Gents, I apologize if it seems we have been keeping you in the dark about our new head coach.  The main reason for this is that we are not exact on his immed move to Denver. He is moving for sure but we do not have a date locked down but he has committed to us for the Spring and long term and will be here regardless to coach the Quins starting next week.  We are giving him time to talk to his current club to give them ample notice of his timeline and intentions. Rather than wait for the formal announcement next week I wanted to head off any rumors or misconceptions prior to our first training. He is an international coach coming to us with over a decade of coaching and club management experience both in the US and overseas. He will be supplementing an already stellar coaching staff in Price, Lausa, Perle and Kunsmann. All the current coaches are very eager to work with him and both Coaching staff and the Exec are very excited for what he will be bringing to the club.  One of the many ideas he is bringing to the club is that of fitness and how it translates to our performance as a team. The coaches and exec are all in agreement that in order to be successful as a competitive club in this league, knowing that we will always have a crop of new players coming and vets leaving for whatever reason, fitness has become paramount. Coach has set forth a fitness criteria that we agree will be the goal for the club: In the interim pre-season preps and conditioning targets for the players: - 40m / 40 yd sprint x10 (Forwards <6s; backs <5s) - push ups 50+ in 2 minutes, work continuous for full 2 mins even if you exceed target - 1.5 mile run (6.5 laps) - front 5 < 10.5 mins; all other players <9 mins - plank 4mins - burpees 70+ in 2 mins weight training - 4x per week pre season - compound exercises: squats, cleans, deadlifts, clean and jerk + box jumps + med ball throws (rugby pass still against the wall or with a partner) + pull ups in between sets - build muscle for body armour - 2-3 x per week in season this should give you a start point for player preps.     We will be working to this before our first outdoor training. Take stock here gents, We are in a new direction and it is exciting.. Tom Vyles President  DHRFC