Is my child old enough to join a rugby club?

Mini Rugby is as popular as ever with most rugby clubs offering fantastic facilities, great coaching and a warm and friendly welcome.

There is no doubt club rugby is the natural pathway for our Rugbytots and whilst we are not a “technical coaching” organisation we aim to create excitement and passion for the oval shaped ball through our fun and dynamic classes.

The official RFU rugby coaching continuum starts at Under 7’s, which is school year 1.  This is the age that you can expect to play a small game of tag rugby and travel away for festivals and mini tournaments on a Sunday morning, when you are not training at the rugby club that is.

Many clubs offer an Under 6’s rugby option for reception age children, this is often called micro rugby. This is not part of the RFU continuum but many clubs will seek independent insurance to enable them to run this age group and offer home training sessions on a Sunday morning.

The big question many ask is; when is my child ready to join a rugby club?

The truth is every child is different. We have many Rugbytots who go off to play with their local rugby club too early (for them!) –  perhaps under 5s or under 6s and they return to Rugbytots very quickly sighting the obvious reasons – it was cold, the balls were too big, the session had too many children….it will of course depend on the set up at the club. On the flip side, many of our Rugbytots do not look back once they join their local club at this age and the pictures on social media of them donning their new club strips is a sight we love to see.

For us, it all boils down to one word…..Fun. Follow the path that makes your child happy. Some children are ready at the age of 5 to fly around a pitch diving in the mud, others may need another year or so. Its horrible when you hear stories of children having a negative association with rugby because they were made to train outside in the cold at the age of 4!. Again some may love it but just remember children develop at different stages. Do what makes them happy and you cant go far wrong.

If you would like to find your local rugby club please visit the RFU website: http://www.englandrugby.com/my-rugby/find-rugby/#

 

 

 

This entry was posted on 19th September 2017.