Kieran Campbell was always a bubbly, positive presence at the base of the Ulster scrum a decade ago.
And now as Head of the Hughes Insurance Ulster Academy, entrusted with identifying and developing the next generation of senior players, he remains just as optimistic.
Indeed, involved since 2012 and in overall charge since last year, he’s never been so upbeat about the prospects for the future. And much of that buoyant mood he attributes to ‘the feelgood factor’ coursing through the entire Ulster set-up with the arrival of Les Kiss.
“The new Director of Rugby has embraced every aspect of the operation here, and we’re all involved and totally at one with his vision for Ulster. And what’s really exciting to see is how our players in the Academy have responded.
“They’re all there because we believe they have the potential to play for Ulster and for Ireland, and my staff of coaches, including Jimmy Topping and Bryan Young – big figures in the game – and all at the Academy really put in the hours pointing the players in the right direction.
“It’s our job to identify players who are eligible to play for Ulster and for Ireland, and that has grown into a global network of scouts and people letting us know who we might want to take a close look at and invite into the structure,” says Campbell.
“Les has been immense in putting his authority and support right behind us. Now that we are based at the Kingspan there’s a real synergy about all the elements which make up Ulster Rugby, and the Academy, Alex Codling’s ‘A’ side and so many people in the clubs and in schools are playing key roles.
“What has been fantastic are the great strides the Academy, and Ulster Rugby as a whole, has made in the relationships with the clubs, and with schools. All our sides, the Under 16s, U17s, U18s at club and schools representative level, U19s and then the Ulster Under 20 team, are drawn from every source, but the trust we have built up with our schools and the clubs has been outstanding.
“They entrust their players to us, knowing that we will give them a professional experience in what we call our ‘impacts’, or sessions, with us,” he says, clearly energised by the talent he is convinced is assuring Ulster’s future and being “given good values, good standards on and off the field.
“It’s a truly holistic approach. Those we choose for the Academy’s two tiers are able to avail of the best facilities in any professional club, the best coaching, and we are committed to emphasising the importance of the strategic, the tactical, the technical and physical elements, and developing the mental skills which will serve them well in sport and in life. We fashion programmes to fit every individual, and it’s all done around the primary concern that players’ education is not interrupted or impeded, rather its value is very much enhanced.”
Campbell recognises there are pressures in his role in polishing quality players so that they can easily step up to the senior side. “But it is something we all thrive on, it’s such a pleasure to identify people we believe we can help and develop, and our pathway route is clear, it’s effective and Les, Neil Doak and the other senior coaches all ‘lift’ things when they offer to take some drills, and the players are treated just as the senior players are: one giant squad.”
Dave Shanahan and Jacob Stockdale were given starts by Doak in pre-season, and Kiss has a belief in testing the younger lads. “You should see the look on some of their faces when Les talks to them by name, they get such a ‘buzz’. But that’s what he has brought, this embracing, holistic approach, and he’s got his finger on every pulse in the organisation and beyond!
“His arrival, and the way he feeds into what we’re doing, is just great, he’s a world-class international coach who understands top sides don’t just appear,” says the exuberant but clearly very organised Campbell. “We’re all building on the Academy’s foundations laid so firmly by Gary Longwell, then established further when Allen Clarke took over.”
Campbell is clearly throwing all his famous energy and intelligence into a key role in Ulster’s future.
And now as Head of the Hughes Insurance Ulster Academy, entrusted with identifying and developing the next generation of senior players, he remains just as optimistic.
Indeed, involved since 2012 and in overall charge since last year, he’s never been so upbeat about the prospects for the future. And much of that buoyant mood he attributes to ‘the feelgood factor’ coursing through the entire Ulster set-up with the arrival of Les Kiss.
“The new Director of Rugby has embraced every aspect of the operation here, and we’re all involved and totally at one with his vision for Ulster. And what’s really exciting to see is how our players in the Academy have responded.
“They’re all there because we believe they have the potential to play for Ulster and for Ireland, and my staff of coaches, including Jimmy Topping and Bryan Young – big figures in the game – and all at the Academy really put in the hours pointing the players in the right direction.
“It’s our job to identify players who are eligible to play for Ulster and for Ireland, and that has grown into a global network of scouts and people letting us know who we might want to take a close look at and invite into the structure,” says Campbell.
“Les has been immense in putting his authority and support right behind us. Now that we are based at the Kingspan there’s a real synergy about all the elements which make up Ulster Rugby, and the Academy, Alex Codling’s ‘A’ side and so many people in the clubs and in schools are playing key roles.
“What has been fantastic are the great strides the Academy, and Ulster Rugby as a whole, has made in the relationships with the clubs, and with schools. All our sides, the Under 16s, U17s, U18s at club and schools representative level, U19s and then the Ulster Under 20 team, are drawn from every source, but the trust we have built up with our schools and the clubs has been outstanding.
“They entrust their players to us, knowing that we will give them a professional experience in what we call our ‘impacts’, or sessions, with us,” he says, clearly energised by the talent he is convinced is assuring Ulster’s future and being “given good values, good standards on and off the field.
“It’s a truly holistic approach. Those we choose for the Academy’s two tiers are able to avail of the best facilities in any professional club, the best coaching, and we are committed to emphasising the importance of the strategic, the tactical, the technical and physical elements, and developing the mental skills which will serve them well in sport and in life. We fashion programmes to fit every individual, and it’s all done around the primary concern that players’ education is not interrupted or impeded, rather its value is very much enhanced.”
Campbell recognises there are pressures in his role in polishing quality players so that they can easily step up to the senior side. “But it is something we all thrive on, it’s such a pleasure to identify people we believe we can help and develop, and our pathway route is clear, it’s effective and Les, Neil Doak and the other senior coaches all ‘lift’ things when they offer to take some drills, and the players are treated just as the senior players are: one giant squad.”
Dave Shanahan and Jacob Stockdale were given starts by Doak in pre-season, and Kiss has a belief in testing the younger lads. “You should see the look on some of their faces when Les talks to them by name, they get such a ‘buzz’. But that’s what he has brought, this embracing, holistic approach, and he’s got his finger on every pulse in the organisation and beyond!
“His arrival, and the way he feeds into what we’re doing, is just great, he’s a world-class international coach who understands top sides don’t just appear,” says the exuberant but clearly very organised Campbell. “We’re all building on the Academy’s foundations laid so firmly by Gary Longwell, then established further when Allen Clarke took over.”
Campbell is clearly throwing all his famous energy and intelligence into a key role in Ulster’s future.