A local veteran who has volunteered as a coach for Hull FC’s Physical Disability Rugby League team has earned a RFL Level 2 Coaching Qualification through the Hull FC Community Foundation.
Hull FC have been running a PDRL team for two years now. PDRL is a full contact version of the game adapted for participants with a physical disability who want to access a running version of Rugby League.
Games are played in a festival format typically playing 2 games at a festival, each being 25 minutes in length.
Matt Davies, who is a local veteran, came across Hull FC’s PDRL team through his son, Corey, who has Cerebral Palsy. He played junior Rugby League for Hull Wyke, but he had to move away from the full-contact version of the game due to suffering a head knock.
But after bumping into a former Hull FC player, both of their lives changed.
“We were on a family holiday in Turkey and we bumped into former Hull FC player, Wayne Godwin. Naturally, we were discussing Rugby League and we came onto the topic of Corey not being able to play. But Wayne mentioned Castleford had a PDRL team, so we started to take him over there every Thursday night.
“We always wanted Hull FC to start a PDRL team, so when they did at the end of 2022, we were straight in.
“It was great for Corey, but for me, I was always interested in coaching. So I thought it would be good to give coaching the PDRL team a go, using some of the experience I had doing training exercises during my time in the military.”
Hull FC’s PDRL team has grown substantially since it was established in 2022, both in terms of quality on the field and numbers in the squad.
Matt is now an RFL Level 2 qualified coach, thanks to funding from the Community Foundation’s ‘Set of Six’ programme for local veterans.
For Matt, the primary targets are now to get more people playing PDRL and to help change people’s lives.
“Growing the sport is a massive motivation for me. Increasing numbers down at training to help boost the squad is always at the forefront of my mind because I want PDRL to help change as many lives as possible.
“Seeing little things like the group having conversations amongst themselves and trying to help each other develop at the game is a massive positive for me.
“Upon reflection, our second season has seen the team move forward massively. Everyone’s confidence has grown so much.
“That includes Corey. He first came down as a shy 8-year-old who just wanted to play the sport he loves. PDRL has given him so much confidence and he has already taken so many great experiences away from the game.”
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