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The head coach of didi rugby’s latest franchise is no stranger to coaching the sport he loves.

Mike Donoghue will be launching didi rugby Lancaster, due to start in September, with wife Fiona.

A local to the area having been born and raised in Lancaster, Mike has spent a career in the army on service all around the world.

And he has played and coached rugby in many of the places he has been stationed at.

Having captained at Colts level for Lancaster Royal Grammar School, Mike played civilian rugby for Newbury RFC and Thatcham RFC before embarking rugby assignments across the globe.

While posted in Cyprus, he captained the Episkopi Garrison rugby team and represented island-wide combined Armed Forces teams too.

After qualifying as a coach in 2014, he coached both the Station (Tri-services) and Army Regimental rugby teams to success and then, while in Italy in support of NATO, he coached Serie B Italian team Varese Rugby and then the Royal Engineers team upon his return to the UK.

Now Mike is taking on a whole new coaching challenge with children but it is one he is immensely looking forward to see take off and grow in the area where it all began, Lancaster.

He’s excited to be going back to his roots. And the RFU-qualified Level 2 coach, who has a son called Edward (2), says he can’t wait to get started.

didi rugby in Wales is thriving and franchise owner Robyn Lock has revealed plans to expand into the Llanelli area.

didi rugby South Wales already host popular classes at several venues across Swansea and into Port Talbot, Neath, Sketty and now Ammanford as well.

“We are keen to spread the didi rugby love as far and wide as we can,” said Robyn.

“We have had a great response coming back after Christmas at loads of classes with new children attending.

“We have had a new class at Ammanford in the rugby club on a Wednesday evening and we are looking to grow that.

“Hopefully we will be coming into Llanelli area around February/March time too.

“We have been out delivering free taster sessions at schools so if you are a parent, teacher or governor who thinks their school would benefit from didi rugby rugby, we would love to come and show what we do.

“We have had our cars wrapped with didi banners too so if you see us, give us a yell or call us to book a free taster session at a class near you.”

Our didi rugby mascots Dougie and Daisy know how to light up a room.

With their fun-loving nature, high-fiving personalities and funky moves on the dancefloor – especially Dougie’s ‘floss’ – they will both bring excitement to any venue.

Look how the children smile and get excited when Dougie and Daisy come into the room at this recent party.

Our big stars could be appearing at a class, franchise launch or birthday party near you soon.

So make sure you come and say ‘hello’ and give them a high-five when you see them.

In the first of a series of blogs from our franchise holders around the country, didi rugby Crewe & Nantwich’s Katie Heirene explains why she is teaching her kids the value of resilience from a young age.

Look up the word ‘resilience’ in a dictionary and you will get something like…

‘The capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness.’

God knows…as a parent, my resilience is put to the test on a daily basis. I am sure any mums and dads reading this will feel the same.

Meal time, cleaning teeth, washing, getting dressed, getting them to bed…the list of resilience testing on a daily basis is endless.

As far as activities are concerned, getting children involved in a group activity or interest can be the easy part. The excitement of something new is always a big draw.

But keeping them there can be a challenge.

Like me, I am sure other parents have reminded their child that it is Beavers night, instrument practice, dance class, gymnastics or whatever and got that long face in return followed by a groan and a: ‘Awwww Mum, do I HAVE to go today? I don’t want to!”

For any parents that take their children to outdoor activities in the winter, the idea of a night off in the warmth of your home instead can be seriously attractive!

But when my four-year-old Zach starts going down that route now, I believe it is important for him – and me – to stick to my guns and try as hard as I can to get him to wherever he is supposed to be. Invariably, once I get him to the intended target, he is off having fun and enjoying himself within a minute or two anyway!

I have become fed-up with giving him an ‘easy out’ and I don’t believe that, in the long run, it will do him any good or, crucially, teach him any sort of resilience for what lies ahead in life if I let him bail out of things whenever he doesn’t fancy doing something.

Don’t get me wrong, it can be tough and involve a fight and that can be the last thing I want to have with my four-year-old after a tough day at work.

The launch of didi rugby Stone and Stafford over the next few weeks has caused so much interest that extra classes are having to be put on to satisfy demand.

New franchise owners Mollie Latham and Ros Wiggins say they have been ‘blown away’ by the amount of parents and children who have signed up to attend what looks like being two memorable opening days.

didi rugby Stafford will go live this Saturday (26^th) at Walton High School, The Rise, Stafford, ST17 0LJ, while next weekend (Sunday 3rd February) sees the launch of didi rugby Stone at Alleynes Sports Centre, Oulton Road, Stone, ST15 8DR.

Places are still open but they are becoming limited and that is even with extra sessions having been put on to make sure everyone who is interested gets a free taste of what didi rugby is all about.

With the aim of getting young children active and learning new skills and confidence while having fun in a safe environment, sessions are held in three age groups and they are 18 months to 3 years; 3 years to 4 years; and 4 years to 6 six years of age.

“It has been a crazy few weeks,” said Mollie. “The amount of people that have contacted us and asked questions trying to find out more about didi rugby has been overwhelming and humbling too.

“We have already got over 100 children across the two launches signed up to come and meet us and have some fun – so we are looking forward to meeting them and their parents and carers.

“There has been lots of interest from the local community and they have been really supportive of us too.

“We got to the stage where we were full for certain age groups and were putting people on a waiting list. But we didn’t want anyone to miss out so we decided to just put on some more sessions so everyone can join in.

“It has been going so well that three sets of parents have said they want to come to both launches! My phone has not stop pinging since we announced the launch dates. It’s just been madness!”

Mollie has been invited onto Stafford FM Radio, while Ros was asked to go into BBC Radio Stoke and tell their listeners all about didi rugby.

didi rugby are launching weekly Saturday sessions at Beverley Grammar School, following demand for more classes in the region.

Beginning on Saturday 12 January and less than 12 months after opening the doors on their first sessions in North Yorkshire and East Riding, didi rugby are expanding again.

The launch follows several months of planning which included holding weekday classes at Beverley Rugby Club to test the waters.

The weekly Saturday sessions in Beverley are for children aged 18 months to 6 years of age.

Franchise holder for the region, Emma Cutress, explained the timing of the launch: “From day one, a weekend session in Beverley has been on our ‘to do’ list, but it’s been important for us to make sure we had the right coaches, venue and local club relationship in place before we launched.

“Everything is now in place and we’re over the moon to be able to operate from such a fabulous venue as the Grammar School. Our coaches can’t wait to get going!”

Devised and led by former England Women’s international Vicky Macqueen, didi rugby is a fast-paced series of multi-skills activities designed to get young children active and to teach them new skills while having fun in a safe environment.

For anyone curious to find out more, the first session a child attends is always free, so why not pop down to Beverley Grammar School on Saturday morning and let your kids give it a TRY!

Session timings:

18 months – 3 years
09.00 – 09.40
3 years – 4 years
09.40 – 10.20
4 years – 6 years
10.20 – 11.00

New didi rugby classes have opened in Crewe as a response to demand for sessions on a Friday morning.

New Life Community Centre on Fuller Drive was the venue for the new classes to begin last Friday in Crewe and an excellent response showed didi rugby Crewe and Nantwich owner, Katie Heirene why it was the right decision to expand the franchise again.

“It’s really exciting to launch our first venue in the CW2 postcode and to be able to offer Friday morning classes too,” she said.

“This is a great venue in a big residential area so it’s really accessible by foot and bus, but parking is also available.

“We have had quite a lot of interest from families in Crewe and Nantwich regarding Friday morning classes and this venue is easily accessible for both areas. We will be running an Under-3s and a 3-4s class every week.

It is not the only new class Katie has opened recently with further expansion of the franchise taking place at Elim Church, Regent’s Park, Nantwich.

Sessions have moved here from Imagination Lane and will take place on Tuesdays.

“Imagination Lane has been a fantastic venue and we are really grateful for our time there, with big thanks to Jo and Gemma for accommodating us and promoting didi rugby,” added Katie.

“But we now need more space to grow and Regents Park is a great central venue for anyone travelling from Crewe or Nantwich, with parking available on site.

Some children enjoyed the opening class of didi rugby Gloucestershire’s new sessions in Highnam so much that they stayed for all three classes!

And if the launch at Highnam Community Centre was anything to go by, there looks like being plenty of children and parents around to enjoy the fun in the coming months.

The franchise’s co-owner Suzanne Appleby-Jones said there was a great atmosphere around the launch and that many of those who attended have said they will be back for more after seeing what didi rugby had to offer.

“The opening sessions were great fun, well attended and our lead and assistant coaches Keith Smith and Shannon Stroud were fabulous,” said Suzanne.

“Some children enjoyed it so much that they stayed for all 3 sessions!

“We have some ‘sign-ups’ already and are expecting more this week and beyond.

“We believe that our Highnam centre is going to be a great success and due to its proximity to Gloucester, we also look forward to building links with Hartpury College and Gloucester Rugby.”

Suzanne added that local didi rugby ambassadors Ceri Large and Natasha Hunt have both said they are keen to add their support to sessions in the near future.

Classes will run every Saturday from 9am to 11am. To book your child in or to try a free taster session to see what all of the fuss is about, visit our Find A Class widget.

didi rugby founder Vicky Macqueen would like to welcome some new faces to new classes at Hinckley Leisure Centre.

Due to the level of demand, extra didi sessions are now being provided on Wednesdays and Fridays.

And Vicky says she would love to see some new didi stars begin their journey with a free taster session to see if they like the classes. The winter months will see lots of inside activities, games and fun!

Free tasters are available at all didi rugby venues across the country.

“I am still very hands on in the Midlands classes where we run sessions at various venues in Hinckley, Burbage and Lutterworth,” said Vicky.

“We are really looking forward to seeing some new faces in those current classes and some more new ones on Wednesdays and Fridays at Hinckley Leisure Centre after Christmas.

“As well as learning valuable skills, we hope to grow children’s confidence and social skills while making sure they have lots of fun.

“Bring your little one along to see if they like it. We would love to see you there and will make you feel very welcome.”

There is a certain amount of stardust sprinkled over the upcoming launch of didi rugby’s latest franchise.

didi rugby Stone and Stafford will be run by the dynamic duo of Mollie Latham and Ros Wiggins.

The Stafford launch will take place on Saturday 26 January, while Stone classes will get underway on Sunday 3 February.

Ros has a mass of experience in women’s rugby and disability sport, while Mollie was crowned National Rugby Awards Female Player of the Year just over three months ago.

It was an astonishing evening for Mollie at Twickenham when she was given the award in recognition of her outstanding work at Crewe & Nantwich RUFC.

The awards are held annually to recognise the work of rugby players, coaches and volunteers in the game across the UK. Mollie beat over 400 other applicants, including players from the Tyrrells Women’s Premiership, to the award.

The Nantwich News reported at the time: “Judges commended Mollie for her performances on and off the pitch, with her work across the wider club giving her the nod over some stiff competition from all corners of the country.”

While Crewe & Nantwich RUFC Chair, Nik Joyce said: “She’s an amazing role model throughout the club and an incredibly modest person, so for her to have recognition on a national scale is a huge honour for her and so well deserved.”

didi rugby is delighted that someone with Mollie’s background will be putting her efforts into launching the businesses’ latest franchise.

She has been playing rugby since she was 10-year-old and was responsible for setting up the now flourishing Women’s team at Crewe & Nantwich, which also contains didi rugby Crewe & Nantwich franchise owner, Katie Heirene.