MINI MATTERS Week 3! Sunday 18 th September 2016 Hello Datchworth Mini Section Coaches, Managers, Players, Parents and Supporters, The weather was once again on our side and another big turnout of players and supporters for our third dedicated training weekend. All age groups enjoyed a good turn out and the players are getting back into Rugby after the summer break. With our final pre-fixture training weekend next week, along with Squad Photographs we are looking forward to the Season ahead. Club Photographs Next week Please be aware that the age group Squad Photographs will be taken during next week s training session, Jason Philips and Paul Ward will be behind the lens this season, age groups will be requested to come to the front of the club house throughout the morning. Each age group players will be supplied with match shirts to wear or the photos by your age groups manager/coach. Please could all players wear club match shorts and socks for the photographs (the club kit shop will be open on the day if needed) and Managers and coaches in your Datchworth clobber as well! Order forms will be available over the next couple of weeks. U6 Datchworth Home Training It was the 3rd Sunday morning for the under 6s with a change in the weather to cooler conditions with the milder climate further increasing the numbers to well over 20! Before we started fantastic help from Edward Howard setting out all the belts for the kids and parents making it easier for the new and old ones getting setup. As usual we took part in a joint warm up with the Under 7s led by Coach Pip with 'Paint the Field' and then Beans (runner, frozen, green, broad, pea, baked, giant, disco, French and Mexican) giving a good run around before we split into separate year groups. The boys and girls had a great session practicing carrying with two hands (squash the peanut), scoring tries (squash the beetle!) and tagging (ducks 'n' dinosaurs) drills finishing with their first game showing their skills with 2 games of 5-a-side (Gryffindor vs Big Turkeys; Fab five vs Eagles). As is tradition we ended with a great game of bull dog where the under 6s showed the coaches great movement. Coach Matt will soon learn not to try and chase down a speedy 5year old - rookie mistake! Player of the week was Nathan McGinty who scored a few tries, showed great tagging and dodge in bull dog. We also upped the coaching with 4 new coaches stepping up and helping (welcome to that journey :)). Also thanks for Andrew for brand new balls for the group which the kids loved running around with.
Please can all parents ensure they register their children and email addresses with Sally so we have an accurate record of all the kids. U7 Datchworth Home Training As festival preparations begin, the U6 and U7s warmed up together but split after this into their own age groups. The U7 squad focused on rugby fitness skills with the ball, tag turn pass and applying our learning in a game situation. It all looked really promising, building on last year s great progress. Player of the week for the U7s was Guy. Well done Guy!! U8 Datchworth Home Training Thank you everyone for a great turn out, our numbers keep growing and it is obvious to all the coaches we've a really strong team building. This week saw the same formula of rolling games and drill areas. I personally noticed and I hope you saw the difference in the passing square when stopping the players, reminding them of the task they then made great changes in their efforts and results. Next week we start our preparation for the Letchworth festival 2nd October, rolling games and break out areas for one on one tuition to help the players get ready for a fun and busy festival away. We were delighted to award Sam Shurety player of the week, Sam has played at Datchworth for 3 years and today displayed the virtues we try to instil in all our players, helpful, listening, communicating, great effort and of course having fun..well done Sam! U9 Datchworth Home Training A great session by all for the u9s with 20 plus children turning out. The guys continue to progress well on the tackling front and there will be a few sore bodies around this week with some fantastic effort being put in on defence. The man of the match went to Trent for some superb passing bringing his team mates into the game and opening up space. Just a reminder to the parents the u9s are on parking duty next week so please can we have some volunteers to help out.
U10 Datchworth Home Training Today we had another good turnout for the under 10's and training was focused on the breakdown. We were practising quickly recycling the ball after contact, given contesting this is a key change for our age group. We followed that up with some game time, introducing uncontested scrums as well. There is still a way to go to get the whole squad used to the changes that need everyone to be much more switched on to keep the ball, but we're seeing progress. Congratulations to William Jones for getting Player of the Week due to his sustained work rate and concentration throughout the session today - of which we need more! Welcome back to Sam George who trialled after having playing tag for us a couple of years ago. A final thanks to all the parents who showed up early for parking duty - it was great to see so many people turn out. U11 Datchworth Home Training The U11 Squad were almost at full strength this week and the boys continued to build on the good start from the first couple of weekends. A gentle warm up game was followed by some paired and then small group activities to focus on ball handling, rucking and creating space. This week s session was finished off with an excellent training game with the U12s. The U11s were handed the advantage of both player numbers and the slope which helped the U11s to narrowly take the game 3-0 which will hopefully give the boys some confidence as they look towards the Letchworth Festival and Luton fixtures. The U11s worked hard in the breakdown and the tackle area to deal with the slightly larger U12 players. While clearly much to work on the Coaching team were very happy with the commitment and approach to the game environment. This week Kobie Richmond was Player of the Week for his attitude to the training drills and his commitment to the tackle and breakdown in the game with the U12s. It was also great to see 10 of the boys at the mid-week training session and it would be good to keep this up over the winter months.
U12 Datchworth Home Training A thankfully dry and slightly cooler day greeted the U-12s as the survivors from the previous nights bowling, and the rest of the squad gathered for their third week of the new season. Numbers remained steady, with some 15 players turning up for training. Ben ran the session again, and began to ramp up the pressure slightly as we prepare for our first matches at the Letchworth festival. The drills combined tackling and passing, off loading and communication skills, all of which are vital for match play. The boys all put in a great effort, and began to run the drills at speed towards the end. For the last 20 mins we played a match against the U-11s, which much to the players frustration they lost 3 0. However, it should be pointed out that we only played 10 players at a time, while the U- 11s played 15 for most of the game, to allow maximum player participation. Again, all the boys put in a maximum effort, and the communication between players is improving in match situations. Tyler was awarded Player of the Week for his consistent efforts during the drills and the match. Well done Tyler. We seem to be adopting an enhanced timetable for these training sessions at the moment, with a Warm-up 10:00-10:30hrs, Drills 10:30-11:30hrs and match play 11:30-12:00hrs. It would be helpful if as many boys as possible could get to the club for 10:00hrs. Not only are you more likely to get a parking space, but there are bacon rolls, cookies and hot drinks available in the clubhouse for breakfast as well. Youth Arrangements U13 - Home Pool match vs Watford U14 - Home Friendly vs Royston U15 - Away League at Stortford B U16 - Away League at Ruislip U18 - Training (behind the village hall) I thought you would all be interest to hear that two of the U18s made their adult rugby debut last Saturday, both lads playing for the 2 nd XV. It was also great to hear that three of the U18s (Will Turley, Tommy Paskell, and Tom Austin) have been included in the Hertfordshire County U18 training squad for this season. Senior Rugby Datchworth first IX had a great result on Saturday at home with a 15 5 win over Hitchin, we wish them luck for this Saturday s away match against Staines.
Next Weekend Car Parking Duty Thank you to Paul Ward and the U10s this week providing a successful weeks parking, and to Neal Jeromson for helping with setting out the cones. Next Sunday the U9s are on Car Parking duty week Marie will be on the case for volunteers. Mid-week Training Wednesday 14 th September Last week we saw good numbers in most of the mid-week age groups. Mid-week training continues again this week under the flood-lights; The U9s and U10s have decided to start at 7PM; the U11s and U12s are starting at 7:30, (coach availability), on Wednesday evening. Please come along if you can. Dogs at Datchworth Other Club News & Information In the interest of all our players please can I remind our supporters that while we welcome dogs on leads at Datchworth they must remain controlled on the pitch side and all dog waste must be collected and disposed of, if you are caught by surprise dog poop bags will be available from the club house from next week. First Aid Thank you to Sarah McGuinness, of Critical Response Training, who has kindly arranged new first aid kits to mini and youth age groups. DBS Checks As a reminder all team Managers and head coaches require DBS Checks to be in place. Sarah Philips is the Clubs point of contact who will assist with any outstanding and required checks. Please can I remind you that all DBS Checked club officials are required to be social members of the club, this enables an RFU number to be allocated and the DBS application can then be processed. Lost and Found U8 Coach Steve Wooldridge has left his Datchworth Canterbury coat on a chair in the clubhouse, If you have picked it up by accident please could you pass it to Steve this Sunday. Minis section Tour To Norfolk, April 2016 Date in the Diary the 7 9 th April 2016, forms will be available at end of September
Forth coming Fixtures & Events Week Date Datchworth RFC Mini Section Provisional 16/17 Season Parking Duty 4 25-Sep Mini Section Squad Photographs Day TBC + Training at Datchworth (mandatory) U9 5 2-Oct 6 9-Oct 7 16-Oct Letchworth RFC TAG FESTIVAL U7 & U8 Letchworth RFC CONTACT FESTIVAL U9 to U12 TBC Confirmed Away Fixture Vs Luton and St Albans RFC Jimmy Hanafin Fix Sec Luton RFC fixtures@lutonrugby.com - 07806 716 312 U13 U14 No 8 23-Oct Training at Datchworth - Coach Swap Weekend (1 hour) TBC Pitch Allocation Sunday 25 th Sept DATCHWORTH RFC Training Plan (Provisional) Sunday 25 th September Not Used Youth Team Fixtures Note Subject to Change: - Assumption is that 1 x Youth Game will play on the First XV pitch and the other on the Village Hall Pitch. - U18 Training will either be adjacent to Village Hall Pitch or on the back field depending on time / numbers:
Closing Notes With one more week of dedicated training before the Datchworth Mini Section embarks on the fixtures programme we are seeing improved skills and game play across all the age groups. Next week the club will be taking the team squad photographs. The following weekend we wish the Tag age groups the best of luck for their fixtures at Letchworth. Have a great week and see you all on Wednesday or next Sunday. Best wishes, Andrew Andrew Howard Chairman Mini Section