Mike Cooper podcast

Quote: Warrior Winger "Wigan fan in peace, I like reading this board as there are some really balanced and sensible views and some really good discussions.

Not sure about the bit in bold you have said, I don't think it is because there is a bigger catchment when it comes to the schools as such, Wigan often venture out much further afield than just local schools and that is something that all clubs could do.

One thing that Wigan do do really well is the pathway to being a Wigan player, they have the futures programme (age 14) which takes players from amateur clubs and puts them all together for an intense programme to see what the players are like, often these are assisted by coaches of the local clubs, under the guidance of Wigan coaching staff, further local club coaches can attend sessions with the Wigan coaching staff to see how the club train and build a winning culture.

So the pathway that is built at Wigan often starts at the local clubs and the kids coming through have already been coached in the 'Wigan way' before they are even signed on at the club, I don't know the pathways at Warrington but to build that culture of young kids wanting to put their bodies on the line for the club, it has to start at an early age and the club cascading that down to the local clubs and schools is a key part of that.'"

Good post I liked reading that, of course I don’t know the full workings of how Wigan get the kids through I just know from history they are better than we have been at this. I am just hopeful it’s a path we can start to take, think it was a few years ago when Saints came and swooped up a load of kids and I was thinking at the time why have we allowed this but then we were still in the trying to buy a win phase.