a good team. Tell me now of any premiership or national coach who can match that proud achievement?
Must go now England have just come out on the tele.
Come on Kevin Maggs.
Come on Moooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooose
lots more to come I hope!
