McCully rugby coach of the year
David McCully has made a lasting impact on Peterborough’s rugby community since he returned in 2002 from playing in New Zealand.
Rugby Canada acknowledged those contributions by naming McCully the Rugby Canada 2017 Male Coach of the Year. McCully received the honour Thursday night at a ceremony in Vancouver.
Since coming home, McCully, 41, has made an impact in the Peterborough Pagans minor rugby program, the local high school rugby scene and the Trent Excalibur men’s program.
He helped start a mini Pagans program nine years ago which began with eight children, including his son Simon, who is now 13. It has grown to 130 boys and girls with his other boy Charlie, 10, also in the mix.
McCully has coached boys and girls high school rugby at Thomas A. Stewart, Peterborough Collegiate and, for the past seven years, at Adam Scott Collegiate. He helped lead the Lions senior boys to the A/AA OFSAA championship this season.
McCully led the Trent Excalibur men’s team to an OCAA gold medal in 2015 while also winning the OCAA Coach of the Year Award in 2014 and 2015.
“Known as one of the top coaches in neighbouring communities,” states the Rugby Canada awards announcement, “our Male Coach of the Year is an ambassador for the sport of rugby in his hometown club of Peterborough, Ontario where he has been an instrumental factor in developing the minor program to one of the largest in the country. Over the last 15 years, he has dedicated his life to the sport.”
McCully was nominated by his colleague Aaron Stinchcombe, who coaches in the Pagans system, at high school and at Fleming College. McCully said it meant a lot to him to be nominated by a peer.
“It was a big surprise, I didn’t even know there was such a thing,” said McCully, from B.C. on Friday. “The fact it came from people I work with probably means the most to me. There are a ton of people in Peterborough working really hard at rugby and to have all those people support it was pretty cool. I feel in some ways I’m accepting that on behalf of the work all those people are doing.”
The minor program has helped grow the Peterborough Rugby Union Football Club into one of the largest in Ontario and Canada.
McCully says between the minor program and Ed Holton’s work to introduce flag rugby into the public elementary schools, he’s seeing an impact at the high school level. When he first started teaching the Grade 9 players had virtually no rugby experience or knowledge.
“Now I’m seeing at Adam Scott kids like Brock Gillespie who was one of those original minors,” McCully said.
“He’s now in his ninth year of rugby. Now we have a bunch of kids coming out for Grade 9 who if they haven’t played for the club, they’ve played flag rugby in elementary school. That was their introduction to it. It’s been really cool to see.”
McCully is branching outside the city this summer as an assistant coach for the Ontario U16 boys team.