“Next Week”
“28th October 2007”
The KJRFC Under 9’s Newsletter

Last Week

With the experiences of matches at Broadstreet and Harbury still in player’s minds, this week’s session was designed to be a lot more physical. Everyone got stuck in with tackling, rucking and mauling.

Remember guys  - a low ‘happy cat’ position when driving, eyes looking forwards if you are not holding the ball and communicate with each other. Coaches are no longer allowed on the pitch during matches so you will have to get yourselves organised at line-outs, scrums and restarts.

Let’s not forget the basics that we learnt in Tag – Solid wall in defence and a ‘goose’ formation in attack.

Training showed some big improvements in terms of commitment, no doubt helped by the efforts of the England Team throughout the World Cup and:

Yes – It was a Try !!!!!!

We were also joined by Thomas Hayes (2nd Week) and Laurence Parry who played with us last season. – Welcome to the squad guys

 Player of the Week

POTW went to Jack Nixon who had a cracking session – solid, determined attacking runs, legs pumping and fearless in defence. You set the standard this week Jack – top drawer

POTW also went to Thomas Hayes who in only his second week impressed us with how quickly he picked up the idea of communicating with his team at the breakdown, telling them when to drive, where the ball was and when opposition hands needed removing from the ball – A brilliant start Tom, well done

Tackler of the Week went to Dan Horner who took his tackling game to another level with a solid performance – his tackles were accurate, nice and low and carried out with great commitment – Ace job Dan

Club News

 

Next Week

We are away at Keresley RFC (North Warwickshire) 10.30 am start please

Keresley RFC
The John E. Radford Fields 
Burrow Hill Lane
Corley
Coventry
CV7 8BE

Telephone: 01676 540082

From M6 Motorway :

1. Exit the M6 at J3. 
2. At the roundabout, take the exit onto A444 Coventry for 1 mile. 
3. At the roundabout, take the second exit onto A444 for 0.7 miles. 
4. At the roundabout, take the second exit onto B4118 Holbrook Way for 0.4 miles. 
5. At the roundabout, take the first exit onto B4118 for 0.1 miles. 
6. At the roundabout, take the second exit onto Burnaby Road for 0.8 miles. 
7. Continue straight ahead onto The Scotchill for 0.3 miles. 
8. At the roundabout, take the third exit onto B4098 for 2.2 miles. 
9. Turn right onto Rock Lane for 0.2 miles. 
10. Turn right onto Burrow Hill Lane.

From A45 :

1. Exit the A45 at Allesley, Coventry.
2. At the roundabout, take the second exit onto A4114 Pickford Way for 0.2 miles. 
3. At the roundabout, take the second exit onto B4076 Coundon Wedge Drive for 1.2 miles. 
4. At the roundabout, take the second exit onto B4076 Coundon Wedge Drive for 0.4 miles. 
5. At the roundabout, take the second exit onto Long Lane for 0.4 miles. 
6. Turn left onto B4098 Tamworth Road for 1.3 miles. 
7. Turn right onto Rock Lane for 0.2 miles. 
8. Turn right onto Burrow Hill Lane. 

Please have warm / dry clothing available and a drink

(Don’t forget mouth guards please)

Steve
07884 000923

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“Next Week”
“21st October 2007”
The KJRFC Under 9’s Newsletter

 

Last Week

Training at home:
Despite being tucked up the corner and fighting for space with the U6’s we had a good training session at home concentrating on tackling, support play, rucking and mauling.  Everyone put in a lot of effort and there was some great improvement. Nobody won the Mars Bar for knocking Andrew over with the tackle bag but some came close – perhaps next week,  It was good to see some of the later tackles showing the same enthusiasm!

The skills were put to use in the game at the end with some good tackling, players looking to draw the defender and passing before the tackle and everyone got involved. When the ball went to ground there was some quick decision making to protect the ball and keep the attack going. Well done.

Broadstreet Festival:
The team faced pretty stiff opposition at the Broadstreet festival with teams from Lutterworth, Old Coventrians, Northampton Old Scouts and the hosts – Broadstreet.

 The first game was lost against a fairly strong home side as our players began to come to terms with the level of commitment needed.
 The second game should have been ours against Old Coventrians who managed to claw back two quick tries in the second half to secure a draw. Some good open play had created our points but tackling was our downfall.
 We the faced Old Scoutts who had a large and very physical side who beat us convincingly by hard straight running and by ripping the ball from our runners whenever we failed to turn and present the ball back towards our own supporting players.
 In the final game we faced Lutterworth who had been unbeaten by all of the other sides. Allowing them to run away with the game in the first half we then put on a brave period of defence which I believe was our best part of the day. At Half time each player realised how hard they now needed to work and launched into tackle after tackle. It wasn’t enough to save the game but each player involved should be proud of the effort they put in during that phase. A particular well done to Mathew Oller who  made a point of  asking for a big ‘Team call’ of “Kenilworth” before we took to the pitch again

 

Player of the Week

Training:
POTW went to put in a great effort in the drills, committed himself to making tackles, supporting the ball carrier and made some good runs

Broadstreet:
POTW went to Harry Garforth who threw himself into every game. He made every tackle that he could and scored some great tries. He worked hard for his team mates and had the correct balance of commitment at the breakdown (getting involved in rucks and mauls ) and in taking up an attacking or defending position. An all round excellent performance – You set the standard Harry – Ace job!

Tackler of the week went to Christopher Porter who also worked tirelessly to make his tackles in all four games. He showed that the desire to win is what is needed and put in some great contact against players bigger than himself – True Jonny W stuff! – well done Chris

Club News

 

Next Week

We are training at home for all players at the usual 10.30am. Again we will be doing lots more physical work in preparation for Keresley the week after and the weather is becoming more unsettled so please have warm clothing available and a clean change or tracksuit if going into the club afterwards.
 (Don’t forget mouth guards please)

Steve

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“Next Week”
“14th October 2007”
The KJRFC Under 9’s Newsletter

 

Last Week

Harbury Festival

 Jack Nixon wrote :

 “11 guys turned up for the Harbury tournament ready for action.

We enjoyed playing for the team and putting into practise what we had learnt. There were some good individual runs and tackles.

I(Jack) woke up this morning knowing we had played our first game of contact rugby.

We need to improve:

Good luck to the guys playing in the tournament at Broadstreet and see you in a fortnight to swap experiences.”

Having spoken to the other coaches it appears that Jack has summed up the morning well.. There were some good points but clearly some areas to improve. We mustn’t forget that many teams will have selected their just best players which always makes things hard but we must work extra hard at our training particularly the four points that Jack has pointed out.

Training at home

Those players who stayed at the club had a pretty good session with emphasis on tackling and getting up to your feet quickly before playing the ball. We used the Tackle bag for the first time and every player was hitting it at full speed. Remember guys if you can do that to a bag you can do it to another player. If we do not tackle we will lose all of our games. It is no good relying on someone else to deliver that part of the game. You all showed in training that you can do it so let’s make sure that happens at Broadstreet.

  

Player of the Week (training)

POTW went to Alfie Evans who showed everyone that he had the commitment and determination to score tries. Not stopping when a defending player first made contact with, him he drove on several times making good ground up the pitch. Solid work Alfie 

Tackler of the Week went to Adam Sidaway who made some technically good tackles in both the training drills and in the games. He didn’t shy away fro making contact which is essential, and then he went in positively bringing the attacking player to the floor before getting quickly to his feet. Keep it up Adam

Club News

No news this week

Next Week

It’s swap around this week, with those players who trained at home last week travelling to Broadstreet RFC and the remainder training at home. (Braodstreet RFC by the TGI Friday Roundabout / Binley Woods Roundabout)

Both start at the usual 10.30am.

Players travelling to the tournament please be on time as we will only have 20 minutes or so to get warmed up and quickly run over some of the lessons learnt by the other guys last week.
(Don’t forget mouth guards please)

See half of you next week
Steve

 

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“Next Week”
“7th October 2007”
The KJRFC Under 9’s Newsletter

 

Last Week

 We there we have it- for half of the squad the last training session before playing our first competitive game of rugby involving contact. Training this week was all about making sure that players got involved, made decisions and learnt the value of taking the ball whilst already moving forwards. This allows you to make ground towards the try-line, reduces the chance of being caught because you are already moving quickly and lets you see space ahead of you. If you don’t look to move the ball to space by running or passing you will not score tries or win games. I was really please to see all players working with this in mind and following good work all round some great tries were scored as a result.

Player of the Week

POTW went Nathan Burrows who worked especially hard in the coaching drills, listening and making sure that his runs were committed and that he made good ground forwards with the ball. Great job Nathan

POTW was also awarded to Mathew Oller who had a brill session. Particularly pleasing was that he was focused throughout the drills and the game. Particularly pleasing was a try he scored by seeing where there was space, staying out wide and then calling for the ball. A good pass to him meant he had only one player to beat before touching down for five pints – Game winning stuff Mathew

Tackler of the week went Rory Hancock who really got his ‘head in the game’ this week, using the skills he has learnt to good effect and making some really positive and solid tackles. Impressive start to the season Rory

Club News

One subtle addition to the fixture list.  -  On 25th November we are now playing Away  (NOT Training) at Berkswell and Balsall RFC where there will be a triangular with the home side and Claverdon RFC

Next Week

As per last week’s mail and confirmation on Sunday – half of the squad is away at the Harbury Tournament and the remainder are at home - training. Best of luck to those guys playing in the match – work hard, work together and have fun

See half of you next week

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“Next Week”
“30th September 2007”
The KJRFC Under 9’s Newsletter

Last Week

Writing this newsletter is getting easier because once again I can say that we have had a cracking morning of rugby training, with every player getting stuck into the new parts of the game. It is really interesting to see players starting to gain their confidence in and around the contact area. I was also really impressed with the technique that players have been using in their tackling. The work that Andrew has been doing each week has really paid off. Top marks all round. We ran out of time to introduce the line out but we will cover that next week.
One of the key coaching aims of the session was for players to take control at the breakdown (that is usually when a player has been caught or tackled). This requires quick decisions from players:

 

There are many more decisions that a players might make around the tackle area but whatever the decision remember:

If you are not on your feet you cannot play the ball

Player of the Week

POTW went to Luca Mitchell who impressed the coaches with many parts of his game this morning particularly his quick decision making, wasting no time in grabbing loose ball and running straight for the try line. This showed some great commitment and was a joy to watch. Cracking job Luca

POTW was also awarded to Jack Everitt who put on a great display of strong determined running. Realising that he had not always been held by tackling players Jack battled on to wards the try line on several occasions. He also showed that he could release the ball or make a pass when it was right to do so. You’re making massive improvements to your game Jack – keep it up.

Tackler of the week went to Kit Turner who delivered a top drawer demonstration of tackling technique. Certainly one of his tackles was just about the best I have seen from any players so far and meant that he richly deserved this week’s trophy- A great start with the squad Kit – lets have some more.

Club News

As we said last week we intend to send separate teams to the Harbury (7/10/07) and Broadstreet (14/10/07) Tournaments. This will maximise the actually playing time for each player when set against the inevitable ‘downtime’ between matches. I have listed below the selection of two squads. All other players will be training at Kenilworth as usual. I have tried to select two balanced ability sides so that either has an equal chance of success.
You will notice that each squad comprises 11 players - equating to 9 on the pitch and 2 rolling substitutes. This will only work if all players turn up and are available for the whole tournament. If they do not, then the whole team is in jeopardy. Please let me know as soon as you can if there is a problem.

Next Week

We are Training at home.  Prompt Start at 10.30 please to ensure that no player misses the warm up. The theme of the session will be about “Playing into Space”. We will also introduce the Line –out.

See you all next week
Steve

		Available?	Harbury	Broadstreet
		??	07/10/2007	14/10/2007
			Phil Andrew	Steve Sean
Bailey	Finn	Injured
Bednell	Mathew	X0	√
Burrows	Nathan	X0	√
Cullinare	James	XX		√
Evans	Alfie	XX		√
Everitt	Jack	XX	√
Garforth	Harry	XX		√
Goldie	Ben	XX	√
Haigh	Joseph	XX	√
Hancock	Rory	XX		√
Horner	Daniel	XX		√
Lawrence	Tony	0X		√
Mitchell	Luca	0X		√
Muir	Charlie	XX	√
Nelmes	Jordan	XX		√
Nicholls	Joe	XX	√
Nixon	Jack	XX	√
Oller	Matthew	0X		√
Porter	Christopher	0X		√
Ramsey	Connor	XX	√
Sidaway	Adam	XX		√
Theil	Valentin	XX	√
Turner	Kit	XX	√
			11	11

 

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“Next Week”
“23rd September 2007”

The KJRFC Under 9’s Newsletter

 

Last Week

Another cracking morning of rugby, with every player working hard in the warm-up, the training drills and in the match.
We were able to introduce the Crum for the first time.

Remember the key points:

 

At this stage NO PUSHING THE OPPOSITION in the Scrum.

I was really impressed with the way the players took in the information about the scrum, which was obvious when we asked a number of players to take part as Prop or Hooker in the final game.
I was also really pleased with the quality of the tackling and the desire by the attacking players to keep the ball alive. It would be great if we can think about passing the ball away from trouble not just running it, so that is an area we will look to develop.

We were also joined by another new player Kit Turner who got stuck in and who will no doubt go on to be a great asset – welcome to the squad Kit

Player of the Week

POTW went to Charlie Muir who impressed the coaches with his commitment in all areas of the game and particularly in his understanding that players should look to use space whenever possible. Remember Rugby is about not getting caught with the ball and space provides that opportunity.  - Great thinking and all round effort Charlie

‘Tackler of the week’ went to Harry ‘ The Boa Constrictor’ Garforth. Harry showed that once he had made contact with the ball carrier he could tighten his grip on any player no matter what size or how fast they were and bring them quickly to the floor just like a snake with a wild animal. (Harry didn’t eat anyone though – I would have blown my whistle - honest!) This was a great display by Harry – Top drawer stuff

Club News

As I mentioned at the end of the session we have our first games scheduled for 7th and 14th October – the Harbury and Braodstreet Festivals, respectively. Both have the potential to be all day affairs with RFU Continuum and club registration rules limiting player numbers and match durations. Given the healthy size of our squad and in an endeavour to maximise the benefits of our Sunday mornings we (coaches) have decided to send a separate squad to each festival with the remainder training at home.
Team selection will ensure equal match time for all players and we will seek to field a balanced ability team at both events. There may be a couple of players who go to both festivals just to even out the numbers if we have to. I suspect from the reaction on some of the parents faces that this decision meets with general parent approval. It will not affect the general matches we play home or away – just the tournaments and festivals.
 However, to make this work I need to have the availability of each player for both 7th and 14th October. Ideally your answer will be “Available for both” which makes logistics easier. If you will be at the venues in any event with siblings in other squads please also let me know so that I can take account of that.

So far I have replies from Nathan / Harry / Alfie / Joseph / Luca / Jordan / Mathew O. / Christopher and Valentin.
 Could you all let me know by mail, phone, text or Pigeon before next Sunday Please?

 

Next Week

We are Training at home.  Prompt Start at 10.30 please to ensure that no player misses the warm up. The theme of the session will be about taking control of the ball at the breakdown (Tackle). We will also introduce the Line –out.

 Once again the session should be fairly ‘busy’ with drinks being essential. There were still players without any last week – please make sure you are all properly equipped for the session. Please also begin to have warm weather gear available as the winter bears down on us.

IT IS NOT MUM OR DAD’S FAULT IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A DRINK!!!!!

 

See you all next week

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“Next Week”
“16th September 2007”

The KJRFC Under 9’s Newsletter

 

Last Week

I am pleased to report on a really good start to the season. Sunday’s training session was all about listening skills and decision making. – “Shall I pick the ball up and go?”  or “Should I drive the defender out of the way to let my scrum half have an easier pick-up?” These are the kind of decisions that players will be making all of the time throughout a game. Those that make the quickest decisions and then have the skill to carry it out will win. I was really pleased to see all of the players getting involved in tackling which can make some a little nervous to begin with. Remember if you go into the tackle with confidence and hold the player you are tackling tightly all the way to the floor you will be fine. Great stuff guys keep it up.
 A special mention for Rory, who joined us for the first time and got stuck in straight away with some really good listening skills and a willingness to learn.
Nice one Rory -  welcome to the squad

Player of the Week

POTW this week went to James Cullinare who listened really well throughout the session and put that into practice both in the drills and the games at the end. You certainly were listening James – well done

‘Tackler of the week’ went to Valentin Theil who put in some great tackles, remembering what he had been taught – contact with the shoulder, cheek to cheek, wrapping the arms tightly round the legs, squeeze and drive. Nice work Valentin

Club News

 

Next Week

We are Training at home.  Prompt Start at 10.30 please to ensure that no player misses the warm up. The theme of the session will be about getting into position in attack and defence. We will also introduce the ‘scrum’. Once again the session should be fairly ‘busy’ with drinks being essential. There were players without any last week – please make sure you are all properly equipped for the session.

One final point – Mouth guards – Ideally all players should wear one and it should be moulded to the mouth so that it fits well and provided protection to the teeth. It will not fit well or be comfortable if the player holds it in their hands and chews on the ends at every available opportunity. If anyone has a solution for preventing this please e-mail me back! In the meantime don’t do it!!!
 
See you all next week

Steve

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“Next Week”
“9th September 2007”

The KJRFC Under 9’s Newsletter

 

Last Week

It was great to see so many of you back after the summer and all raring to go. Thanks for those who let me know that they couldn’t make it too that is always useful to know when planning the session and as we move towards matches will become even more important.

A special Welcome to Connor who joined us for the first time after being introduced by Jack Everitt – It was great to see you getting involved and I have no doubt that with that attitude you will pick up all of the skills really soon.

Some of you may have seen Finn Bailey on the touchline nursing a broken arm.  I know that all of the players will want to wish him a speedy recovery and that he is soon back playing with us

Last week was primarily about getting back into the swing of things, registering and preparing for the true start of the season this coming week-end, which is why we did not use the Player of the Week Trophies. They will however be up for grabs this Sunday

 

Next Week

The session on Sunday will involve lots of very physical work.

We will be:

The weather forecast still looks good and so drinks are essential,
as are:

I have it in mind that at least one of the trophies is likely to be awarded to the player who “listens the hardest”. There will be a lot of information for players to take on board and listening skills will be really important – Remember if you hear the whistle it means the game should STOP.
Once you have stopped whatever you were doing before the whistle, stay where you are and wait for directions from the Coach or Referee. This will help with quickly explaining why the game has stopped and making sure that everyone is safe.

In the meantime enjoy the start of the Rugby World Cup – “Come on England” and :

See you all next week

Steve

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“Next Week”
“2nd September 2007”

The KJRFC Under 9’s Newsletter

 

Next Week

Well how fast a summer was that? But it’s true; next Sunday is registration day for the 07/08 season. Last year we had one or two ‘stragglers’ with this process which becomes a pain for all of the volunteers who have to co-ordinate the process.
Your timely completion of registration forms and cheques would be appreciated.
Registration will commence at 10am

I trust that all of the players have summered well and are raring to go as we enter our first season of what we might call ‘proper rugby’.

 It is really important that all of the players have mouth guards, the correct studs (not football studs – they are different and no moulded ‘blades’) It is also important that clothing, aside from the basic kit, is appropriate to the weather conditions and that drinks are brought by all players. This season will involve some pretty intense training sessions and dehydration can be both limiting on a player’s ability and dangerous.
If you have any queries re the above don’t hesitate to give me a call or mail.

I also hope that the word has spread and that we have new players coming to join us this season. There is no requirement for any new player to have competed in tag rugby before and I am sure that with the help of our existing squad any newcomers will be warmly welcomed and ‘taught the ropes’ quickly.

See you all next week

Steve

 

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