At the HKRU Awards Dinner last week, Sandy Bay U14 Boy's coach, Cam Adams was recognised for many years of high-quality coaching in Hong Kong with the Boy's Youth Coach of the Year Award.

The club salutes Cam Adams and what he has contributed over recent years.

Cam was delighted with the award and spoke highlu of the team, the management and fellow coaches:

"I feel very honoured and humbled to have received the HK Youth Coach of the year award this year.

I am very fortunate to work with a fantastic bunch of boys, who are passionate about improving their Rugby, both when winning easily and when challenged and truly are a joy to coach, and amazing U14 and youth management teams that make my coaching/coordination role so much easier.

The biggest advantage I have is a really great group of Rugby coaches, both Professional and otherwise, most of whom have coached with me over the last 10 Years at Sandy Bay, they all deserve the recognition this award brings to Sandy Bay youth rugby! I hope we have many more great years together as a youth cohort and can form the basis of a really strong Sandy Bay senior team in the years to come."

Below is the nomination for Cam, submitted by U14B manager, Mark Tsang.

"The Sandy Bay U14 team under the leadership of Cam Adams has gone from strength to strength this year, dominating the on-field results in the age group. Sandy Bay won the U14 competitions in 15s, 10s and 7s. In fact, the first team is undefeated in 15s (or previously 12s) matches going back to November 2016 (U12). No other team has come close and Sandy Bay has consistently been the class of the age group.

However, Cam’s influence goes beyond the performance of the first team. He sets the tone for the age group players and coaches, fostering an environment of inclusiveness, team spirit and development. Two indicators highlight this; The first is that Sandy Bay U14 has consistently had the highest number of boys. At an age when youth rugby is losing boys to boarding school and for other reasons, Sandy Bay has minimized this trend and in fact added boys (some new to rugby and some from other clubs who are attracted to the more conducive atmosphere). The second is that under Cam’s tutelage, Sandy Bay has consistently fielded second and third teams, when the lessor players at other clubs have fallen away. Despite being ‘development’ level players, many of these kids have remained at Sandy Bay and in the game of rugby in large part because the atmosphere of including them and teaching team. Cam is familiar with the skills, positions and development areas of all the boys from the top of the squad to the bottom and spends more of his direct time with those at the bottom of the squad. On many occasions, during the 10s and 7s competitions this year, Sandy Bay fielded even teams to balance the competition and also to encourage those who are still developing.

In terms of on the pitch, Cam has taught the boys to play in the right way, that rugby is all about teamwork rather than individuals. He runs efficient, engaging training sessions that keep all motivated and involved while at the same time pushing for improvement. A comment from Joseph Szeto, U14 NAG coach, is telling: [i]‘The Sandy Bay boys are well coached, play hard, are focused and have a good attitude. They all want to get better.”

In terms of rugby knowledge, Cam is outstanding. He has the rare combination of technical knowledge, ability to project the positions/roles where individual players will succeed and encouraging motivation.

The overall positive environment of the Sandy Bay U14 year group is driven by Cam. He sets the tone, drives the performance, encourages the boys and engages the parents.

As both a parent and a colleague of Cam’s, serving as U14 Team Manager, I could not be happier entrusting my son’s rugby education to Cam Adams."[/i]