Rugby: under 8

We have open this thread to continue the discussion on Player Empowerment started in the Coaches Hot Tip in this month's newsletter. If you missed it, here it is again. There is no doubt that if you want your team to be successful, you need the players to make decisions on the pitch for themselves. We know that if a team is used to getting the answers to problems on the field from the coach, it will mean that they will hesitate and look to the touchline before commiting to an action and that, of course, will be far too late! The coach can still influence things but once the game has started it is a fairly minimal influence, during the game it must be the players who react to situations as they happen and make decisions immediatley. Therefore, it is essential to have leaders in the team who feel confident about making decisons in the heat of the battle. They need to know that even a wrong call is better than no call. They should feel that their coach will support them in making a call and, if it was not necesarily the best decision, will help them make a better one next time without being too critical. Ideally, the leaders and decision makers will be at key positions in the team where they can communicate with other players as well as influencing play themselves. Key positions are Numbers%3A 2; 4/5; 8; 9; 10 and 15. This is often referred to as "The Spine or Backbone" of the team. This is not to say that a good captain and leader can't be in another position but if they are, for instance an 11 or 14, they will need good co leaders in the key positions to communicate their decisions during a game. To develop this spine to operate as leaders, the coach should involve these players in discussions about how the team are playing - making them feel some ownership and responsibility for the teams performance. They could also be involved in unit practises, for instance the 2 and 8 could Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 occasionaly lead part of a line out practice, once the coach has agreed with them what the practice needs to achieve. The coach is not giving the players complete control but rather, allowing them to be involved in the process of team development. Obviously, the age and ability of your team can affect how far along this path you can go but, even with players as young as Under 8's, I have found that delegating some responsibility is a really effective way to build a cohesive and well functioning team! Let me know your thoughts on this type player empowerment. Good luck Simon

u19 scrum rules

where can I get an under 8 year program of training or activities to introduce them to the game of Rugby?

Under 8's first session on 'contact' %3A the plan is to get them on the ground with the ball, learning contact with the ground before the player%3A can anyone suggest some ground based drills with the ball, (eg forward roll) to get them going? Thanks

I am putting together a skills matrix of suggested/expected skills a child should have as they progress through the Continuum. eg, by under 7 a player should be able to do ABC, by under 8 they should be able to do DEF, by under 9 they should be able to do XYZ, etc. I want to break this down into novice, core and advanced, as well as positional (as they get older) Does anyone know of a format that exists like this already somewhere?

Under 8's drills%3A how to get players to stay in position (in their channels) defensively to avoid them chasing the ball all over pitch! thanks, David

I have started coaching under 8. where do i start with these bundle of energies? Any Videos coaching available some where?

can a under 8 play in the under 9's contact

This is my first year coaching Rugby and I am really struggling, I am coaching the under 8's team. The problem is their passing and catching skills require a lot of work but it is extremely difficult to keep them focused enough to work on these for any period of time, I would be grateful if anybody could offer any suggestions.

How can I improve my team's line speed in defence? Are there any drills which can help me?

Looking to plan a 1.5 hour session for under 8. Do you have any advice on specific under 8 rugby union drills

wanting to know what type of drill to do with a under 8's nrl team?

Hi I'm moving up from under 8 to under 9 has any one got any advise or lesson plan on how to introduce tackling many thanks Asked using Sportplan Mobile App

I coach under 8's and next season they will start contact. When am I allowed to start teaching them tackling skills? I sit january during their under 8 season or at the start of the under 9 season ?

I have started an under 10s team up, and I would say about 8 from the 13 children I have , did not play rugby until about 6 months ago. Of these players, there seems to be a lot of potential, as we are scoring tries against teams, that very rarely concede tries.the problem I got with them, is that we are very poor at organising our selves in defense when the opposition has the ball, which does result in us conceding quite a few tries. We have some very good tacklers in the team. Can anyone offer some ideas on how I can get them to organise themselves? Thanks . Chris.

Tips for teaching kids to pass? Under 7's%3A Posture, feet position, ball holding,action, short and long passes. Any guidance / links to websites please

In relation U9's, I've read about the two hands on the ball ruling in U7 tag, Is there a similar requirement in U9's to have both hands on the ball when running etc (this was flagged up by a learned touchline parent?). Can anyone close the loop on this one for me?

Does anyone have a definitive answer to this question%3A can I coach basic tackling skills to U8s now, in preparation for next season, without falling foul of any RFU rules or regulations? Hugo

Does anyone know some games for 5-8 year old children referring to rugby?

is a player offfide if he is comimg back to his team from a previous ruck/maul and as he passes through the opponents backs happens to intercept a pass?