The following has been written to stimulate debate on the current state of Mini Rugby across Northern Ireland:
Would the establishment of a common (i.e. national) Mini Rugby training vision and set of objectives for years P4 to Maxi be a welcome development?
Mini Rugby during the rugby season regularly involves thousands of men, women and children across the whole of Northern Ireland on a Saturday morning. The adults who take part are all volunteers and range in experience from ex or current players (in turn with exposure to varying degrees of playing levels) to the first timer only there because son/daughter wants to be there. The establishment of a common vision and set of age group objectives could be used to unite this effort in turn greatly improving the skill levels going into senior rugby alternatively, it could be viewed as an unnecessary piece of regulation.
At present, there are guidelines laid out as to the type of game that can and cannot be played by the various age groups e.g. Leprechaun rugby, 3 or 5 man scrums, no line outs / 3 man line outs (described in detail in the IRFU Mini Rugby Regulations), however these can fall across a couple of groups and therein children of different ages. Further, the skill sets required for each is not as clearly defined or mapped out and where there is guidance it is limited and varied in its appliance at the grassroots level. It could be argued therefore that now is the time to develop a Common Skills Syllabus (CSS) which has a unifying vision and skill objectives for implementation across all age groups and clubs nationally.
Coaching Mini Rugby is a truly amateur pastime, but that does not mean to say it has to be left entirely to chance on a Saturday morning. Some would argue, that a CSS would be a welcome thing, enabling first time coaches (i.e. parents who have stepped forward to help) to develop themes and a structure for Saturday mornings. How often have children gone through 5 years (or more in some instances) of Mini Rugby to come out the end of it with still a limited knowledge of the rules of the game, how to pass, kick and catch correctly? A comprehensive CSS covering all age groups which is briefed and mentored by the club, would by the end of 5 years ensure that the child had developed all the basics and was then ready to take on the challenges of 15 a-side full contact game with confidence in their ability to conduct all the basics.
This appliance of a structure however would depend on 2 key facets; the willingness and participation of the club and coach. The club would have to be willing and interested not just to entertain a mini section on a Saturday morning but to invest both time and money in developing the infrastructure required to train and encourage a structured CSS offering. The club perhaps, should be insisting on a certain level of skill for the coaches and that prior to taking up a coaching spot they should attend an in-house series of coaching days. The balance here is that the coach is the parent of a child who they wish to be with, watch and be part of their rugby experience. Therefore it would have to be a series of sessions to coincide with youngster attendance and not so long and onerous that the parent is put off from volunteering (e.g. 4 one hour sessions alternately over 8 weeks). Whether all this would be achievable given the discrepancy in size of clubs and the already growing pressures on resources in today’s economic climate is debateable. Secondly, the coaches themselves vary widely in their expectations and ability. For some, what they want out of a Saturday morning session is purely the joy of assisting, for others it is to lead. What is clear across all elements is that there is a very wide spectrum of instructional ability which is a barrier to a standard offering. Ability of course can be improved and its development is at the forefront for some e.g. the ongoing work that the Ulster Branch undertake. Not all parents however want to or can (because of work / family commitments etc ) do external training, nor would they wish to be subjected to investigation or assessment on a Saturday morning, leaving the implementation of a CSS an extremely difficult thing to invigilate.
The other component in all this is the child. By bringing in a CSS infers measurement; there will be some who meet the targets others who do not. What then happens to each? Would this mean the formal implementation of streaming within the various groups? Certainly at present there is a propensity to stream children in Mini Rugby with “A” and “B” teams being the norm within many club sections, a CSS would serve to ratify this and make selection for each stream easier. To counter argue, is that given the speed by which children of this age change both physically and mentally, to assess and determine a child’s rugby playing ability on a set of rigid objectives is not recommended and requires a flexible and measured approach, the success of which requires trained and experienced coaches. The situation is further complicated by those children who join in randomly or spread their time across many other sports on a Saturday. There is a danger in these instances that those attendees are left to cope with a steep learning curve unless there is a willingness of coaches to spend time to bring the child up to speed with his / her contemporaries, or that there is a separate “catch up” group established to take on these individuals.
A CSS related approach does offer club sections the ability to promote a wider understanding of requirements and enables concurrent planning by coaches away from Saturday morning sessions. This improvement can only mean that children are better prepared to meet the challenges of their growing game structures as they progress and noticeable disparities in skill stages between visiting teams are diminished. If not a nationwide implemented solution, one that was drafted and given to clubs to utilise and develop could be argued to be a step in the right direction. What is not being argued though is a rigid, inflexible approach leading to a slavish obsession with completing drills and which starves the game and session of any entrepreneurial spirit.
If someone no matter what age (including coach) is not enjoying their rugby experience they will give it up for something else. Central to enjoyment is activity and involvement, how this is achieved correctly is through a planned and structured approach which develops and grows skills. Parents / coaches without it, become directionless focusing on the skills familiar to them and unwittingly enforcing bad practice throughout the child’s Mini Rugby career. Left to random skill development, unstructured learning and aimless sessions, confusion and disparity creeps in and children end up starting a senior rugby career with major skill variances. The development and implementation of a Common Skills Syllabus though fraught with complexity and at the mercy of rigid application, would be welcome and should be considered.
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all good fun
