Another week with 40 u6s in our session is great news for the section (and even better news for the 1st team in 15 years time… maybe). The amazing thing is that we again had lots of new faces - so, we might just get busier!

Those new to the u6s are starting to become aware of how we run the sessions and I hope are enjoying themselves. The u6s never tell us how the session went - so if they tell you something (good or bad!) please let us know.

A little housekeeping:

Please arm your little ones with a named drinks bottle to have with them pitch side. They get through a lot of running and tend to want to drink LOTS.
Please arrive @ 0945 to sign in. It takes about 10mins to get signed in, a bib, tags and a tag belt etc.
If you are a little late (after 0955) - please seek out our outside “desk”, where you will be able to sign in and collect bib, tag belt and tags. (It’s a little scary heading onto the pitch alone - hence why we try to go out as a big group).
We’ve resized the new tag belts, so they should be a better fit next week.
Tag belt needs to go around the waist - over the top of the bib.
Tags should be stuck on, one each side at the hip.

Helpers:

We try to run a ratio of at least one adult to every 5 or 6 players, with one/two spare coaches moving pitches. We find this helps the players get the most fun out of the session and you’ll see the most improvement. At the moment, we’ve got an enthusiastic core coaching team who are all engaged with developing our children as players and themselves as coaches - all of which are u6 parents. Whilst it might look like chaotic fun, we are working hard to plan games and activities to inspire our children to be future lovers of sport as well as developing rugby skills.

Yet, there isn’t enough of us to run the ratios to deliver the best sessions every week. We really need regular help, to make sure our children finish the session, and more importantly the season, “loving it”.

The good news is that we aren’t asking you to give up masses of time - just to dive in for the same amount of time that you would spend watching from the touchline - even if it’s only one week in four. We need:

Regular “on-pitch” help. Adults happy to run about on a pitch, with another coach, helping the activity to flow. You don’t need to be a career rugby player! Caution: this is loads of fun AND great for your fitness - oh its usual quality time with your child to - although we can keep you apart!
Assault course helpers - It’s an activity we use a lot for 1:1 technique / skills. One or two helpers allow the coaches to drive the activity and achieve more.

If you’d be happy to help us make the sessions even better, please drop me (Rob) a note so that we can re-establish our list of parent heros! (Forgive me - if you have helped already, please still drop me a note. I’m busy learning 50-60 players names I haven’t got round to all the parent ones yet!)