Graeme is currently away with the Rugby Canada Under 20’s mens team at the IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy in Chile, and after a successful start against Tonga (full story below), it seemed like an appropriate time to do our first Coach Logic Profile.

Graeme is from Edinburgh, Scotland, and after a playing career for Currie RFC in Scotland’s Premiership that also saw him turn out for the National U18’s team and be an U20 Squad member, he turned his hand to coaching.For a relatively young coach, Graeme has a huge amount of experience. In Scotland he coached both Forrester RFC and Stewarts Melville RFC to league wins and promotion, at the same time as a being a Sports Coaching Lecturer at Edinburgh College (Edinburgh’s Telford College at the time).

However, with opportunities in Scotland to be a full-time coach limited, Graeme decided to leave his native country to move to Canada to assume the Director of Rugby role at the Calgary Hornets, and actively seek further opportunities to pursue his dream of being a professional coach. That was back in 2009, and he hasn’t looked back since.

Graeme has lead to Hornets to league titles, is the Head Coach of the Prairie Wolf Pack in Alberta who compete in the Canadian Rugby Championship.

He is now fully installed as the U20 Mens Assistant Coach to former England Saxons Player Mike Shelley, who is also a full-time coach with the Canadian Rugby Union.

Graeme has always been a huge advocate of Coach Education, and would spend his spare time with Rob Moffat, Edinburgh Rugby Head Coach at the time, watching sessions and discussing all things coaching. In addition to this, Graeme has sought out further opportunities and has been lucky enough to shadow England Rugby, Leicester Tigers, Glasgow Warriors and the Canadian Senior Team.

He always actively engages in Coach Education opportunities, and whilst he still does this, he also now delivers a number of CPD events for coaches in Canada.We at Coach Logic are delighted that he sees the benefit of using the sites many functionalities for the senior mens and womens teams at the Hornets, and as a Coach Education resource for those in the Alberta region.

Graeme is quick to acknowledge that this wouldn’t be possible without the understanding of his partner Tara Eckert, herself a former international rugby player and now a coach at the Athlete Factory in Calgary, and said that “Tara’s experience means that she understands the level of commitment required to reach the top in your chosen profession. She is unbelievably supportive of me, none more so than looking after our baby daughter Isla as I spend time away from them both on tour.”

Graeme never stops wanting to improve and is extremely ambitious saying that “I’m really excited that on my return to Calgary after the World Trophy, the Hornets will be pushing to win their 3rd Championship in a row for both the mens and womens programmes. It would be excellent to see both the club and all the players be rewarded for all their efforts, and have the Calgary Hornets cement their place as the leading club in the province”.

Graeme is an excellent example of being proactive as a coach to seek out opportunities that will improve him personally, and ultimately achieve his goal of being a Head Coach for a fully professional organisation.With so much experience already, it still feels like the beginning of what will be a long and successful coaching career.

CANADA OPENS JWRT WITH VICTORY OVER TONGA

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