Youth Development Programme ready for season launch

15 minutes ago
3 min read

York RLFC Foundation, in conjunction with York Knights, are proud to announce the latest Excel rugby league development programme for 2026, taking place at York St. John University Sports Park on Haxby Road, York!

The Excel Boys development programme once again will be under the guidance of Head of Rugby, Andrew Henderson.

The Excel programme is a community-driven programme for boys, forming the foundation of the club’s player pathway’s structure. It offers young rugby league players and those new to the sport an opportunity to experience a professional club environment. They will get the chance to work with different coaches and different players, learning new skills at a quality training facility provided by York St John University.

There is a variety of youth development programmes now at the club, presenting opportunities for young players at different stages of their development to gain valuable experience as they aspire to progress.

The Excel player development programme forms the first phase of the pathway and is open to all players of all abilities from year 7 to year 11, with some players getting the opportunity to move into our performance pathways programmes, providing the next stage of development for young, talented and aspiring players.

The fantastic work being done at our community clubs and schools has helped play a part in developing local talent. With the support of the Excel programme, we have seen local homegrown players progress into our pathway’s programmes, the Knights' first team squad, or filter into other clubs within the professional game.

Henderson said: “It is fantastic that we have the support of our foundation once again to run this programme, and the benefits of our collaboration are there to be seen.

"The Excel programme stands as the foundation stage in our youth development model. It provides opportunities for players of all abilities to have access to quality coaching and experience a professional club environment.

“We are passionate as a club in supporting youth development with our aim being to provide local players and coaches with opportunities to be part of our system and develop themselves further," he said.

"We encourage local players from our York and North Yorkshire community clubs to attend, alongside players from clubs outside the area as well. Players who play rugby union, just play for their school team, or have no experience at all and just want to give rugby league a go, are all very welcome here at York RLFC on the Excel programme.

"We have a strong coaching team made up of both professional and community rugby league coaching backgrounds overseen by me to support the coaches and the players. The programme also serves as an opportunity for us to identify any talent we have missed to be invited onto our Junior Squires U/14’s, Squires U/16’s and Knights Bachelor programmes which form our professional performance pathway.”

Training sessions for each age group will take place on Monday evenings 7pm-8pm, at York St. John University Sports Park, Haxby Road, York YO31 8TA on the dates listed below.

Sessions are free of charge, but registration is essential as spaces are limited.

The Excel programme will operate in 3 blocks in 2026:

Under 12’s & 13’s (For players currently in Year 7 & 8 only)

BOOK HERE:

Training dates:

April - 20th & 27th,

May - 11th & 18th.

Followed by an internal playing opportunity. Game (Details TBC)

Under 13’s & 14’s (For players currently in Year 8 & Year 9 only)

BOOK HERE:

Training Dates:

June 1st, 8th, 15th & 22nd.