KANGAROOS JUNIOR RUGBY LEAGUE COACHING POLICY

Behaviour Code • Respect the rights, dignity and worth of every player. • Ensure the players time spent with you is a positive experience. • Treat each player as an individual. • Be fair, considerate and honest with players. • Be professional and accept responsibility for your actions. • Make a commitment to providing a quality of service to your players. • Operate within the rules and spirit of rugby league. • Any physical contact with players should be appropriate to the situation and necessary for the players skill development. • Do not harass your players. • Provide a safe environment for training and competition. • Show concern and caution towards sick and injured players. • Be a positive role model for rugby league and your players.

Coaching Structure We have put in a coaching structure so as players from under 11’s to under 16’s will have, as we feel, coaches best suited to their age and development. All players should move on to a new coach each year, giving them the best chance to develop skills and social interaction, but this will be review at the end of each season. All coaching is to be based on the six major skill areas: 1. Catch and pass. 2. Defence 3. Evasion. 4. Play the Ball 5. Kicking 6. Scrummaging Outlined on the following pages is the skills we want players to attain by the end of each year. You will notice a lack of evasion in this skill area, this will be done during warm up with footwork drills. There is also skill certificates that all players will receive at the end of each year, to show players the skills they have developed over the course of the year. With this certificate will be a coaches and parents report, the parents will be able to see their child’s development as well as the areas their child needs to work on. The coach in the following year will also receive this report so as he can assess each player individually. Our aim is to improve every player’s skills and sometimes this requires coaches to give specialist coaching to players that fall a bit behind. Under 7’s Mini League Goal: To have a basic understanding of rules as well as completing a basic introduction to passing / carrying / play the ball and tackling technique. Introduction of mini league rules Introduction passing and carrying technique Correct play-the-ball Introduction to tackling technique Direction of defensive line. The emphasis in under 7’s should be on fun and enjoyment.

Under 8’s Mini League Review mini league rules Progress from basic pass / carry technique to catch / pass and running onto ball. Understanding roles of dummy half and first receiver Progression of tackling technique, front on / side on.

Emphasis in under 8’s should be on enjoyment as well as progression of basic skills.

Under 9 Mid League Goal: To have a thorough understanding of mid league rules and a progression of basic fundamental skills outlined in mini league. Introduction to mid league rules. 11 Players Field size. Markers. Kick chase 5 man scrum Further progression of catch / pass /carry. Carry ball in two hands. Catch ball off chest. Hands up. Catch and pass in one motion. Correct footwork Basic understanding of positions Introduction to basic kicking technique Basic introduction to defensive roles eg. Markers etc. Basic introduction to scrummaging technique Emphasis for under 9’s should be on enjoyment and basic understanding of mid league football

Under 10’s Mid League Review and assess first year of mid league Coach Continue progression of catch / pass / carry from first year of mid league. Introduction to Go forward Introduction to support Progression of kicking technique Progression of defensive roles Emphasis on enjoyment with players ready to progress to mod league.

Under 11’s Mod League Goal: To prepare players for international rules. Thorough understanding of mod league rules. 13 players Full field 6 man scrum Continued progression of catch / pass / carry Introduction of basic draw and pass technique Progression of go forward and support Continued progression of defensive roles Introduction of kick and chase

Under 12’s Mod League Introduction to rule variations from under 11’s to under 12’s Introduce fitness transition games Emphasis on skills. Go forward and support. Focus on coaching points Progression of draw and pass technique. 2 v 1 , 2 v 2 Basic understanding of line running. Width / pass Angle of run. Positioning of support Progression of tackling technique

Emphasis on enjoyment and being fully prepared for international rules.

Under 13’s And 14’s International Rules Introduction to ruck plays and backline formation Progression of draw and pass 3 v 2 , 3 v 3. Progression of line running and support play Progression of footwork and S.A.Q. Coaches evasion. Progress to defensive teams [left , right and ruck] Progression of tackling technique and introduce double marker defence. Introduction to weights [ Strength and conditioning technique only ] coaches Emphasis on enjoyment and fine tuning basic skills.

Under 15,s and Under 16,s Introduce optional pre season Coach fitness Progression of formation and ruck plays Fine tune catch / pass , draw / pass. Introduce play the ball speed . Coach Fine tune defensive roles [ teams , kick chase ,trail , slide etc. ] Progress weight training. Introduction to goal setting

Strength and conditioning coaches Coach

Emphasis on sportsmanship and fine tuning major skill areas.

A specialist kicking coach will be available to all kickers from under 15’s to under 16’s.

Coach and Parent Reports All coaches along with Coaching coordinator are required to assess each player in their team and deliver a report to the players parents as well as the following years coach. The report will monitor the skill development of the player along with any areas they need to work on, a template of the report is attached.

Kangaroos Junior Rugby Football Club Coach and Parents Report Players Name John Brown Team Under 9 Blue Coach John Smith

This is to certify that John is competent at the following skills or completed the following tasks : 1. Introduction to mid league rules. 11players Field size Markers Kick chase 5man scrum 2. Further progression of catch / pass / carry. Carry ball in two hands. Catch ball off chest. Hands up. Catch and pass in one motion. Correct footwork. 3. Basic understanding of positions. 4. Introduction to basic kicking technique.

John needs to work on these areas in his game: 1. Defensive roles 2. Scrums

Skill Certificates Skill certificates are a follow on from the coach and parents report, these will be handed to the player at the completion of each season to show them what they have achieved. These will be progressive from under 7’s through to under 12’s.

Approaching Players From Other Clubs It is our intention to lift the professionalism and running of Kangaroos Rugby League Club to a standard that has never been reached in junior rugby league before. To start this process we must maintain our high standards in many areas but some changes must be made. Our main goal as a club should be to encourage the players to have fun and enjoy being part of a team and a member of a club with a reputation for good sportsmanship and one that places the children first.

For too long in junior rugby league there has been too much pressure placed on players to perform and win premierships, and therefore losing many players from the game because they don’t enjoy their experience. Winning is great but it should be a spin off from good development within the club, not from recruiting talented players from other clubs. To reach our goal we must start by: • Take pressure off players and let them have fun and enjoy their football. • Promote loyalty and aim to keep the player, where possible, at the club their entire junior days and hopefully one day become involved in running it. • Provide a pathway for all players to reach their potential. On the other hand the club must discourage: • Coaches, managers, administration or committee members approaching players from other clubs to play for us. • Players club hopping and finishing their junior days with five different jerseys. • Undue pressure being placed on players to win. • Undue pressure being placed on coaches and managers (these people are all volunteers and are a very important part of the club)