.My name is Andrew Bell and I am one of the coaches with the under 15 rugby team at Whitley Bay Rockcliff rugby football club.

We have a squad of 40 players all actively engaged in training and playing fixtures and we are the current Northumberland RFU County Cup champions with fixtures as far afield as Cumbria and Yorkshire. Due to the success of the team we have over 15 players currently training with Northumberland County RFU and Newcastle Falcons player pathway which leads to representing the County and Newcastle Falcons academy team.

As a team we actively promote the core values of rugby which are Enjoyment, Sportsmanship, Discipline, Teamwork and most importantly Respect. A unique selling point of rugby union to teenagers is to provide them with both a physical and mental challenge whilst working together as a team to achieve their goals.

Discipline seems to be hard to find in many walks of life for young teenagers, and as such our coaching ethos teaches these boys sportsmanship and respect for others and most importantly self discipline.

To promote teamwork we encourage a sense of unity with all the boys wearing club strips for matches and after each game they wear club shirts and ties. This gives them a sense of belonging and pride in themselves and their teammates.

We are actively seeking donations to provide training tops for the boys. These tops would be worn when they arrive at matches and during the warm up prior to matches.

Other items such as team tracksuit bottoms and team polo shirts are also sought so that the boys would attend matches all kitted out the same. This would instil professionalism and a further sense of belonging within the team.

I would unashamedly suggest to any person donating that they would be linked to a well run, player centred team experience that offers these young men a fantastic grounding in life.

Rockcliff is an amateur organisation with the community at its heart. The club also has excellent links with local schools and community organisations.

Thank you,

Andrew Bell.