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Lions appoint Head of Youth Development

13 July 2021

As the club continues to put structures in place to develop and support its wider strategic aims, and following the recent announcement that Swinton Lions was successful in receiving official RFL accreditation as an official England Talent Pathway partner, we are delighted to announce the appointment of our first ever Head of Youth Development.

The person taking up this historic and important role in the evolution of Swinton Lions is Dougie Owen, and he couldn’t be better qualified! Dougie first joined the Lions in 2018 as an assistant coach, and over the past couple of years has led our Strength and Conditioning provision.

However, prior to joining Swinton, Dougie had already built up an impressive CV. In 2013 he joined the Development Programme and Scholarship Team at Wigan Warriors, a position he held for 5 years. During that period another couple of milestones were achieved, as in 2014 he became first person to be accredited as an England Talent Pathway Coach for the RFL.

Then a year later Dougie was awarded the RFL’s prestigious ‘Juniors Coach of the Year’ award. In addition, Dougie has worked as a Coach Developer for the RFL, and has delivered England Talent Pathway training to Community Coaches for both the RFL and Wigan Warriors. He also spent time as the Strength and Conditioning Coach for the England Community Lions.

Upon his appointment Dougie said, “This is not only a fantastic opportunity for me to get to work with talented players and coaches in the local area, but also an honour to be offered the position with a club of Swinton Lions’ standing. I will do everything possible to match the drive and determination of the club to build something special. I’d like to thank the Board for their confidence in me, and Stu Littler for his continual support.”

Lions’ CEO Steve Wild added, “Dougie’s impressive CV speaks for itself. But his passion for the club, and for developing and helping players, not to mention his passion for the sport of Rugby League in general, is something that you can’t bottle. We feel very fortunate at Swinton to have someone of Dougie’s drive and energy committing to this important role as we look to underpin our broader strategic aims. But on top of all that, in Dougie you couldn’t wish to meet a nicer person, and he is perfect for the role.”

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