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Heavensgame.com has caught up with John Slade from the Estonian Rugby Union. John is a passionate rugby man and is totally committed to his work at the Estonian Rugby Union.
He cannot do all his Rugby work alone and in that regard he has ample help from a good friend as John Explains "Its been said many times the a good working relationship is akin to marriage, you must keep it fresh and constantly work on it. 10 years on and Andrei and I are still trying to make a difference in the lives of youngsters living in Estonia and even those who have decided to  John and Andrei
Andrei has a wonderful feeling for teaching rugby, having started his career in St Petersburg before moving to Estonia in the 60s.His calm and effortless teaching style has a calming effect when players fumble or drop the ball. His natural running and evasion skills are as good now as if he was in his late teens again playing in the snow or on a hot summers day in Riga.
Players often bring their work/social problems along to the training sessions and Andrei is always standing to one side listening to their tales of doom and gloom, but seems to find a silver lining in ever dark cloud.
Andrei has a passion for rugby that rubs off on every child/youngster/adult he has ever taught in Estonia, he’s like a virus that spreads through the body and into the heart.
My style could be said is more old school were Honour-loyalty-trust-respect was why people played rugby with there fellow men, and after the game the teams would enjoy each others company in a hostelry.
We have taught almost everyone in Estonia that play rugby and were very happy to have had the privilege to be invited into so many schools and each time both Andrei and I have left we feel that they have given us more than we have given them in terms of enjoyment. The butcher & the brain surgeon."Estonia has many social problems as john alludes to above, with this in mind the Estonian Rugby Union has taken a positive stance around alcohol sponsorship in its game. John Explains "The Estonian rugby federation has always made a point of not going after alcohol companies for sponsorship, because alcohol has no place in a sports person’s life. In 2007, drunk driving killed 79 people in 518 car accidents in Estonia. That’s more than one-fifth of all traffic accidents and one-third of fatal accidents. This is an outrageous figure in today’s society. In spite of the successful economic development, Estonia has the worst health statistics in the European Union said Enno Kross an expert on alcohol abuse at the Tartu Marjamaa hospital and adviser to the Estonian rugby federation on alcohol related accidents. The cost per day of medical treatment is 10,000 – 12,000 eeks, 75% of which are alcohol connected illnesses and 3-5 people die each week from alcohol related symptoms." While the challenges that the Union face are large, with the input and commitment from people such as John and Andrei the game will continue to grow stronger in Estonia. Should you wish to contribute to Estonian rugby in any way please visit their website at www.rugby.ee |
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