YOUNG RL aces will be honing their skills under the expert eye of Paul Crarey and other top local coaches again this summer.

Last year, a 10-week development programme led by Crarey and attended by around 170 kids at Craven Park was hailed a big success – and the Barrow Raiders boss is keen to keep the momentum going.

The aim is to produce a conveyor belt of local talented players which will benefit both Raiders and the area’s amateur clubs.

This year’s initiative got under way last week with a “coaching the coaches” session when Crarey held a training camp for youngsters, watched by coaches from the area’s amateur clubs.

Skill and drills learned from that session will be put into practice when the course begins next week.

Explained Crarey: “What we do with the ‘coaching the coaches’ programme is give the coaches new information and techniques.

“Gavin Chelton (of Roose Pioneers) brought his under-12s kids in and we demonstrated what we are going to do during the course.

“The kids are involved in the same course so the kids helped us coach the coaches.

“We start our development programme on Monda, which is for all the kids in the area.

“Last year we had 170-odd kids involved in the programme and 16 local coaches, so it is just a follow on from that.

“We have probably got every local club represented on the programme. What we will do is bring the 12s and 14s in first and then we’ll bring the 16s.

“This is just a phase of the programme where we are just sorting out what we are going to deliver to the kids.

“From next week we’ll have the 12s and 14s in from 6-7pm and then the 16s from 7-8pm. It will be held every Monday for 10 weeks with 16 local coaches.

“All the coaches get gear, tickets for games and all the kids will get T-shirts and stuff like that.”

The Raiders are thankful to the development programme’s sponsors Furness Building Society, Travel The Globe, Knightsbridge Cars and The Ambrose Hotel.

Said Crarey: “They have made it possible by sponsoring it plus all the money from the Super Lotto goes to the development of local coaches.”

Crarey’s plan to see academy rugby league return to Barrow has already become a reality, with a Furness Raiders team competing in the RFL College League, the result of a tie-up between the Raiders and Furness College.