U14s at the Cru
May. 26th, 2007 12:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
chickenfeetWe had 24 U14s at the Crusaders this morning and they had over 40! We put 4 sides together and played a round robin tournament. Considering we are talking 12 and 13 year olds and that half of them were playing their first game of full contact rugby the standard of play was remarkably good. By a bit of luck, one of our experienced props didn't show up so we started the lad I talent spotted on Thursday night. I made a bet with our head coach that by the end of the season he'd be one of our star players. An hour later I had won my bet. The kid is just a natural forward, probably more a flanker/8 than a prop but that may turn mostly on how tall he ends up. Several of the others were very very impressive too. We have plenty of room for improvement but it's a very encouraging start.
Good things:
Some incisive runs
Scrummaging
Ball retention in the tackle, provided the player went to ground
The tackling, especially early on
Good hustle in the tackle zone
Some good handling
Needs work:
Restarts
Line outs (ghastly)
Tackles got weaker and higher as the guys got tired
Body position when going into contact
Too many horrible throw the ball anyway passes out of the tackle
Support for players stood up in the tackle
No real understanding of what's legal and what's not in the tackle zone(1)
I'm getting a huge kick out of this!
(1)To be fair, this problem is shared with most players, coaches (especially the ones who haven't plated recently) and a goodly proportion of referees.
Good things:
Some incisive runs
Scrummaging
Ball retention in the tackle, provided the player went to ground
The tackling, especially early on
Good hustle in the tackle zone
Some good handling
Needs work:
Restarts
Line outs (ghastly)
Tackles got weaker and higher as the guys got tired
Body position when going into contact
Too many horrible throw the ball anyway passes out of the tackle
Support for players stood up in the tackle
No real understanding of what's legal and what's not in the tackle zone(1)
I'm getting a huge kick out of this!
(1)To be fair, this problem is shared with most players, coaches (especially the ones who haven't plated recently) and a goodly proportion of referees.
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no subject
Date: 2007-05-26 05:49 pm (UTC)I'm getting a huge kick out of this!
It's important to tackle these things head-on.
no subject
Date: 2007-05-26 08:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-26 08:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-26 11:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-27 12:04 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-26 07:58 pm (UTC)That's obvious, to say the least! You're CUTE!
*runs*
no subject
Date: 2007-05-26 08:24 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-27 12:03 am (UTC)And a big hwre for you for helping out the poor kids who may not get a chance to play rugby otherwise.