Lead Coaches, Dan McNary (under 6), Tom Rogers (under 7) & Martin Arnold (under 8)

                                                  

U6's Email: danmcnary1980@icloud.com

U7's Email: tomrogers8315@gmail.com

U8's Email: martinarnold@me.com

The main objective of the Tag Rugby is to have fun and enjoy learning to play rugby, whilst experiencing the responsibility of being a member of a team.

For children in schools years R, 1, 2 and 3 we play a non-contact version of the game known as Tag Rugby. Each player has two Velcro tags attached to a waistband, and when these are caught by opposing players, this counts as a tackle.

At these age groups, we are looking to develop agility, basic handling and awareness of space.
Most training sessions start with a few warm up activities, then progress on to individual skills, team skills and round off with a game.

Under 6s (U6) are those in school year Yr1, (U7) are those in Yr2, (U8) are those in Yr3.
Whenever we are not away at a fixture we train at the club on a Sunday Morning from 10.00 until 10.45am (U6) 10:00am (U7) and 10:00am (U8) on the Tag Pitch / Top Pitch (end of 1st XV team pitch nearest the leisure centre).

All are then welcome at the club house for a bite to eat and drink.
 
Rules of Play

Under 6
This is an introduction to rugby and the skills required to play tag rugby. Most sessions will involve games/drills designed to get the players used to handling a rugby ball, tagging (and avoiding being tagged!) and teamwork.

Key elements of play:
Small-pitch games and drills
Ball size: 3
Introduction to the basic skills of passing, catching and tagging
Focus on enjoyment and inclusivity
Encouragement of communication skills/teamwork
No tackling
No kicking, scrums or lineouts

Under 7 
This is an introduction to rugby at the earliest years, and as such should be a simple & easy to understand game with minimum intervention from the referee. Children are not penalised for attempting to catch the ball and dropping it (knock-on). Smaller pitches and simpler rules mean more pitches and more players playing.
 
Key elements of play:
Team numbers: 3 or 4-a-side
Maximum pitch size: 20 metres x 12 metres
Ball Size: 3
Scoring: Play can continue from a knock-on
No tackling
No kicking, scrums or lineouts
Referee as coach
 
Under 8
Increasing the numbers by two, to provide more of a team “feel” whilst maintaining the principles of low numbers and increased involvement. The players are able to go to ground to score – which introduces the element of contact with the ground.
 
Key elements of play:
Team numbers: 6-a-side
Pitch size: 45 metres x 22 metres
Ball Size: 3
Scoring: Players permitted to go to ground to score
No tackling
No kicking, scrums or lineouts
Referee as coach

Membership :

Membership will be completed through an RFU affiliation process.

This affiliation covers the child’s details, parent’s contact details, information about any impairments,  medical information and consent and photographic consent.
 
Club Membership Fees & team 'subs'
The important thing is to come down and try tag rugby. There is no charge to start with as fees to the club are only payable if your child enjoys it and wants to continue after their first 2 weeks.

There is no charge to start with as fees to the club are only payable if your child enjoys it and wants to continue after their first 2 weeks.

Fees are then just £125 per annum or £62.50 Bi-annually in 2 DD payments and ensures players are covered by RFU Insurance but also contributes towards pitch maintenance, training and clubhouse facilities, as well as coaching qualifications and entry into festivals. For those joining partway through a season payment will be pro-rated for the remainder of the season and DD is the preferred method which you can find here.
This single payment also includes an element of team subs which each season is included within the Membership fee and which will contribute towards Your child’s age grade Social Events, Kit Subsidies, and Player awards and trophies.
 
Structured Development Days, Fixtures and Festivals


Each season, teams will have the opportunity to train with and play fixtures against other local teams and take part in festivals.
They are also given the opportunity to be Mascots for our 1st Team Home Games.
Unfortunately U6s are not allowed to play in matches, but can come along to support their team, and usually train too!



SDD & Fixtures


These are opportunities to train with other squads, either at home or away, and then play a match or two at the end. The match forms only a small part of things and generally everyone who wants to (and is registered) gets to play.
 


 

Festivals


These are a full day out where there can be up to 30 other teams, these are for age grades U7’s and U8’s only. We play a minimum of 3 games in group stages and sometimes, if successful, more games in a knockout stage. We are limited in the number of players we can take to these festivals so selection will be based on:
 


Behaviour



Sportsmanship


 
Ability



Attendance






Kit


Generally, common sense prevails when it comes to kit. We play in a black & red but keeping warm and dry take priority. We will generally try to meet every week, regardless of the weather, as we believe this is part of the discipline of being a team player, but young bodies get cold quickly so anything goes including hats, gloves and several layers.

There is kit available from the club which can also be worn at Festivals & consists of T-Shirt or playing shirt, Weatherproof, Shorts & Bag.  Orders can also be made for not in stock items or personalised items via our website.
As well as the new kit available from the Club shop, many parents are able to pass on used kit to younger players, the second hand kit and boots is great value.
Shirts -The SB shirts are the smallest but have room for growth, some of the U9s are still in theirs.
Shorts are in stock, but any black shorts will be fine.
Socks - there are club socks available but again, any red football socks will be fine.
Boots – football boots are fine, but you’ll needs to swap the studs for safety ones, milder studs are also ok.
Gum shields – not compulsory but advisable, this is particularly important as they get older and being used to these can be helpful.
 

 
Codes of Conduct
All players, coaches and parents of Maidstone Rugby Club should adhere to the club Codes of Conduct as appropriate. (Based on/adapted from the RFU Codes of Conduct).  (click here)

Discipline
Correct behaviour towards other players, coaches and parents is a key aspect of rugby at all ages and we will seek to instil the right attitude in the children. They will get 2 warnings when a coach sees poor behaviour and then they will be sent to the Sin Bin for 2 minutes which is a time out area near the pitch. Any further behaviour issues and they will be excluded from training and the coach will refer to the parents.
 
What Next?
New players are always welcome. If you have a child that is interested in playing rugby please get in touch with the specific age group contact , and we’ll be happy to answer any questions you have. We can  also discuss which Sunday is best for your young player to come and try tag rugby.

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Thank you from the Lead coaches.