Arrows Academy Partners with Rugby Alberta to Create Developing Player Pathway

For Immediate Release

TORONTO, ON – The Toronto Arrows Academy is pleased to announce a strategic partnership with Rugby Alberta, with the two organizations aligning to create a collaborative Developing Player Pathway (DPP) for emerging Albertan athletes.

The partnership sees Rugby Alberta become the second provincial union to formally align its programming with the Arrows Academy, following the launch of the Ontario Blues Junior Arrows Academy program with Rugby Ontario in October 2020.

“Innovation and collaboration are critical to the development of rugby in Alberta,” said Graeme Moffat, Rugby Alberta Director of Rugby. “We are really excited to partner with the Arrows and collectively develop our aspiring male and female players. There are some fantastic young players in the province that will really benefit from this partnership. We look forward to following Ben LeSage and his team in the 2021 MLR season and can’t wait to see more Albertans on the roster in years to come.”

The driving force behind the DPP is to ensure the development of players, with a mission to help fulfil potential. The program provides age-grade athletes with opportunities to learn from top-level provincial, national, and professional coaches to help prepare them for the next step in their rugby career.

“Partnerships like these are critical in developing the next generation of Toronto Arrows players,” said Cory Hector, Toronto Arrows Academy Director. “This type of program helps us to overcome the geographical hurdles associated with a country as large as Canada, and will allow us to better identify and develop players. This pathway will leverage the strength of Rugby Alberta with the hopes of creating a pipeline of future Arrows and national players.”

The DPP will feature an under-15 development group, under-16 and under-18 evolving player groups, and an under-23 performance group.

This new partnership will also provide monthly touch points between Wolf Pack Academy coaches and Arrows Academy Director Hector.

“Having this Arrows Academy partnership will be vital in helping young players from the Prairies aspire to a next step after junior rugby,” said Ben LeSage, Toronto Arrows Co-Captain and Calgary native. “Playing age-grade rugby in Alberta was formative for me in developing my core skills and love for the game. The province has a skilled talent pool that’s only set to increase, and I’m looking forward to seeing more Alberta players coming through the Arrows pipeline.”

Additional Arrows Academy strategic partnerships will be announced in the coming weeks.

About Toronto Arrows Rugby Football Club:

The Toronto Arrows Rugby Football Club is Canada’s first professional rugby union team.

Competing in Major League Rugby, the team is equipped to compete against top-tier North American professional club teams, providing emerging Canadian talent with enhanced and more frequent opportunities to hone their skills at an elite level.

For more information, visit https://torontoarrows.com/

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For more information, please contact:

Brock Smith
Communications Manager
Toronto Arrows
[email protected]