Getting involved as a committee member at the grassroots level of sport takes dedication. It’s often many hours of unpaid work that takes a genuine love of sport and community spirit to make the role a success. For Jordan Springs’ Adam Fletcher, this year marks his sixth season as the President of the Penrith RSL Junior Rugby Union Club.

Fletcher is the founding President who established the club in 2014. Being the President includes everything from marking the fields, sourcing kits, attending many meetings and being the point of contact for a lot of organisation.

“The motivation initially when starting the club was simply to introduce more kids to rugby. I’ve been involved in a number of sports and I believe rugby is special for teaching so much besides the actual sport. I love joining in training sessions, especially with our Minis and seeing the kids improve every year” Adam told the Jordan Springs Gazette.

Penrith RSL JRUC have had 10 or more teams for the last 3 years, playing the traditional Winter competition in the Sydney Junior Rugby competition and Western Sydney Minis, not including several teams in out of season Rugby 7’s competitions. Every year they aim to fill every age group from the Under 6’s through to the Under 16’s.

Adam has seen the growth in the community. Whilst the number of teams fielded has not changed much recently, the links between them has strengthened with many new friendships forged. “New people coming to our club always comment on how friendly everyone is and it’s been something that keeps perpetuating with new members taking great pride in welcoming others. The quality of coaching we have at the club is high, with a number of ex-senior representative coaches and players taking a keen interest in developing local talent” explained Adam.

So, what is Adam looking forward to the most about his sixth season at the helm?

“The last few years has been about preparing the club for the future financially and administratively. I believe we have a great reputation within rugby circles and its regularly fed back to me from our sponsors who receive a lot of compliments for their involvement and contribution to rugby outside of its traditional heartland. I look forward to welcoming more members, families, sponsors all keen to advance rugby in our city” he ended.

For more information about Penrith RSL JRUC, find them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/PenrithRSLJRUC/.