Easter Rugby Activity Day, Massive Success!

6/4/2015

P1-3s involved in the Rugby Activity Day

On Friday 3rd April 2015, 67 kids ranging from P1-P7 were involved in Orkney Rugby Club’s annual Easter Rugby Activity Day organised by Tom Hughes and Mark Sinclair. As usual the groups were split with the P1-3s running from 10am – 12noon and the P4-7s from 1pm – 3pm at Orkney Rugby Club. With conditions holding up well, the day was a massive success.

P4-7s involved in the Rugby Activity Day.

First up was the 41 P1-3s who had signed up for the day from 10am – 12noon. After everyone got warmed up from some big games of Stuck in the Mud, players were then split into 3 groups that they stayed in for the rest of the session. This was because there were 3 skills stations that each group spent 30 minutes on. The skills stations were based on:
Passing and Catching ran by Taylor Pilkington Tait and James Nicolson.
Evasion and Tagging ran by Ryan Arcus, Kristi Pilkington Tait and Molly Tait.
Introduction to Contact and Explosive Movements ran by Brian Lanni and Tom Hughes. Within the stations, players got introduced to many new games such as Rob the nest, Piggy in the middle, Boundary ball on top of their usual Team Tagging games, Assault Courses etc.

With several spectators overlooking the sessions, all the players did not disappoint with the skill level on show. Everyone was trying their hardest and really getting involved which had a great impact on the Day. There were lots of great passes and catches, running skills and also several big tackles in the contact area. Hopefully we can continue to build up the Fundamental skills of the younger age group, so they can then be well prepared to step into the P4-7 age group in future.

Next up was the 26 P4-7s. Their session ran from 1pm – 3pm. All players were involved in a big warm up and were then split into 2 groups for their skills stations. Again we had a Passing and Catching station ran by Taylor PT and Mark Sinclair and also an Introduction to Contact station ran by Brian Lanni, Adrian Askew, Rhys Davies, Karen Davies, Karen Skea, Ryan Arcus and Tom Hughes. In the Skills Stations players got to play new games such as Bulldog Breakthrough and also have what was called a “Rugby Bosh Up” where players had to try and break through a line of coaches (all carrying tackle shield) by Passing the ball and also taking the ball into contact.

After the Skills Stations, players were then introduced to a game of Capture the Flag that ran really well. This gave the players a chance to work on their passing/catching, Running/Tagging and also their kicking skills. After this we then had a mini Tag Rugby Tournament with 4 different teams. Within this mini tournament, it was clear that the skills on show throughout their Stations had been brought into the games, leading to many great tries, runs etc. To finish with we had a game of Players vs Coaches and despite the player’s efforts, the Coaches knowledge and experience of the game contributed towards a fun and comfortable win in the end. Everyone still finished with smiles on their faces which was great to see.

ORFC Modern Apprentice Mark Sinclair said:

“It was great to see so many kids involved within the Rugby Activity Day. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed it and impressed all of the coaches who were running the sessions on the day. I think the coaches also had a massive contribution towards the player’s efforts and they continuously provided constructive feedback as well as providing successful sessions.

Hopefully we can continue to build from here, and we see the same commitment or more for the next Rugby Event. Well done to all involved!”

Report by Mark Sinclair (ORFC & SRU MA)