Building a Team Where Every Brain Belongs: My Journey to Coaching a Neurodivergent-Inclusive Squad
🏉 When I first started coaching rugby, I thought my main job was to teach skills, plan training sessions, and get players match-ready. And sure, that’s part of it – but I quickly realised the heart of coaching isn’t just about drills and game plans. It’s about people. It’s about building a team where every player feels safe to be themselves, including those of us who don’t quite fit the “neurotypical” mould. I say “us” because I’m neurodivergent too. I live with ADHD, which means my brain is constantly buzzing with ideas, distractions, and hyperfocus in equal measure. It also means I’ve felt out of place in a lot of traditional environments. But rugby has always been different for me – it’s a space where I can channel that energy and be unapologetically myself. As a coach, I want to create that same space for every player who walks onto our pitch. What Inclusion Really Means to Me For me, inclusion isn’t a tick-box exercise or a trendy buzzword. It’s making sure that a kid who struggl...