Falcons bolster Academy squad ahead of 2015-16
Newcastle Falcons have announced another new addition to its Senior Academy for season 2015/16 with centre Adam Redman being the latest to be added to the new roster.
“I’m really grateful to have been added into the senior academy for next season, it’s a huge opportunity. I am graduating along with a number of boys who I’ve known for quite a few years and it is great to see us come through together as it means there are friends around the place that you know, which is a nice thing to have, especially when you’re going into a new environment.”
Having been introduced to rugby at the age of seven by his dad, Redman has converted his whole family into fans of the game with his exploits in a family where football has previously been King.
“I got into rugby when I lived out in Hong Kong, I was seven and my dad took me to the local rugby club and I’ve never really looked back since my first session, I did play a lot of football and I still support Sunderland, but rugby took over from an early age, even though we don’t really have a big family history with the sport.”
Looking ahead to his first season with regular interaction with the players of the Falcons senior players, the grounded youngster has set himself modest goals and is aiming just to absorb as much guidance and experience as he can.
“There are a lot of centres at the club who are pretty well known and there are also a good number of international caps in there as well, so it will be great to learn of them as they have a wealth of experience that I can benefit from and then hopefully use that to compete with them and take my game a long way.”
“In terms of game time, I should be involved in the A team’s games and hopefully, if I can impress in those, I can maybe look to have some involvement with the first team in the cup competitions.”
With his opportunity offering a chance to bounce back from injury, Redman has special praise for former Falcons scrum half Chris Pilgrim, who he says was instrumental to helping him make a rapid return to fitness.
“When I did my knee, Mark [Laycock, Falcons Academy Manager] put me in touch with Chris Pilgrim who had a similar injury, who gave me so much advise and tips on how to manage the recovery. If he hadn’t have done, I wouldn’t have known where to start, so he helped a lot in terms of diet, conditioning, everything I could have asked for and it took me a really long way on the road to recovery.”
