Coaching rugby to young children can be a real challenge. You have to keep things fun or they will lose interest. That’s what makes Fun Mini Rugby Games for 5- 8 year olds such a useful resource for you.
Fun Mini Rugby Games is written by Colin Ireland. Colin is a qualified Physical Education teacher and rugby coach, and an approved coach educator with IRB Trainer, and SQA Assessor and Verifier licences.
After 30 years of teaching and coaching youngsters, Colin has put together some of his favourite training games in this new manual. The games:
- Will help you teach basic rugby skills to children aged 5 to 8 years old
- Are ideal for experienced and novice teachers and coaches
- Are easy to set up, understand and play
- Require little or no equipment
- Will keep the children active
- Will educate and promote teamwork
- Are progressive, so you can develop the children’s knowledge
- Offer great variety
- Are outcome focused, with objectives to achieve with your players
- Are energetic – the games are a “sneaky” way of introducing fitness
- Will encourage the players to try out things to find out what works
- Will let the children have fun, to keep them coming back, week-after-week.
Mark Williams –
I have been using Colin’s book, ‘Fun Mini Rugby Games for 5 to 8 Years’ since I started with our U7’s last year when, as a new coach, I needed all the help I could get.
Colin’s book was exactly what I needed, clear, concise and most importantly fun.
I am doing my level one coaching course at the moment which is due to the great enjoyment I had coaching last year thanks to Colin’s book! Keep up the good work.
– Mark Williams – UK
Gary Bates –
It’s a while since I coached the 5-8 yrs old group, as I’m with the U16 and U13’s now, but we do put on days during the school holidays for all sorts of age groups, including the younger members of the club.
I regularly use some of the games from the Fun Mini Rugby Games to introduce the players to having fun competitively within a structured environment, we also get the chance to see what basic motor skills the kids have without them realizing that they are using the basics of holding and passing a rugby ball.
I have even used some of these games when asked to coach a rugby based session for a football team, to strengthen their core area on and off the ball. I found them games extremely helpful, mostly I adapt them to suit my coaching needs now I have moved up to an older age group.
– Gary J Bates – UK
David Davidson –
“I took the role of Primary 1 coach at our local club as an enthusiastic Dad who had no rugby coaching experience.
The games in this book are exactly what we needed and I now structure a session every week that includes at least one or two of the games.
I am now coaching Primary 2, but expect to use these games for at least this year and next.”
– David Davidson – North Berwick Mini Rugby – UK
George Marshall –
I recently purchased a Fun Mini Rugby Games for 5 to 8 Years as I coach and under 8’s team.
I was struggling to find simple games that were fun and that had a purpose to them. I have now found that book and now use a variety of games from it and the kids love the training sessions.
The book was simple to use with easy to understand games.
Recently, I received this compliment from a parent. “My son and the other boys are really enjoying training so far this year. the new fun games approach is going down very well. keep up the good work”.
I would not be receiving compliments such as those without this book, it is a must have for those who coach young children.
It has made my training sessions fun for the coaches and the kids. I now look forward to my Sunday morning coaching sessions.
– George Marshall – UK
Chris Fletcher and Mark Duncan –
“We’ve really been able to utilise the simplicity of Colin Ireland’s coaching manual Fun Mini Rugby Games for 5 to 8 Years at Windlesham this season.
With a number of academic staff taking teams and not always having the time or resources to plan their sessions, Colin’s manual is ideal for them.
Each session is clearly explained and they find it easy to introduce the skills to the children with a ‘fun’ approach.
The manual is also works well for our ‘Gap Students’, some of whom have played a good standard of sport, but don’t have a bank of coaching sessions to use.
Now they can decide what they want to work on, find a session from in the manual, photocopy it and try it – perfect!”
– Chris Fletcher and Mark Duncan – UK
Mike Banfield –
I found the games for 5 to 8 years to be full of well defined and laid out instructions on some fun based rugby games.
My squad enjoy eggs in the nest, rugby rounders and of course bull dogs. The games provide great ideas for coaches to set the level of their sessions depending on their players skills.
The children have great fun playing while learning to play rugby and that’s the key in this age group.
– Mike Banfield
Peter Churchill –
You might like to know that the mini fun games manual that I recently purchased for our younger age group coaches has been very useful and is widely used – the feedback from all the coaches is very positive and is a great addition to their session planning.
– Peter Churchill – Sevenoaks RFC, Youth Development Manager – UK
Glen Winn –
“Your Fun Mini Rugby Games manual has proved to be an important reference tool in the planning of training sessions.
The games are enjoyable and fits well with “Leprechaun Rugby/ New Image Rugby” model that we follow in Ireland.
Coaching this age group it is important that we coach key learning points through the use of enjoyable games rather than drills.
The children seem to enjoy many of the games we have introduce into our training sessions.
I would recommend coaches training groups up to age 8 to consider purchasing this manual”.
– Glen Winn – u6 Coach – Clanwilliam RFC, Ireland
Daniel Rossuw –
Kids love to play games and the more you use this manual the more they will love you as a coach and the more you will get out of them as young players.
The layout of the manual is fantastic, it is easy to use and it covers all the key skills you need to focus on at that age.
– Daniel Rossuw – Loretto School – UK
Julian Jones –
We purchased the coaching manual to assist with our training sessions for Romsey Wasps U8 Minis.
At the time all of the U8s coaches were relatively inexperienced, having only taken up coaching roles the previous year, so we needed to keep the kids interest and keep the training fresh for both the kids and the coaches!
The routines were both clear and easy to replicate in a training situation
– Julian Jones – Coach – Romsey Wasps – UK