One for the future : Sat Jul 19, 2014 7:11 am
10 years ago whilst completing my first rugby league coaching course in Golborne, I was a given a group of 6 kids and was asked to deliver a coaching session so I could be assessed. Amongst the group was an unassuming little 6 year old, Brad Billsborough, who had already caught my eye, I'd seen him smashing the hell out of the other much bigger lads in a game he was playing at the side of the field with Golborne u8's. A few months later, we were lucky in that he decided he wanted to come and play for Newton Storm and the rest is history. He's been an outstanding player during his decade at Storm, as a scrum half, he led the way in tries, goals and points, won numerous player of the year awards for the team and the club, and more importantly has been a real ambassador for effort, hard work and dedication. On Wednesday last week I was delighted to have been invited along to the most important day in his rugby league career (so far) as he signs his first professional rugby league contract with St Helens RLFC.
Brad is testament to what you can achieve when you combine natural skill & ability with an unrelenting work ethic. We are (almost) as proud as his family to see him succeeed, even though we are not in the least bit surprised! As his coach, players like Brad are few and far between and I'm delighted to have played just a small part in his rugby league journey. Plenty more success filled days to come, which starts with him joining the Saints u19's squad on their tour of Australia in 2015. He is almost guaranteed to be making his first team debut within 5 years and will go on to be a model professional. Congratulations on your success so far Brad and the best of luck for the future!
