From the Touchline

Teddington U9s Back to Training After Series of Pre-Christmas Friendlies

A series of close, fun and generally very wet pre-Christmas friendlies has ensured that Teddington U9s have started the new year with great commitment and enthusiasm.

The early training sessions have seen some excellent passing and running, coupled with a greater cohesion between forwards and backs.

Late October, November and December were light on formal training and heavy on matches, seeing the boys honing both techniques and tactics in games against some of the best opposition in the area.

October saw the boys acquit themselves well against strong Ealing and Guildford sides in very wet conditions at Ealing. Some innovative new training drills from the hosts were followed by a series of close, hard-fought games between the three clubs.

The wet theme continued a few weeks later at Chobham, with a great morning of rugby with one of our traditional rivals. With the rain bucketing down, the boys cheerfully went through an hour of drills before a series of evenly matched games. In the very wet conditions there was little free-flowing rugby, with forward play very much in the ascendancy.

A mini tournament on home soil against Kings and Bank of England was the highlight of the end of the month. All Teddington teams played some excellent rugby against two committed clubs. The games against Kings and Bank of England tended to be open and high scoring. When, however, the Teddington sides were pitted against one another, they cancelled each other out and most matches ended in stalemate.

The year ended with a double header at Imber Court against London Irish and Dorking and then the visit of London Welsh. Again, the former was extremely wet, meaning the rugby lacked fluency but was nonetheless very competitive. Dorking, who Teddington had beaten earlier in the year at The Stoop, were particularly well-drilled and showed some excellent forward play.

London Welsh rounded off the run of visitors on a cold, but bright, Sunday, providing tough opposition in a series of exciting matches.

Teddington U9s learnt much during November and December with all the games and the new year is a chance to consolidate, train and play together more in squads before a heavy calendar in March and April of festivals and tours.

The boys have taken well to the jump from tag to contact, are still enjoying the game and going from strength to strength. They are constantly learning new skills but still need to remember the basic of good passing and straight running.

Administration and Organization

Please catch up with Clive, Neil or any of the coaches if you have any questions. We also need more helpers in vital areas such as CRB administration and festival co-ordination. Please get involved! It's always best to talk so please get hold of us on Sunday mornings.

Structure of the Season

There are a number of changes between U9 and U8 rugby, principally around the migration to contact play. Whilst these are significant, please be assured that our coaches are qualified and experienced to teach correct (safe) technique and the laws of the "continuum" are developed primarily with safety in mind. In addition, the core aspects of play from U8 level such as passing, running straight, support play and organized defence remain as important as ever.

With this in mind, the season will break down into 4 rough sections;

  • September - Re-familiarising ourselves with basic techniques and introducing the U9 continuum.
  • Oct/Nov - Ongoing development, autumn round of Festivals and the Harlequins Curtain Raiser Cup.
  • Dec/Jan - Further development and some exciting fixtures with our neighboring clubs, both home and away.
  • Jan/Apr - Lots more training, the key age group Festivals for all squads, the National Gulliver's Festival in Nottingham and the end of season tour!

There will be lots of social events for players and parents alike. Watch this space or listen out on Sunday mornings!

Coaches and Contact Details

Manager & Lead Coach

Neil Meadows
68 Hampton Road, Teddington, Middx, TW11 0JX
020 8943 9987 or 07876 341 640
u9-coach@teddingtonrfc.co.uk

Admin

Clive Williams
25 Grove Road, Twickenham, Middx, TW2 5NH
020 8977 3882 or 0778 550 3838
u9-admin@teddingtonrfc.co.uk