THIS WEEKEND’S PREVIEW
Another fun filled weekend of rugby for our Mini and Youth.
Best of luck to all of those Minis at festivals and those Youth players playing home and away.
HELP - WE NEED SOMEBODY…
After several years of organising the festival entry for our Minis, Jeb is stepping aside. A huge thank you to Jeb for all of her hard work.
Now we need someone to step up… please take a look and get in touch to find out more.
WHILST THE WEATHER WAS UNPREDICTABLE THE U14 GIRLS KENT WINNERS WERE INEVITABLE
Last weekend had a dollop of inevitability mixed with a dashful of the surprising, accompanied with the usual happy faces of children.
Our Minis had their first festival of 2023 at Tunbridge Wells. As expected, the children had an amazing morning - full of joyful rugby - despite being unexpectedly set upon by strong winds and sleet which retreated as quickly as it invaded the morning’s play. Many thanks for our hosts.
The U12 Boys & U14 Boys travelled to Rosslyn Park and Thanet, respectively, with the former coming away victorious 8 tries to 10.
Such is our U14 Girls’ performance in our last 2 years that victory on Sunday seemed inevitable in the first Kent festival the Club has hosted in living memory, and so it came to be. For the second consecutive year the group came away with the silverware. A huge congratulations to Alice, Charlotte, Daisy, Darcey, Ella, Eloise, Emelia, Emma, Khloe, Kimmi, Jess, Lucy, Martha, Pippa, Sophie, Yvaine and Zoe and of course their wonderful coaching team and parents.
INJURY REPORTING JUST GOT MUCH EASIER
We take our player welfare very seriously, so I’m pleased to announce that the Club has invested in access to a tool for use by our Mini and Youth Coaches to log injuries and risk assessments. This should make our volunteer coaches’ lives easier as well as making sure we keep a good record of player injuries. Thankfully we do not see a large volume of serious injuries, but we want to do everything in our powers to safeguard our children. By being able to study injury data, we can make sure we’re doing everything we can to prevent injury.
All of our Head Coaches have been given access to the tool and will start using the tool immediately.
THIS SUNDAY’S PITCH PLAN
COMING SOON TO THE PADDOCK
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
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All of our amazing parents should have received subs requests direct from Spond and most have paid.
It’s vital that all players are members, in order to be covered by the Club’s insurance and whilst there is a short grace period (primarily for members who are new to the club) we ask that this is paid as soon as possible as we enter weekend of fixtures and festival.
If anyone hasn’t received a request – we recommend checking the contact details on Spond in the first instance.
If there are any other issues, anyone can contact their age group lead or Andy McClinton, which includes anyone who needs financial support.
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Sevenoaks Rugby asks all parents of Mini players in the U5s, 6s, 7s, 8s and 9s to remain on site and pitch-side during training and matches. Only by exception can they be absent and then they must nominate another adult to take responsibility for their child and inform the relevant coach and the player.
We find that some players in these groups can get upset if they are left alone and sometimes need emotional support from a parent or adult they recognise.
For parents of Mini players in the U10s and 11s that do not remain pitch side they must inform the coach and the player and remain contactable (or nominate another adult to take responsibility).
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Padded headgear / scrum caps has never been approved or marketed by World Rugby or the RFU to reduce the risk of concussion and there continues to be no conclusive evidence that wearing headguards reduces the chances of sustaining a concussion while playing or training.
Wearing a headguard should be the personal choice of the player and/or parent. While a headguard can provide some protection (e.g. covering the ears) and confidence (e.g. when introducing players to contact); there is a possibility that wearing protective equipment could potentially change a player’s behaviour (i.e. making them over confident and thus neglecting correct technique and risking further injury to themselves or others). Therefore, players and coaches are encouraged not to neglect correct technique, particularly in the tackle and ensure that players are aware of the purpose of headguards and their limitations.
We recommend that players talk to their coaches about the relative confidence of their child, when deciding whether a headboard is appropriate for them.
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Headcase is one of the UK’s leading concussion awareness and education resources. We take player safety extremely seriously, and this course is aimed at helping us prevent and manage suspected concussions.
COACHES
All of our coaches are required to complete “Headcase” training annually to be able to coach at the club and receive their free stash (which is on the high seas and on its way to us). Coaches can now see on their GMS dashboard whether this is up to date. You should log into GMS course finder (filter for “virtual”) to complete the course.
https://gms.rfu.com/GMS/coursefinder
PARENTS
We also invite the parents of mini and youth players (and youth players) to also complete the training or check out the guidance - it will help prepare them for if the worst should happen and give them insight into the return to play process.
https://rise.articulate.com/share/nc3KPjesYQrj5WjJ4tGS6Grs_ERkPY2Q#/
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The standard process is for a pitch inspection to be completed at 8am on Sunday mornings - NB this does NOT mean that a message will be sent at exactly 8am.
Often an inspection is also made the day before, if not sooner, with the aim of giving people as much notice as possible.
A message is sent to age group leads as soon as possible for them to cascade to their groups. Age groups should not make a unilateral decision to cancel home training or matches without consulting with the Head of Minis/Youth or the DoR.
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Rugby’s values of Teamwork, Respect, Enjoyment, Discipline and Sportsmanship are what makes the game special for those who enjoy the environment and culture they create.
They define the game and define England Rugby
Please remember that it is our collective responsibility to uphold and role model the values of our sport. Whether we are players, coaches, parents and/or spectators; we have a duty to role model the values to those around us, including our mini and youth players. So, please always show respect to each other on and off the pitch, to opposition, officials, staff and our fellow members.
RFU COURSES
New Course highlighted below!
We do have a limited budget available for coaches to attend courses appropriate to their age groups. Please contact Hendo for more information
SAFEGUARDING
All our volunteer coaches need to be DBS checked in order to coach at the Club and the club regularly monitors that its coaches are up to date. With the first check being completed this week, coaches can proactively check their status on GMS, or check with Hendo.
