By Stuart Gillespie

Copyright dailyrecord

Rugby star Nick De Luca is set to return to his first club. The Lockerbie centre, who won 43 caps for Scotland, and coaching colleague Roddy Deans are bringing their Totem Rugby Camp to Dumfries Saints during the October school holidays. And it promises to give youngsters important skills they can use in every day life, not just in the scrum. Nick said: “We’re developing skills that can be used not just on the pitch but off the pitch. We’ve worked on everything from breath work to mental health and resilience. “At this one we’re going to be doing emotional regulation and emotional intelligence, which will be weaved through the three days. “Learning from experience is great but you only learn from reflecting upon it and giving people the skills to do that. “We think we deliver very good content on the rugby side as well so we develop the player and the person. “If they’re learning to cope under pressure, then if they’re going on a date, have an interview or sitting an exam they can use these same strategies to bring themselves good outcomes. “They genuinely love it. Teachers have said we’re going to struggle with certain kids, they can’t concentrate, but they have been so engaged. They have a surplus of attention for what they’re interested in because we’re not stood there dictating from the front of the room, we’re involving them in it.” The camps have also gone down well with parents, one saying: “My boys loved it, they enjoyed the structure of the days and the combined approach to learning all aspects of the game whilst keeping it fun. They thought all the coaches were amazing.” Another said: “This was a fantastic week. My son has taken so much from it – not only on the field skills, but skills for life. “You have taught them so much in one week – showing them that anything is possible if you have the right mindset. “I would not hesitate in recommending these camps to anyone.” Nick, now 41, started at Dumfries Saints and had spells with Edinburgh either side of a stint at Border Reivers. He went on to play for Biarritz before joining Wasps for the final year of his career in 2016. The club made the Premiership final that season, only to suffer an agonising extra-time defeat to Exeter Chiefs at Twickenham. And he feels he could have benefited hugely if he’d been given some guidance in the mental skills the camps that Totem – which stands for “the whole” – aims to give to the stars of the future. He explained: “I think when I was younger, everything was so easy for me and I was continuing progessing through Scotland under-15s, 16s, 18s, 19s, it was as things were meant to go in my head. “As soon as things didn’t go well, I didn’t have the strategies and skills to understand why I was speaking to myself like that, feeling like that, or even how to reach out for support. “One of the things we do is psychological characteristics for developing excellence. Part of that is your social network – how to build and maintain relationships and use the support network around you. “I was rubbish at that! I wouldn’t even listen to my dad or speak to my family. Skills at the top end would have been very useful for me. “Now I use them day to day as I’ve had to go away and explore them myself and ultimately what we want to do is pass on the bits of knowledge we have. “You don’t know when or where you might impact someone, you’re just hoping when you’re presenting it that it might resonate with four or five kids. For another four or five it might be another workshop but you are making little bits of difference.“ Nick is currently director of sport and activities at Merchiston Castle School in Edinburgh where Roddy – who has coached Scotland at age group level as well as Hawick and Heriots – has been director of rugby for the past decade. And that has seen Roddy work with some names familiar to Dumfries and Galloway rugby fans. Dundrennan’s Stafford McDowall – who now plays for Glasgow Warriors and has 14 caps for Scotland – was part of the Merchiston set-up. So too were Matt and Tom Currie, who started their careers at Dumfries Saints. Both now play professionally for Edinburgh, with Matt having been capped by Scotland. “Roddy has had a big part in their story and still does,” said Nick. “I think that’s what separates him from a lot of other coaches. “He’s not just about the technical and tactical, although he’s very good at that. He cares deeply about the boys and you see that from the number of people who are still in touch with him. “He’s a real asset. I don’t want him to leave here but the SRU should be gobbling him up and putting him somewhere to help with the wider Scottish rugby issues of player development and pathways. “Having someone like him would be a gamechanger.” Totem’s camp at Dumfries Saints’ Park Farm home will start on Wednesday, October 22 and will run for three days – although there is an option only to attend the first day. And it won’t just be youngsters who can take part, with coaches welcome too. Nick said: “I was educated, as such, at Dumfries Saints through volunteers. It’s amazing that grassroots sports is built on volunteers so it’s open to any coach in the area to come along, watch, ask us questions and share resources. “We don’t want to hoard anything. They can come along and get some ideas and support, challenge us and get involved. “Between us we’ve more than 30 years of coaching experience and we have other coaches who’ll be there as well. Click here for more news and sport from Dumfries and Galloway. “It’s been our profession, we get paid at a private school to do that but it’s behind a massive paywall so we’re trying to break that down and give it to more people. “At our previous camps we’ve had companies sponsoring free places. We’ve not been able to do that in Dumfries but we’re hoping to be able to offer free spaces. “If your child who wants to come along but can’t afford or your business who can help feel free to get in touch. “We want to get out there and give back to a game that has given us so much and is really struggling.” • For details on the Totem Rugby Camp in Dumfries, including how to book and to contact Nick, visit Totem Rugby Camps.