The Highcrest Academy
The Spring Term saw HWRUFC work with it’s first secondary school of the season, up the hill at Highcrest working with their Year 7 boys.
While we were only able to deliver sessions for the 3 weeks before the Easter break, we were still able to provide 6 brilliant lessons to the boys. Being a secondary school, we were able to introduce contact rugby to the students. Sessions were spent learning the basics of tackling, contact safety and rucking, before putting these skills into small games. All of the boys showed brilliant enthusiasm, engagement and ability over the 3 weeks. These sessions were obviously a hit, with a couple of the boys going on to join the club!
Going forward, we are looking to strengthen our ties with the school. With a number of our players already attending the school, we are aiming to build on this, and are looking at delivering more sessions in the next school year, for both boys and girls.
St John’s Primary
While we would have loved to see the Year 5’s put their skills into practice at the tournament held at Monks Risborough, bad weather prevented the tournament from taking place. However, they will still get a chance to play some competitive tag later in the Summer Term.
We’ve been continuing to work with St John’s over this term, with sessions being delivered to both groups of Y3 & Y4 students. We’ve seen a great attitude within the lessons, with all students giving it their all, and seen the skills develop brilliantly! After the Summer Half Term break, we’ll be working with the school’s Y6’s to round off the school year.
The Disraeli School
The Spring Term saw HWRUFC running their first after school club of the season, at The Disraeli School. The club was open to children from Years 4-6 and was aimed at being an introduction to the sport, covering basic skills in a fun setting.
Low numbers hampered progress, but those that took part really enjoyed themselves and gave it their all in learning a new sport. We look forward to continuing to work with The Disraeli School in the next academic year.
Naphill and Walters Ash School
Finally, our Community Team spent the Spring Term at Naphill and Walters Ash School. We were initially invited in to deliver a day long “Rugby Taster” session, where each year group from Year 3 and above got to give rugby a try, taking part in rugby-based relay races.
Following the taster day, lessons were delivered to a combined Y5/6 group once a week, working on basics and building up to completing some small-sided games. The skills on show were very impressive, as was the confidence, commitment and enthusiasm of those taking part.
Loudwater Combined School
The Spring Term saw HWRUFC work with the school closest to the rugby club, just along Kingsmead Road at Loudwater Combined School. We delivered sessions to their Year 5 class, starting with the basics and progressing all the way up to full games of tag. The skills, enthusiasm and attitude to the sessions were excellent, as was the visible growth in confidence with some players.
Half Term Camps & Skills Masterclasses
The Spring Term saw HWRUFC deliver their first half term camps with Ealing Trailfinders. These consisted of a 2 full-day camp for the Mini’s and Juniors, with a Boys masterclass on the afternoon of Day 1 and a Girls masterclass on the afternoon of Day 2. We had nearly 30 children attend across both days and were lucky enough to be coached by members of Ealing Trailfinders Women’s team.
M&J Camp
Day One saw 26 children attend and was led by Canadian internationals Julia Schell and Rori Wood, Welsh international Carys Cox and USA international Alivia Leatherman. The morning consisted of various games as a warmup, including bulldog/sharks and fishes and bib tag, before splitting into older and younger age groups to do some rugby skills games. These games focused on handling skills, using games such as Bank and rugby netball to work on passing technique, with the older children completing some 2v1s and 3v2s. After a lunch break, we were back outside for the afternoon to complete the day. After a couple more games of bulldog and some free time to do some kicking, we finished the day with some races, working on passing and catching.
Day Two saw 22 children attend, with the day being led primarily by Alivia and Rori. The weather was considerably worse this day, with heavy rain putting a bit of a dampener on the day. Despite the rain, we were back outside all day, once again using a variety of games and races to work on skills and keep the children moving as much as possible. We also did a brief section on tackling, with all of the children getting stuck in and hitting the tackle bags, becoming very muddy in the process!
Overall, this was a great two-day camp, with all of the children getting involved, having fun and learning new skills from professional rugby players. We look forward to hosting more of these camps in the future!
Skills Masterclasses
On Wednesday 19th February, HWRUFC hosted a masterclass for U13-U16 boys, led by Ealing Trailfinders and Canadian international player Julia Schell and Ealing Trailfinders Community Coach, Andrew Quick (Quicky). A total of 12 players attended this session, a majority of which came from the club’s U13s.
The masterclass was focused on kicking out of hand, working on improving technique, accuracy and execution, bringing these skills into game situations. The boys had a great time, and you could really see their skills improving as the session went on. It was a great opportunity for the boys to learn from an elite level player, and they certainly learnt a lot from it.
On Thursday 20th February, HWRUFC hosted a rugby masterclass for girls in the U12s to U16s age group. The session was led by Ealing Trailfinders and Scotland Women’s international players Caity Mattinson and Lisa Thomson. A total of 8 girls attended the session.
The session focused on kicking and handling skills, culminating in some fast-paced matches where they put these skills into practice. It was a great session, full of fun, excellent skills and invaluable coaching from both Scotland players. The girls involved definitely learned a lot from this session and we look forward to hosting more of these sessions for all girls at HWRUFC!
