THE Papua New Guinea Rugby Football League (PNGRFL), in collaboration with the PacificAus Sports Program, has conducted a three-day course with 16 participating trainers.
The course started on February 29 and ended on March 3, with 16 trainers from the Digicel ExxonMobil Cup and NRL Bid Junior Development Program undergoing necessary requirements for the Australian Strength and Conditioning Association (ASCA) Level 1 Accreditation.
The sessions were facilitated by Queensland Rugby League (QRL) Physical Performance Director, John Mitchell, who has been engaged with PNGRFL’s High Performance Unit as an advisor and mentor since 2023.
The group of trainers were the second cohort of trainers to undergo this phase of the ASCA Level 1 Accreditation, as PNGRFL works towards ensuring its personnel in its national competition and programs are adequately skilled and accredited to work in their respective fields of strength and conditioning.
PNGRFL chief executive officer Stanley Hondina said: “It is important for us as an organization who wants to continue to raise the standards of the game that we are investing in our people who work with player’s day in and out in our national competition.
“We have been fortunate to have the expertise and experience of John Mithcell who worked closely with our PNGRFL Performance Lead, Edward Moses Guise, as a mentor and to see a pathway and program for our trainers. Edward is a Level 2 accredited ASCA Professional and we want to build on this and create a pool of people specializing and accredited accordingly to work in this strength and conditioning space.”
The first Cohort from November 2023 are currently in the process of completing their coursework and necessary hours before being accredited as Level 1. A total of thirty-two (32) trainers have now undergone the face-to-face component of this ASCA Level 1 and it is envisaged that by the end of 2024, all thirty-two will have completed and be recognized as ASCA Level 1 accredited in order to be licensed to lead and facilitate professionally strength and conditioning programs in their respective clubs and teams.
