Arrival Time: 10:00 Kick Off: 11:00
Whilst we have many absences due to the school holidays, we still have too many boys to accommodate everyone that is available for the Thurrock fixture.
In selecting the squad, we will commit to ensuring everyone will play at least 30 minutes rugby (2x15 minute sessions). We have also tried to balance:-
· Giving a run out to boys that haven’t started a match yet
· Trying a few of boys in different positions (e.g. we are working on hookers at the moment. We have too many props and no stand out hookers yet)
· Having a reasonably balanced squad to be competitive against, what we are told, are tough opposition.
Team:
Gemmell, Coppock, Cannon, Pugh, Hogan (VC), Greenall, Gallop, Cubric, Kingham, Oliver, Dodds (C), Brow C, Hughes, Taylor & Silk.
Subs: Costanzo, Webber, Roberts, Joyce, White, Mitchell B., Smith, Palmer, Brown O. & Bowden.
Match result can be found on our Under 13's Fixtures webpage.
http://clubs.rfu.com/Clubs/portals/BishopsStortfordRFC/Under13sMatchFixtures.aspx
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Week 7 - Oct 11th
Training on pitches behind clubhouse.
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Week 6 - Oct 4th
First League Match of the Season - A's & B's Home to Teddington.
Teddington should be a good fixture, but we believe the boys are well prepared and each team will get better as the season progresses and the boys become more accustomed to playing patterns and their own abilities. Whilst the same will be true of other teams, I believe we have an excellent coaching structure throughout the club to help and support the age group coaching team, which also has a broad knowledge and depth of playing experience (plus, of course, the guidance we occasionally receive from the sidelines!).
A-team meet in changing room (4) by 10.00am.
B-team arrive by the second team pitch for 11am to watch first half of A-team match.
B-team to meet in changing room (4) at 11.30am.
A-team to watch remainder of B-team match after changing into shirt, tie, trousers (a shower seems to be ‘optional’ for the boys, ie they don’t have one!).
Equipment
- Boots (aluminium studs or approved blades).
- Club socks.
- Club shorts.
- Playing shirt will be provided.
- Gum shield.
- Shoulder pads /scrum caps (optional).
- Tracksuit.
- Water, sports drinks (essential).
Post-match
Team managers will collect the match shirts and distribute meal tickets. Boys expected to have post match food with opposition, especially bearing in mind the distance they will have travelled.
After our first Sunday of youth, league rugby I hope the level of entertainment and excitement can be continued throughout the rest of the season and that everyone enjoyed themselves.
Thank you to all those who supported the boys and well done to each and every player; every boy did their best and the coaching team think the boys did themselves proud and showed great commitment and potential. Whilst there are areas for us to improve on, in terms of playing patterns and individual techniques, we are pleased with what we saw and look forward to the rest of the season with a lot of optimism.
The team of the day was unquestionably the B-team. Not only a good result (17-12 win) against a well organised Teddington B-team, but a solid performance; with a little bit more self belief, the all important fourth try would have come and earned the team a try bonus point (4 tries or more). As it was, they will have to settle for the four points for the W!
The B-team have finished the last two seasons very well, but this is the first time they have started so well and I think an important part of this is down to the renewed focus on coaching, especially from Shaun Roberts.
I will leave the match report for one of the team coaches from the day, but special mention goes to a real stand out performance from Banner-Eve; he not only tackled like a demon, scored a try and covered every blade of grass, he sent a massive message back to the selectors! Well done Ed, great show.
What was apparent from the B-team match, was the platform the forwards continually created and the running lines from the backs were very impressive to watch. Rucking and ball handling has clearly gone up a level. A magnificent team effort all round.
Man of the match: Bryce Finnegan. A strong performance as the 8th man, without any training/coaching other than on the day from Shaun.
The A-team put on a very exciting match, with the lead changing hands 5 times, against Teddington A-team. Whilst missing Train and Oliver, as well as losing Pratt and Dodds during the match, the team still had the game won, until they lost it in the cruellest way!
Without playing their best rugby, there were still glimpses of what they can do, including turning around a half time 17-12 deficit to be ahead 24-22 with the final play. The boys secured their own line out ball and kicked the ball toward the dead ball line. Unfortunately Stortford pitches have the largest in-goal areas I have ever known and a cruel backward bounce of the ball kept it alive rather than going dead. Even then, we could still have reacted and touched the ball dead, but it was an alert Teddington hooker who dived over to clinch the win 27-24.
The boys will never forget how big the in-goal area is now and the coaches will have to teach them the art of the ‘accidental’ knock on to finish the game!
A massive learning experience but, perhaps more importantly, the monkey is off their back; the years of winning have come to an end, so they can relax and get on with enjoying their rugby!
Scorers: Tries; Bowden, Silk 2, Dodds
Conversions; Malins, Dodds
The good news; Stortford earned 2 points. 1 losing bonus for finishing within 5 points of the winner and a try bonus (4 tries).
Man of the Match: George Silk. 2 good tries and an outstanding second half performance from full back.
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Week 5 - Sep 27th
Training on pitches behind clubhouse.
Plan for next two weeks
Sunday’s training was a good session and we introduced a couple of new drills from Andy ‘Molly’ Malone (Colts Coach and Mighty 5ths player/manager) that we will adopt in future (they are drills our first team uses and are all part of the club’s drive to improve standards throughout the age groups). On November 8th, I have arranged for a former county player and current county coach to come over and do some work with the forwards (so please try and make sure your son makes that session).
This Sunday is our last training session before the first league match on October 4th. The plan is:-
· Start training 10am sharp (the club will be busy so please arrive in plenty of time)
· After warm up, we will speak with a number of boys individually about how selection affects them for the first half of the season
· 10.30 announce the squads to the group of boys
· Group drills (rucking for all, set pieces A&B forwards/A&B backs)
· Training match AvB 11.00am-11.30
o this will be based around each team, in turn, attacking then defending ie not a normal match.
o coaches will work on specifics with each team (forwards’ coaches with both sets of forwards and backs’ coaches likewise)
· 11.30 – 12.15
o Specific team/squad coaching
o Set pieces
o Positional work
Please note; training will finish at 12:15 for this Sunday.
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Week 4 - Sep 20th
Training on pitches behind clubhouse.
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Week 3 - Sep 13th
First Match of the Season (Training Match) - A's & B's Away to Shelford.
On behalf of the coaching team; thanks for a great turn out on Sunday. We thought the boys looked very smart pre-match and conducted themselves in an exemplary manner.
The rugby organisation by Shelford was poor, particularly for a club that plays in the national leagues. This meant our playing rotation plan went ‘out of the window’, but we hope everyone played at least one full session (or equivalent).
In the first session, the A vs A match was too one sided for us to learn much. The A's try scoring account was opened after 36 seconds by Doddsy and in the B vs Shelford A/B, Smithy opened the B's account with a try after 59 seconds.
The results were irrelevant to us as the main objective was to give everyone a decent run out. There were many encouraging performances; Calder at 10, Palombo when in the second row, Pratt at openside; Cubric back row, Moore / Mitchell half backs. Every player contributed in their own way and if nothing else, we know that the squad is good enough to compete at youth level and each player should take confidence from that.
Man of the Match awards: A Team - Silk.
B Team - Smith & Finnegan.
Well done to all the boys making their Stortford debuts (Taylor, Cannon, Palombo, Gallop); they all have an exciting future ahead and there is no doubt they will help raise the overall standards in the age group.
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Week 2 - Sep 6th
Registration + Mouth Guards + Training on pitches behind clubhouse.
Week 1 - Aug 30th
Registration + Mouth Guards + Training on pitches behind clubhouse.
A passport photo is required with the registration form this year. Please ensure this is brought along when you register as it will save me having to chase in the coming weeks!
All players are also required to have a club tie this year, this is because after matches they have to change into a shirt and tie with smart trousers. I have obtained a supply of these from the club and will be selling them this Sunday and next Sunday to players in our age group at £10 each (£12 if bought in the shop).
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U13 General News
Squad Selection
The principles we have used for selection are:-
· We selected the A squad choosing the best player in each position.
· We then selected the best player for each position in the B squad (with a few exceptions, bearing in mind we have to register 20 players for each squad).
· Of the (many) boys we think are marginal A/B, we had to make a call on which squad to put them in; clearly there are some very good players that could be in the A squad that will be registered with the B squad initially (the boys will be playing for their places between now and Christmas).
· The ‘marginal’ players will get moved between squads between now and Christmas. The coaching team will advise each boy the area they need to work on (this could be individual techniques, how they work with the units around them, fitness, positional play etc).
· We will take 3 or 4 substitutes to each league match (including at least 1 front row replacement-league stipulations). We will also nominate a ‘non-travelling substitute’ in case of need.
· Those boys not selected for a league match or are named as a substitute will play in the friendlies.
· For all friendly matches we will take the entire age group (assuming we have and A&B fixture) and guarantee that everyone plays at least half a match (25 mins).
If any points are not clear, please feel free to email me or call to discuss (or chat next Sunday).
Injuries
As the boys progress, injuries will play a bigger part in each season. We have experienced very few injuries over the years (other than the boy who played with a broken arm for weeks because his dad thought he was whinging), but this season we have had Nick Train sidelined until after half term (he is making a good recovery now), Teddy Oliver awaiting the outcome of a scan on his back and a couple of head bumps on the hard ground (fortunately nothing serious).
Please bear in mind, we are rugby coaches not medical staff. We have the necessary first aid cover and good people around us in the club and at other clubs (as we evidenced at Shelford). However, we don’t see everything and, when we do see an impact or potential injury, we can only attend to what your son tells us. Please let your son know, that in a situation where they think they haven’t had the right attention, they must tell us. If all looks right and they tell us they are fine, we can do little else to help or guide them. Safety is paramount; most of the coaching team are players or former players and we do understand pain and risk. Whilst every rugby player has to deal with pain (it can’t be any other way in such a physical sport) we all have a threshold and the boys are learning about theirs! Whilst their ability to deal with pain will be a key factor in how far they progress in future years, for now they are learning and they MUST communicate with their coaches so we can help them understand and play in a safe (albeit not risk free) environment.
Please let me know if there are any other injuries that are currently affecting your son’s ability to play in the next two weeks.
Finally, please ensure your son comes to training and matches with the correct footwear (we have one boys playing in football studs; he will not be allowed to play any match) and they are appropriately clothed as the colder weather approaches. Sports drinks and water are essential, so too is a sports snack immediately after training (you will be aware that the coaches always rehydrate post training!).
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Pre-Season – July 12th
Message from Paul Dodds (Head Coach)
Dear All,
Welcome to pre-season and our first steps into Youth Rugby. Pre-season training starts this Wednesday at the club. The idea is to start getting the boys fit and ready for the new season and to help them acclimatise to a full size pitch. Please try and encourage your son to come along to as many sessions as possible; the emphasis will be ‘fitness and fun’, leaving the ‘heavy’ work until after the club’s coaching course in August!
Some key dates:-
· Pre-season training very Wednesday 6.30pm – 8pm
· Club AGM this Wednesday 8th July, 8pm
· Beer festival Saturday July 18th, from noon
· Club’s rugby course August 17-20th . the course will be run by the club’s 1st team coach, Peter Engledow, with support through the week from the U13s coaching team. (Details from Jane if you want your son to join in; we have a great turn out from the age group so far, so don’t miss out).
Please email back if your son IS attending training this Wednesday, as I know a number are away this week.
Looking at the U13 squad as a whole, we had up to 42 boys by the end of the season. We have to register a minimum of 20 boys for each team playing in the leagues. We, therefore, need a summer recruitment campaign for new talent. If you or your son knows anyone that might be interested, please encourage them to come and join in. We are keen to ensure we can enter two competitive squads this season.
League matches start in September for the 1st and 2nd team squads, so we need to get an idea about each squad’s make up. We hope to arrange a couple of training matches prior to the September league matches, so watch this space.
Finally, if any email addresses need changing, please let me know.
Have a great summer and look forward to seeing you and your son soon.
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