Welcome to the U12s squad

Our aim is to allow players of all abilities to maximise their potential both on and off the field while developing a love for the game of rugby.

Objectives

• To have 2 full squads by the time we reach 15 a side rugby, with the most able being in the running for County honours in the future.
• The players love coming to training so much they attend every session possible.
• To provide a safe environment where the players can explore their physical and mental development in the ethos of rugby.

Team selection

We do not have an A squad B squad selection process due to the changing developmental needs of the players at this age. We select teams to provide a competitive match for our opponents while balancing the players' needs to enjoy a tournament with the safety aspects involved in players of mixed ability. How do we achieve this? The coaches nominally divide players into 4 groups. Players may well change groups during the course of a season.

• Competent / confident - those players who can do all the basics right and are confident.
• Competent / unconfident - those players who can do the basics in drills but lack some confidence to consistently perform these in a game.
• Developing / confident - those players with all the enthusiasm but needing to develop their basic skills, throwing themselves around the park without worrying about their personal safety!
• Developing / unconfident - those players who are learning the skills and confidence to play and enjoy the game. These are the group who need the most encouragement and development, but can be the group who are left with a coach to drift along outside of an "A" team set up.

When selecting for tournaments we put the developing in the beginner's tournament, rotating captains and providing positive feedback by the bucket load. The other groups are divided up through the other tournaments ensuring that players are given the chance to experience a full day's competition and the players are provided with appropriate chances to be pack leader, backs leader and captain. Players are not encouraged to specialise at this stage, although in competitions it is sensible to allow them to play to their strengths.

Is this a successful strategy?

Yes! We have a group of talented and enthusiastic players backed by the most enthusiastic parents and a large squad of coaches. And we do win enough silverwear to reward the players with a visible result. Feedback to the players is provided using the ELM framework - Effort (always encourage and reward effort), Learning (outline learning points rather than criticising mistakes) and Mistakes (develop a strategy the team and individuals use while developing the skills; they are going to have to make a lot of mistakes to learn the skills in the end, this encourages exploration and creativity).