Organising your TAG (U7s,U8s) season (2026)

What Matters Most

The framework for your first season with the U8s. Everything at U8 sits underneath four things: confidence, learning "rugby", enjoyment, and inclusion.

• ›Confidence is the big driver – some players hide it behind silliness or behaviour that does not look sensible, so read confidence athletically and socially, not just by how they act.
• ›Inclusion means opportunity: every player gets chances to practise a skill, then use it in games – that combination is what leads to enjoyment.
• ›Winning matters to players naturally, so put it in the right place: coach "winning small parts of the game" – catching, evading, going forward – rather than the scoreline.
• ›Do not celebrate the team scoring more tries than the opposition; celebrate the good things underneath that.
• ›Build a strong shared story of what "good rugby" looks like, rather than only correcting what is wrong – it probably should not be you telling them every single time.

Not a Transition Year

U8s is not a transition year into tackling. It is a year when players become better U8 players and enjoy the game at the level they are suitable for.

• ›Some players will already be desperate to tackle, often from older siblings already playing contact rugby – do not build the year around that; give them what is exciting now instead.
• ›Balance fun and learning: expect silliness, let the moment play out, then move on – it is building the friendships, resilience and discipline the season depends on.
• ›Watch friendship groups carefully. They can very easily push a player out as much as bring them in, so keep building respect and a family feel from the start.

Two Praise Curriculums

Run two praise curriculums side by side – one general, one rugby-specific – and actively catch players doing well rather than waiting for mistakes.

Model what "good" looks like rather than only telling players after the fact – build it into a story the group recognises.

Games V Drills

It is not really a debate – you need both, and each does a different job.

• ›Games are not very democratic – they are often dominated by the stronger players, and constraining those players just frustrates them.
• ›Use small-sided games (3v3 or 4v4) and do not be afraid to overload the numbers (4v6) so weaker players get more touches.
• ›Build a challenge point into every game or drill – something slightly harder than last time.
• ›Keep the scoring system super simple: just tries, and anyone who does something good, like a great pass, gets a praise point so they know exactly what they did well and why.
• ›Drills need very short cues, but they give lots of repetition, which builds a player’s confidence that they are doing something well – and because play stops after each action, it is much easier to give direct feedback.
• ›The more drills you run, the further players drift from the actual game, so balance the two rather than leaning too far either way.

Killer Ball

• ›In warm-ups especially, the ball can be a killer: catch and pass is not strong at this age, so if you want a lot of activity and movement going, sometimes leave the ball out altogether.
• ›Lean on chasing and evasion games – Raggy tag and similar – with some defence involved but the ball not involved, so players who are not confident catchers stay just as involved as everyone else.

From Me to Team Mindset

U8 players are naturally selfish – they want friends and recognition, not yet a team identity. That is what you are building all season, moving them from selfish to unselfish.

• ›Most connection comes through a pass – but more importantly, make sure every player gets the same skill exposure.
• ›You are not giving the better players more coaching, you are just putting them under a bit more pressure; it is then their choice whether they use a skill in games.
• ›Use praise points rather than a single team standard – a player who is 7 out of 10 for a skill and one who is 3 out of 10 are both doing the same skill, just at different levels; help the 7 reach 8, and the 3 reach 4.

Tag and Rules

• ›Post-tag habit: once you have grabbed the tag and shouted "tag", put it straight back on the player’s belt so they are back in the game and can make another tag – do not hold on to it.
• ›Be positive with your rules – let the small stuff go and keep the game flowing, but do not let go of hand-offs, full-on tackles, or players diving around.

Catch and Pass Fundamentals

Think of catch/pass in two forms: standing catch-pass and moving catch-pass. Standing in a circle passing the ball does not look like rugby and is not very effective – players should stand facing up the pitch, and you only need two passes maximum before something happens.

• ›External cues work better than technical instructions: "keep it off the body" beats telling a player exactly how to hold their hands, and "clap your hands" gets hands up and ready to receive without you needing to demonstrate hand shape.
• ›For passing, the cue is "shoot your hands to the target" – combined with "keep the ball off the body" for catching, these two cues are your main praise points for catch/pass all season.
• ›Ball family: when a ball carrier is tagged, they can only pass to the players either side of them in the line, their "brothers and sisters", not to a best friend further away. Referee it in games by saying "sorry, they are not in the family."
• ›Free pass structure: nominate pairs (AA, BB, CC) so everyone gets genuine reps rather than players arguing over the ball – and make "pass-pass" a nice-to-do praise point, not a hard rule.
• ›Two hands: never shout it. Players only need two hands on the ball at the point of passing – let them carry however they want, and if they hand off illegally they will be penalised anyway.
• ›Defence resets quickly rather than running a system – as soon as a free pass is made, any structure turns to dust anyway. If you want a simple starting shape with AABBCC pairs, have AA stand in front of the free pass and B/C cover the wings.

Structuring the Season

Block the season out rather than trying to fix everything at once: where are we at the first game, where are we by half-term, where are we by Christmas, where are we by February half-term. Chase one or two skills and one play to the first game, then layer on a new skill and a new play at each block.

• ›You are not dropping the other skills – you keep working them – but pick one absolute focus for each block and let everything else layer on underneath it.
• ›Introduce a play only when players are ready for it, and invite them to use it rather than shouting it on – hope to see it bedded in by Christmas, not forced in week one.
• ›Do not chase too many layers at once. A season with one clean skill and one clean play per block beats one with five half-finished ideas.

Session Structure

A consistent shape makes sessions easier to plan and easier for players to settle into.

• ›Start with "naive" rugby – a warm-up that looks a bit like rugby and may use a ball, but is not there to move players on as rugby players. It gets them ready physically and mentally, and builds friendships and discipline.
• ›Chase the one skill you really want to nail, right at the start, in a short, high-rep block – cap it at around 8 minutes.
• ›Move into short "setups" – attack and defence off a free pass or similar – again no more than 8 minutes.
• ›Keep sessions sharp: if a skill exercise is not landing, finish it anyway after 8 minutes and move on. Do not chase perfection – there is a whole season to nail it.
• ›Finish with a game or a problem for players to solve, using a rugby ball as much as possible – they came for rugby training, so make training look like rugby.

Example 6-Week Plan

A simple way to sequence the skill and play focuses through the season.

Each pair of weeks follows the same pattern: show what success looks like in week one, then test it in week two.

Keeping Them Competent, Connected, Challenged

Success is not just the scoreline – it is winning the parts of the game you defined, individual players developing, and coach and players enjoying the progress together.

• ›Know where each player is now, what "good" looks like for them, and what "better" looks like – individual development matters as much as team results.
• ›Read enjoyment beyond smiles – a puffed-out chest, being a bit more chatty, or a quiet nod can all be signs a player is enjoying their progress.
• ›Build and develop together – you want players to feel you are enjoying their progress with them, not standing above them saying "follow me."
• ›Rotate players in-game, but keep them working in recognisable pairs so they know where they fit in the free passing.
• ›Recruit "parent wranglers" – an idea from Stu James at Guildford RFC: brief one or two parents to be in the ears of the other parents, explaining what you are working on and why, so parents become powerful co-coaches rather than a distraction.
• ›For a new player joining mid-season: give them a small friendship group from day one, and use it to spot which players are good at looking after others – those players need mentoring too, not just the new arrival.

Coaching Toolkit

• ›Build passing in layers, rather than one big leap.
• ›Keep the chat positive – move players forward rather than back: not "that was wrong" but "what can we do better?"
• ›Keep sessions sharp – if a skill exercise is not landing, finish it anyway after 8 minutes and move on.
• ›Make sure practice looks like rugby – use rugby balls as much as possible, since players came for rugby training.
• ›Run a warm-up carousel rather than a new game every week – named, repeated games that cycle every few weeks keep things fresh without losing time to re-explaining rules, and the certainty particularly helps neurodiverse players.
• ›Have a plan for the parent touchline – keep parents onside and out of the coaching space.