Player Development Group (PDG)
Identifying future Sharks across the North West (U14–U16)
The Player Development Group (PDG) is the first stage of the Sale Sharks Academy pathway. It is designed to identify and develop players with the potential to progress towards the professional game.
The programme focuses on individual development, not short-term performance. Players selected are not always the most dominant in their age group — they are those who show behaviours that can translate to higher levels of rugby.
The Nomination Process
Players are nominated by clubs or schools
Nominated players are invited to assessment sessions at our PDG hubs
Assessments are designed to evaluate game behaviours, decision-making, and skill execution
Further details can be found here: https://www.salesharks.com/academy-1/developing-player-programme/guidance-and-nomination-process/
Successful players are then selected into the PDG programme.
The Programme
Selected players follow a curriculum designed by the Sale Sharks Academy, with a focus on:
• Core skill development
• Decision-making in game contexts
• Athletic development
Sessions are delivered twice a month through a combination of:
• Skill zones
• Small-sided games
• Game-based learning aligned to Sharks DNA
Players will also access:
• Online based support on Nutrition, S&C and Psychology
• Bi-monthly gym sessions (U16 Groups)
• U15 inter-team festivals
• U16 competitive fixtures
• Total annual contact time is approximately 20–30+ hours.
PDG Hub Locations
West Cheshire – Chester RFC, CH3 7DB
Central Cheshire – Lymm RFC, WA13 0AS
Greater Manchester – Platt Lane Sports Complex, M14 7UU
Merseyside – Ruskin Sports Village, WA10 6RP
North Lancashire – Preston Grasshoppers RFC, PR4 0AP
Sale Sharks – Carrington Training Centre, M31 4AB
Coach on the Sale Sharks Pathway
We are always looking for volunteer coaches to support the Player Development Group (PDG) — the first stage of the Sale Sharks Academy pathway.
The PDG is a player-development environment for players identified for their long-term potential. Coaches work as part of a wider team to help individual players develop their decision-making, skill execution and understanding of the game.
We are looking for coaches who want to:
• Contribute positively to a coaching team
• Examine and improve their own coaching practice
• Be observed, receive feedback and engage openly with challenge
• Help create a demanding but supportive player-development environment
You do not need to arrive as a finished coach. You do need to demonstrate useful coaching capability and be willing to learn, adapt and explain the thinking behind your practice.
Commitment
Coaches are normally based at one PDG centre with one age group.
Requirements
To be involved in the PDG, coaches must:
• Hold a valid DBS check
• Have relevant recent experience coaching players aged 12–18
• Be able to work effectively from programme session plans while adapting coaching to player needs
• Work towards the shared player-development aims of Sharks DNA
• Be open to observation, feedback and continued development
Coaches are supported through working alongside other coaches, feedback, observation, practice-design discussions and opportunities to develop within the programme.
If that sounds like the sort of environment you want to coach in, we’d like to hear from you.
For further information about the PDG programme, please contact:
