Captain Roberts relishes schools role

ROBERT ROBERTS: A big hit in the schools.

OLDHAM skipper Robert Roberts is as popular in the borough's primary schools as he is when leading the Roughyeds into battle at Boundary Park.

There are few, if any, primary schools in Oldham and district in which Robert has not done some rugby league coaching and skill drills in the past 12 months --- and you can ask hundreds of under-12s in the town if they know who 'Two Bobs' is and they'll quickly go top of the class with the right answer.

Many of them were at Oldham's last home match against Sheffield Eagles. They included children from some of the primary schools that feed Royton and Crompton, namely Beal Vale, Crompton Primary, Thorpe and Blackshaw Lane.

They were introduced to the crowd at half-time before doing a lap of the pitch, and the Oldham captain feels sure that some of them will become hooked on rugby league, either as young players or supporters.

"Our community work though is about a lot more than that," said 'Two Bobs'. "If some of the children were to get involved in rugby league that would be brilliant, but I go out there to try to introduce them also to things such as teamwork, team spirit, comradeship and how to have fun in sport.

"It's hard work, but I enjoy every minute of it. And it's fantastic to see the joy that a child gets when mastering how to pass or how to catch.

"I try to make our sessions not too competitive, more of a fun thing, but the children get great enjoyment out of them. They often start off very shy, but as the weeks go by you can see them gaining in confidence and starting to encourage each other.

"I've got to say, too, that I enjoy the sessions just as much as the children do. It's brilliant."
Robert visits two schools a day five days a week and he plans to have a mini-tag tournament towards the end of this term.

At one school, Roundthorn, he has taken key stage one pupils, the five to six years olds, but in the main he is teaching older children who are approaching the time when they will be preparing for high school.

Last week, during half term, he was still out and about flying the flag for Oldham Roughyeds and rugby league, this time at Greenhill Community Centre where he thoroughly enjoyed the time he spent among the town's Asian community.

"Between 30 to 40 children turned up every day," he said, "and they really enjoyed the sessions. We didn't confine them to rugby, we also played some soccer and cricket for a bit of variety."

This week Robert is visiting the primary schools that feed Breeze Hill, namely Alt, Alexandra Park, Roundthorn and St Thomas's Leesfield as well as Littlemoor, whose pupils move on to Counthill.

He plans to have the children from these schools at Boundary Park for the game against Blackpool Panthers on Sunday, March 15, Oldham's first match in their Co-operative Championship One campaign.