Saturday, December 29, 2012

Rugby Weather

The ball hides during the parent v kid scrimmage

Vince, Donovan and Max posing for the fans.
Saturday's weather proved to be perfect for rugby. The field was wet from it raining all night and the temperature hovered in the low 40's. Frozen hands and the occasional mist made it all the better and got everyone in the mood for running and playing some rugby. We ran a few drills and, with everyone being so cold, we went straight into the scrimmage. We had eight boys they matched up against the 5 adults. The kids played great, running into the defense, passing the ball back and flanking. Vince to Cam to Gabriel for the try. Jack to Karl to Max for another one. I am pretty sure everyone scored a try. The adults had a habit of being offsides and passing the ball forward which should have meant a penalty and a turn over for the adults. The kids didn't complain, they just kept attacking. The kids took the day on their last possession. Good stuff.

Registration has begun for winter session. Go to the main website and find out more! http://atlantayouthrugby.com

Friday, December 28, 2012

Winter Session Registration!

It's time! Winter is here and it is time for rugby! Head on over to the website and sign up!

Winter Session will start January 6th and runs every Saturday till March 9th. We are going to continue to meet at the corner of Hurt and Euclid so the field is free as long as it’s available, but we have some other costs to cover so we will be charging a small fee for the sessions. The cost will be $40. This will get the kids 10 weeks of rugby, a t-shirt for each kid, team insurance through USA Rugby and a first aid kit for the team. We are splitting the sessions up by age, the 6-8 year olds will meet at 10am Saturdays and the 9 years and older group will start at 11am. We will also run tackle drills from 12pm till 12:30 for those who want to learn tackle techniques. Please check the appropriate checkbox on the registration form if your child is interested in tackle drills.

We also hope to play another club this Winter. We will need to see how we are doing with our skills and if another club can field a team with matching ages. We will keep you posted on that.

Thursday, December 20, 2012

Weight of a Nation: All Blacks Documentary

Well, this is worth watching. The New Zealand All Blacks road to the 2011 Rugby World Cup. Good Stuff.

"A 2 Hour Documentary That Traces The All Blacks Through 2011 Up To And Including The Final Of The Rugby World Cup, As Seen Through The Eyes Of The All Blacks Coach Graham Henry And His Team."

Saturday, December 15, 2012

Third Session: December 15th, 2012

Today we had about 20 kids with a good mix from previous sessions and a few first timers. We had two new parent-coaches with experience playing rugby and they really made the practice excellent. Coach Paul and Coach Collin introduced some new drills and took the reins during the scrimmage, coaching their sides and really getting the boys into it. By the end of the scrimmage it was starting to look like real rugby out there with some great running and passing on offense and some great defense. Some boys said that Yellow scored more and won the day, but no one was really keeping score, so we will never know for sure.

We will do it again in two weeks and then we will start weekly sessions in January!

Sunday, December 2, 2012

Second Session. December 1, 2012

25 kids! Twenty five kids came out to the field in Inman Park for the second session rugby. That is a lot of kids and it was too much for me to handle on my own. Luckily for me, Jamie Allen and Tom's grandfather Terry, who played rugby in Australia, stepped up and helped out with the drills. Terry, especially, had a way with the boys, getting them to settle down and listen to what he had to say.
Terry shows the boys how a scrum works.
Terry shows the boys how a scrum works
With the boys split up, we showed the boys how to throw the ball, advancing to running and passing, then advancing to running and passing with a defender. Then scrimmages. Everyone was able to handle the ball and I think most everyone scored a try. By the end of it, they were calling offsides and forward passes on each other. Everyone was having fun and really starting to get a feel for the game. They did great. In two weeks, on December 15, we will do it again! I can't wait. If anyone wants to help coach, shoot me an email.
Next time, I am getting a group picture!