The U9s training ran for the duration of the midi season and was well attended throughout with an excellent coach-to-player ratio. The U9 Coaching Team comprised Shaun Pearson, Simon Thorpe, Andrew Parkinson, Matt Brown, Peter Nicholson and Stephen Canning. Margaret Reid maintained the role as U9 Team Manager from November, 2008, onwards and did a first-rate job.
Initial observation in September 2008 highlighted key areas to work on, namely; poor individual skills i.e. simple hand-eye coordination, ball skills, general catching-and-passing, etc, together with an extreme difference in skill level and ability across the group.
The early training sessions naturally focused on the new key elements of U9s rugby such as tackling, scrums, line-outs, rucking, mauling, positional play from scrums, line-outs, etc. The remainder of the season primarily focused on increasing the general skill levels of ALL the players to bring them up to standard and to narrow the gap between the top and bottom players, outside game preparation training and match days.
In competition, the U9s had a relatively successful season on the pitch, losing by a try in the quarter finals of the Abu Dhabi Junior Rugby Tournament, 2008, and winning the plate final in the equivalent Dubai competition in 2009.
The U9s training this season will undoubtedly be a great springboard for the players going into the U10s next year, where I believe they will have a very successful season on and off the pitch.
- Player of the Year – Matt Greene
- Most Improved Player – Ziad Al Khatib
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