Hi Fitness Fraternity Team! I’m Alfred Heppenstall, and I’m excited to share that I’ve been sponsored by Fitness Fraternity for my final season of Rugby League. It’s been an amazing journey, and I’m grateful to be part of such a fantastic community.
A Bit About Me:
I’m from Huddersfield, which is in West Yorkshire, I went to Holmfirth High School and came up to Newcastle for University. I’ve been a sportsman all of my life playing football, cricket, Rugby Union and League. Whilst playing for Huddersfield New College, I absolutely fell in love with the sport after not playing for a few years.
Currently I am a 3rd year student at Northumbria University studying Sport and Exercise Science. Since moving to Newcastle in 2022 I have been a part of the Northumbria Rugby League programme. This year I got a scholarship for the rugby team. The rugby programme has developed my skills and knowledge way beyond what I thought I was capable of. It also helped me to integrate into a big group of mates that made settling into university life much easier.
Fitness Fraternity: My Second Home
I’ve been a member of Fitness Fraternity for just over a year. Since being a part of Fitness Fraternity I have also felt a part of a community in and around Heaton. This makes going to the gym much more enjoyable. The atmosphere and the vibe in the gym is something that I feel that no other gym in the area has and it gives me the motivation to go and train at the gym.
Pre-Season Grind
The club has been in pre-season training since the 2nd of September. This training has entailed 9 sessions a week involving gym, wrestle and on pitch focused drills. The pre-season so far has been very tough with lots of speed, strength and cardio based exercises. We have been to ‘Cow Hill’ for our sprint training in which 4 lads were throwing up. We’ve also had a Commonwealth Olympic Taekwondo coach come in to help, showing us alternative ways to tackle and takedown the opposition. Our coach, Jason Pyne, has thoroughly enjoyed this pre-season beasting the lads week in week out. The pre-season has been very tough however now we are in a great position for the upcoming season.
Chasing Championships
At Northumbria Rugby League we have 3 teams within the club. The 1st team have been dominant for the past 8 years winning 5 national championships 5 years in a row. This year we are trying to get the 6th national championship. The league this season has changed into a national super BUCS League making the league much more competitive; however, we are still wanting to win the competition. The 2nd team also did great last year going undefeated winning the league and the national championship. We aim to win the national championship again this year hoping to finish in the 1st in our league this season. With the 3rd team the aim is to get promotion into the second league.
The 2nds and 3rds season start at the same time (14th of October) however the 1s have a quicker start to the season starting on the 9th.
Come down to coach lane and watch us play!
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