Organising your U9 season (2026)

What Changes for U9s

The framework for your first season with the U9s. It is a pretty seismic season. The extra player and bigger pitch do not matter much – the massive change is tackling, and with it, real contact with the ground for the first time.

• ›For some players, this will be a turning point in whether they stick with rugby – a number will be on a journey where tackling simply is not their thing yet, and that is fine.

What Does Not Change

Handling is still part of the game, and you are still working at each player’s pace – do not fall into imagining the game should look like an international match.

• ›Move at their pace, and understand what success looks like for each individual player so they can walk away from a game feeling they have had success – not every player needs to be scoring 40 tries a season for that to be true.
• ›A parent asking "did you enjoy today?" in the car afterwards rarely gets a try count back – they get a sense of a smaller, personal win. That is the success you are actually coaching for.

From Me to Team Mindset

Under 9s is where teamwork starts to matter for the first time – TAG rugby does not really need it, but tackling and connecting do.

• ›Team mindset is not about playing for a badge – it is a player understanding their role in the team: if I make a tackle, that allows us to do this; if I present the ball well, that allows us to do this.
• ›Every player, strongest to weakest, gets exposed to the same menu of skills – you are not giving stronger players a different skill set, just more pressure. Weaker players can and do catch up over time if you keep believing in that.

The Tackle Journey

Split the tackle into four parts, and coach the journey through them rather than expecting instant competence.

• ›Coach players as individuals, not as a group. A team that is "great at tackling" still has a real spread – what is a 4-out-of-10 tackle for one player might be a 6 for another, so ask "what would a 5 or 6 look like for you?" rather than applying one standard.
• ›Some players will progress smoothly, some will wobble (illness, a knock, a few missed weeks) and recover, some will start well and dip – give each one their own season journey rather than a single expectation.
• ›Half tackles are valid tackles: if a player is held, the referee shouts "tackle" and the ball carrier has 3 seconds to pass or have the ball ripped away. Praise the half tackle heavily – it is genuine progress, not a failed full tackle.
• ›Practise tackling on the feet, always. It is very hard to manipulate head position from the knees, and every tackle should start on feet and bend into contact – bending to tackle is not a natural skill, so it needs real coaching time.
• ›Avoid treating every tackle as 1v1 – attackers are rarely running straight at a single defender in a real game, so work 1v2 and 1v3 scenarios in training just as much.

Tackle Refereeing

This is new territory if you have only refereed TAG. A few habits make it much easier to manage.

• ›Stand behind the attacking team so you can see and manage where defenders are standing – keep them onside rather than standing in the defensive line yourself.
• ›After a tackle, defenders must take a step back rather than crowding the back foot of the tackle – you will need to actively manage and move them back at first.
• ›The ball must be cleared – keep the process moving rather than letting it stall.

The Contact Journey

• ›Do not carry the ball like a teddy bear, tucked under the arm or armpit – it cannot be manipulated or passed from there. Keep the ball tight and ready.
• ›The ground is the enemy. Train falling every session – start the contact journey falling from the knees so players get used to falling forward before adding a tackler.
• ›The second fight: fall forward, then present the ball quickly – no long, laborious placement. Quick, quick, quick, and let players find their own way of doing it fast.

Catch and Pass

Set out clearly what good looks like in training, because players will actually get most of their catch/pass reps outside training, just throwing a ball around.

• ›Two cues: early catch (catch it as early as possible) and hands to target when passing – shooting the hands to the target makes a big difference, especially on the clearing pass.
• ›Build fast ball with a mantra: as soon as the ball is placed, get it away as soon as possible. Use first-receiver games where say Player A is always the first receiver and has to pass on.
• ›You can even give Player B a fixed "clearing pass" role, which is a good way to involve a skilful-but-less-confident player without putting a nervous player under that pressure.
• ›Get the first receiver to run out on an arc rather than standing flat: most defensive pressure comes from the inside, so running out opens the shoulders, keeps players facing their options, and makes it easier to see teammates to pass to.
• ›Defence is a culture, not a system – you are not running a defensive shape, you are building a culture of getting better at defending. Reset quickly: not shouting "ready, ready, up" but simply getting onside and ready to come forward.

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.

• ›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. Naive rugby warm-ups are not making players more skilful rugby players – they are about connecting with each other and understanding the rhythm of the session.

• ›An 8-minute skill block on the one thing you are chasing that block, then roughly 10 minutes split between ball placement, catch-pass and defence work and a short free-pass walkthrough of about 5 minutes, then a skill problem game, then finish with a real game.
• ›If you do not have even numbers, slice the game up – for example 5 attackers against 3 defenders close to the try line – rather than leaving players standing around.
• ›Run "Tackle Club" as an alternative block: split into three ability groups (do not call them A/B/C to the players) working the same skill at a pace suited to each, building competence group by group rather than one-size-fits-all.

A Worked Example: Introducing Tackling

• ›Not every player needs to be ready to make a full tackle by the first game – a grab tackle below the sternum is an acceptable, valid U9 tackle.
• ›Do not spend three straight weeks on nothing but tackling: the confident tacklers will love it, but everyone else needs a balanced diet of the rest of the game too.

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.
• ›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."
• ›Cheer players through each stage of the tackle and contact journeys rather than expecting instant competence – this is a multi-season journey, not a single term’s work.
• ›For the naturally fearsome tacklers: do not knock their confidence, but be clear and consistent about what "good" looks like, and use a brief, non-punitive time-out ("love the effort, that is not safe right now") if needed to keep them and others safe.
• ›Use training groups – not match-day teams, since the RFU does not allow streaming on a Sunday – to give each ability level the right pace, and move players between groups as their confidence changes.
• ›Occasionally pair a stronger player against a weaker one with a specific, achievable target ("your best outcome here is just to slow them down") rather than a like-for-like contest.

Coaching Toolkit

• ›Build contact in layers rather than jumping straight to full tackling.
• ›Use first-receiver games to build fast-ball habits.
• ›Keep the chat positive.
• ›Rotate players in-game so everyone experiences different roles.
• ›Know when to step back and let players solve the problem themselves.
• ›Use democratic passing – everyone gets the ball, not just the strongest player.