Student sport at York St John gets serious with Mike Catt

York St John University proudly showed off the talents of its sports students and facilities to England rugby coach and former player Mike Catt, at a special event held at its Haxby Road sports grounds on Thursday 12 September.

Mike Catt OBE joined sports teams from York St John at a pre-season training session at the University’s 57 acre site. The sports grounds are undergoing an exciting transformation which will see the development of state-of-the-art facilities that include two floodlit synthetic pitches opening in January 2014 and a major new sports development scheduled for completion in October 2015.

Students from both the York St John Rugby Union and Rugby League teams learnt the importance of persistence and commitment in order to achieve prominence in sport. Mike, a South African born former England rugby union player earned 75 international caps for England and played in two World Cup Finals in 2003 and 2007. As part of Mike’s ambassadorial role for Yorkshire Bank, the visit formed part of a three day tour of the region visiting a range of educational institutions, charities and businesses.

Professor Andy Smith, Head of Sports Performance & Participation, said:
“To complement our multi-million sports development at Haxby Road, we are putting in place coaching, fitness and conditioning, sports science and sports therapy for our student athletes. It has been fantastic for us to be able to show Mike the scope of our plans and also the talent of our sports students.”

Mike Catt added:
“I am delighted to have had the opportunity to be at the launch of the pre-season training at York St John at what is gearing up to be an exciting year of sport for the University. I have also witnessed some real potential amongst the sports teams and I wish them every success in their studies and future in sport.”

As the start of term approaches for students at York St John, the sports teams are keenly looking forward to their busiest and best sports year ever; competing in community leagues, varsities and BUCS (British Universities & Colleges Sport).