Information for Age Grade Coaches on changes to the DPP and CB Age Grade Pathway programs

You may already have heard of the changes that have been made following a national consultation in relation to the DPP and Age Grade Rep Rugby.

I’ve attached the summarised report for coaches to view but wanted to highlight the key poi

nts (all relevant from the start of 2020/21 season)

- DPP (Developing Player Program) will commence at u14’s and not u13’s as in previous years. Key benefits around player maturation and kids getting more from the program as they mature.

- the DPP program continues till the end of u16’s

- selection for CB playing opportunities at u15 and u16 will only be made from the players in the DPP program.

- as we know players will continually grow and develop at different stages so more nomination and access points to DPP will be in place to ensure we capture the top players and give them the best opportunities as they develop.

- selection for u17 and u18 County representative teams will be as they are now with assessment and development days after club coach nominations.

There may appear to be a lot of changes here however in the main it’s very similar to how many counties operate at the moment, Durham included, with key changes being the raising of the entry point of DPP and more coaching/ development time with the u15 and u16 playing groups.

The abridged version of the reports is available here. Any questions let me know.

Cheers

David

Player Pathway Manager DCRFU