U12 Home Page

Monday 6 September

To all Under 12 Parents,

To existing and new members alike, welcome to another season at Cobham Rugby Club

The purpose of this letter is to share with you our headline plans for the season to ensure another enjoyable year for you and the boys

Last season was very successful. Overall we won a large majority of both the inter club matches and the festivals.  We are now looking to build on last season’s success and to develop the boys skills as they move to 6 man scrums with the addition of a No. 8 (everything else, laws, pitch size etc remains the same as last season).

This year we have 54 boys registered at the start of the season. With squads increasing in size to 13 players plus the need to have possibly 4 or more additional squad players at a festival, there is going to be plenty of playing time for everyone!

We shall be running 3 teams in Festivals: A, B and C. At this stage, each squad has at least 5 festivals (we are looking to enter more at B and C level) plus there a number of fixtures when we train and play against other clubs. We will be looking to move players between squads depending on abilities and attitude shown in training and in matches. We plan to select squads as early in September as possible to prepare for the first festivals  of the season (Cobham A and Chobham B on 3rd Oct and Reeds C on 17th )

We have some changes to the coaching and management this year. As you will know by now, Anne and Mike Morley are jointly undertaking the Team Manager role. On the coaching side I am delighted that Andrew Cobb becomes a full time coach and Chris Mason has kindly agreed to support us an additional coaching resource whenever commitments to his other rugby playing son permit.

Our key objectives remain the same as in prior years:

1)                 FUN

2)                 Player development

3)                 Success at Festivals

Selection will be based on (but not limited to):

1)               Ability                     -                        A combination of key skills and fitness

2)               Attitude                  -                       Teamwork, behaviour, concentration

3)               Attendance           -                        Sometimes difficult with other commitments

Some key reminders:

1)       Please ensure your son is on time and comes with the necessary kit,  especially his gum shield. In cold weather please ensure they have, tracksuits, ideally a sub suit (available from Julia at Alley Catz 'AlleyCatz'<info@alley-catz.co.uk). Also please ensure boots have safe i.e. not sharpened, studs.

2)       As ever, we will maintain high levels of discipline We will be retaining the ‘virtual’ yellow and red card system. If a boy is consistently messing around they will be yellow carded and sent to a ‘sin bin’ for 10 minutes. For persistent offences we will use a red card and this will mean they will be asked to leave training and come back the following week. We do not expect we shall ever need to use a red card but we would request your full support to ensure discipline is enforced and good, sporting behaviour is ingrained in these, their formative years.

3)       Please give us as much feedback as possible and please ask questions to any of the coaching team if you have any queries whatsoever. These may be around selection, player development, drills etc, etc.

4)       We are dependant on you to step forward to volunteer for some of the Club year-group tasks, for example, car parking and BBQ duties duties. These are crucial tasks to ensure the smooth running of the club. Additionally, we ask for parents to volunteer (once) to clean the training shirts when necessary.

5)       Please refer to the U12 section of the CRFC website on a regular basis – it will have important information about selection, match reports etc.

If at any stage anyone has any questions about their son’s development, selection or anything else please don’t hesitate to speak to either myself or to any of the coaches. We will be striving to ensure we deliver a happy, successful, and fun season for everyone.

Ian Yates

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To register click this link

If your child would like to know more about playing for the team please contact the Team Manager or Head Coach by email by clicking on their name in the right hand 'Key Contacts' column.