Under 6 (2006) & Under 7 (2005)
Saturday 25th Feb (Voicemessage @ 086 723 2533 )
All MINIs playing games vs Cobh at Highfield this Saturday
Mid-season Report
Now that we are safely settled into 2012, we thought we'd issue a mid-season report.
Training is progressing well and our U6 and U7 players are developing the skills they'll need over the coming years.
Passing, catching, running towards the try-line with the ball in 2 hands, and playing as a team are our priorities. The coaches would especially like to thank Finny O'Regan and Ray Gadsden (Munster Community Rugby Officers) for their excellent input over the last 2 Saturdays. Players and coaches benefited greatly.
We will start to develop our U7 players separately (some of the time) over the next few weeks. This is to prepare them for the transition to U8 rugby, whre a limited amount of physical contact will take place. We will NOT introduce physical contact this season, but we will start to acclimatise the players towards a faster game. New drills, faster passing and more co-ordinated 'on pitch movement' will all help in this regard.
U6's will continue to learn about Speed, Agility & Quickness, and we will also focus more on hand-eye co-ordination. As ever, fun remains vitally important at this level.
Several U6/U7 coaches will move to U8 next year, and we will need to recruit new coaches for next year's U6/U7. Coaching is very rewarding and fulfilling. It requires a bit of effort, and there is a weekend course (Mini Rugby Coaching by Munster Rugby) which is great fun and very highly recommended.
The rewards of coaching are huge at personal level. Seeing young players progress is very satisfying, and is a great way to spend fun-time with your son/daughter and their new team-mates. You don't need to have played rugby before, we will help you develop valuable skills quickly - Highfield RFC is especially good at this - talk to any of us about stepping over that white line!
You could always start by practising with your player at home - passing, catching and running etc
Finally, a reminder about training sessions:
Please listen to the voice-mail 086 723 2533 every Friday
A good breakfast is really important - we can usually tell when a player has eaten properly before training, they enjoy it more and have enough energy (e.g. Weetabix, Readybrek, etc but not sugary cereals)
Players should arrive 10 mins before start - water-bottle (not sports drinks), gum-shield, appropriate clothing (track bottoms/jog pants etc if it's cold!)
We'd be delighted if parents would take photos during sessions - we can get them uploaded to the web-site quickly. (Action shots where the players faces are visible work best. Any camera will do - most mobile phones have a decent camera these days.)
Sessions usually finish at 1130 - if you can't stay for the whole session, please be back at 1120 - coaches have other commitments and need to leave punctually.
As always, please feel free to approach any of us if you have any questions etc.
Thanks for your continued support!
Alan, Kevin, Pat & Steve.
U6/U7 Coaches
