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Society Member and University of Wales, Trinity St David Graduate, Richard Brook, is one step ahead of the game when it comes to players returning to play during the Covid-19 pandemic, at his rugby club, Carmarthen Athletic RFC. Like many Society Members, Richard’s Sports Therapy practice has suffered due to the Welsh Government’s strict regulations, imposed to help slow the spread of the virus. So he recently decided to use some of his time to gain a ‘World Rugby, COVID-19 Return to Play Awareness for Administrators qualification.’ As a consequence, Richard has become the first Covid-19 Administrator for his club and added a new string to his Sports Therapy bow.
Explaining about the course, Richard said:
‘I decided to do the World Rugby exam to be a Covid-19 Administrator after speaking to a fellow Society Member Kris La Vallin, who had recently sat and passed the exam.
‘I passed the online exam and my club Carmarthen Athletic RFC, where I practise as a Sports Therapist, is the first club in Wales to announce this achievement.’
Richard also attended a webinar with the Welsh Rugby Union about returning to Rugby and the guidelines and safety measures that have to be put in place. This of course is all dependent on the Welsh Government modifying their social distancing guidelines. He said:
‘As a Sports Therapist, player welfare is always the main concern, so I am hoping that this role will help in guiding and educating all players to return to sport in a safe and controlled way. For Mental Health reasons as well, players are eager to get back to train.
‘Safety is paramount right now and, once the Welsh Government gives the go ahead, we can resume training, with me in an Administrator’s role.’
Richard’s path to becoming a Graduate Sports Therapist and Welsh Rugby’s first Covid-19 Administrator is an interesting one. Richard worked in other roles and industries for much of his working life before diving into a Sports Therapy degree in 2014. He said:
‘I have played sport all my life and played for both Carmarthen Quins Rugby and Carmarthen Town football teams. I am 50 years old and have two children: Sam is 13 and Imogen 11. I have worked and lived in Carmarthen all my life, except when I travelled around the world for two years back in 1998, living and working in New Zealand for 10 months. I worked as a Postman for 30 years, which also kept me fit!
‘I went to The Graig College, Carmarthenshire, in 2006 to complete a 2-year evening course in Sports Massage. I then started to build up a clientele over time, before applying to University at UWTSD to study for a 3-year degree in Sports Therapy in 2014, under Dr Kate Williams and Dan Martin.’
Having practised as a Massage Therapist for 8 years, Richard found that he had ‘hit the wall’ with his treatments, hence the decision to undertake the Society accredited Sports Therapy degree. At 44, this was no mean feat as Richard was pushed to develop his IT skills, juggling this with family life and his work with the Post Office which he continued, but also took the gamble to reduce his work hours. Richard said:
‘For me, the course was what I needed. The knowledge passed down to us by Kate was overwhelming at times. Kate knew everything! The knowledge gained on a daily basis was highly informative and would take time to really process what we had learned. From Manual Muscle tests, to Special Tests, to writing assignments, it really taught us so much.
‘The clinics we were involved in were also a great way to learn for all of us, putting into practice what we had learned in the classroom. In the early days I remember Kate saying: ‘at the start you have 2 apples on your treatment tree. By the end you’ll have 100!’ This was so true; the knowledge we gained was unbelievable.’
During lockdown, although Richard has not seen his patients in person, he has been keeping in touch with them. He explained:
‘I have been advising patients over the phone as a way of helping with various ailments; it’s never easy but it’s also a different way of being a Therapist during the pandemic.’
‘Once the restrictions are lifted, I am looking forward to treating and seeing patients again. My patients vary in ages and occupation, so the phone has been the only way in which I have been able to help them. Running my own business three days a week has had a major impact moneywise, with loss of earnings.’
Richard will also be missing his Carmarthen players who he sees for treatment and rehab two nights a week but he still has his postman role which not only manages to keep him fit for his incredibly full life but which has also impacted on the Covid-19 pandemic.
‘Yes I still work as Postman 3 days a week: Thursday, Friday, Saturday. During the pandemic I have been able to go in and work overtime on a Tuesday and Wednesday to help with packing home testing Covid-19 kits.’
Here are some short excerpts from the document ‘Safe Return to Rugby – in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic’ by Éanna Falvey, Prav Mathema, Mary Horgan, Martin Raftery which Richard felt would give an indication of what lies ahead in returning to activity – http://sst.local/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Excerpts-from-Safe-Return-to-Rugby-Covid-19-Administrator-Role.pdf
The full document is also here: http://sst.local/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Safe-Return-to-Rugby-World-Rugby-Document.pdf
Richard hopes that more Members might invest some time in taking the course and add a further dimension to their roles with rugby.
Free Course-World Rugby COVID 19 – Return to Play Awareness for Administrators:
https://playerwelfare.worldrugby.org/?documentid=module&module=38[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]