Review of 2009 - 2010 Season

The 6th season of mini and junior rugby at Copley has been one of the most successful seasons since it formation. From a club point of view the season has been the most successful in the clubs history.

At Senior level:

• The 1st XV were runners up in Yorkshire 3 and were promoted for the third successive year.
• They will play in Yorkshire 2 next season, their highest ever league position.
• They are through to the Silver Trophy final.

At Junior level:

• the under 16's won the Yorkshire Bowl, the first county trophy won by the junior section.

At Mini level:

• the under 8's were runners up at the Brodleians and Sandal festivals.
• The under 9's were runners up at the West District Festival.
• The under 10's won the Brodleians Festival Plate and Shield winners at the West District Festival.
• The under 11's won the Telford Festival, won the Brodleians Festival Plate, Salver Runners up at Driffield Festival and runners up at the West District Festival

The club has also been busy working on the clubhouse and ground:

• A new junior pitch has been developed at Hollas Lane (a 10 minute walk from the club through Copley Village). Further land is available to develop a further two or three mini pitches. The ultimate goal is to run under 9's to under 12's at Hollas Lane and under 6's, under 7's and under 8's on the Copley mini desinated area. This will allow us to run a full minis section and 2 full size pitches for junior home matches.
• A new changing room has been built to accomodate the additional junior teams.
• Additional shower heads have been installed in one of the changing rooms.
• The new roof has been built over the clubhouse.

Juniors Review of the Season

Under 17's
This season saw the U17 finish playing just after Christmas but several players are turning out on a regular basis for the 2nd XV and Paul Henry-Jackson, Matthew Hunt-Brown and Chris Dyson are in the 1st XV squad. Since the formation of the mini junior section 12 players are now in the 1st XV squad, (9 on a regular basis with the other 3 at university but make appearances when terms break up.

Under 16's

Under 13's
At the end of last season we decided to split the under 11/12's squads into their own age groups. We struggled with numbers early in the season but now have a squad of 17 players. They ended the season winning 9 of their 15 games. Next season we will be looking to build the squad up to 20 players.

Minis Review of the Season

This season we completed our first objective when we started the mini junior section, that was to play competitive games at all minis age groups ie under 6 - under 12's. The mini section also entered the Yorkshire Cup for the first time at under 11 and under 12 level.

Under 12's

We ran an under 12 team for the first time this season. It was very much a development side with many players not having played rugby before. As a result they did not win many games but performed well against very experienced established sides. The squad improved as the season progressed and the plan is to run close season coaching to continue with player development ready for the new season as under 13's.

Under 11's

This age group is our most experienced but they found the going tough as the club experienced under 11's rugby for the first time. After a poor start in the Land Rover Festival the coaches got to grips with under 11's style rugby and the squad started winning. The highlight of the season saw them win the Telford Festival and the Plate trophy at the Brodleians Festival.

Under 10's

The Raiders started with a small squad but recruited well through the season to build the squad upto 16 players. Despite having to coach players new to the game they won 19 of their 39 games and have success at the festivals winning the Plate trophy at the Brodleians Festival, runners up at Scarborough and won the Shield competition at the West Yorkshire District festival.

Under 9's

The under 9's lost some players who moved out of the area but recruited some new players during the season to finish with a squad of 14 players. They started well only losing 3 games up till Christmas but the loss of players disrupted their form especially in the festivals with only a small squad but they managed to win 14 games and lose 14.

Under 8's

The under 8's have had a fantastic season winning 26 games, drawing 3 and losing only 1 game this season. Despite only losing 1 game they were unanable to collect any silverware coming runners up at the Sandal and Brodleians festivals. The defeat in the Brods festival final was their first defeat in 16 months. Clearly a talented side at tag rugby but they move onto contact rugby next season, lets hope they can adapt as well.

Under 7's

In their first season of competitive rugby they have performed very well winning 21 games, drawing 3 and losing 9. We hope they progress well next season.

Under 6's

The young micros had great numbers this year with 16 under 5's and 15 under 6's. They learn basic handling and running skills and do not play competitive games until they reach their 6th birthday then they join the under 7's to gain some experience ready for next season.

Review of 2008 - 2009 Season

Teams competed during the season at U6, U7, U8, U9, U10,U11/U12, U15, U16 levels. We have competed against (and beaten) some very senior and established sides including: Doncaster, Blackburn, Otley, Scarborough, Selby, York, Sandal, Harrogate, Wharfedale, Rotherham, Huddersfield. Several having never previously heard of the "Rishies"?at least before we turn up?!! Overall the junior section has continued to see a growth in participation particularly at the younger age range and we continue to be self financing in terms of a Junior account. On a negative note we lost last seasons very talented U17`s group, mainly due to poaching by other clubs and last seasons U16s due to lack of coaches, but we gained a new U16 age group. Quite a few of last years U17`s went on to play senior rugby for the club and made a massive impact including, Tony Oxley, Tom Clough, Ben Robinson, Ben Porritt, Alex Wood, Matt Knight and James Kidd to add to several others who have previously graduated from the Junior ranks to play senior rugby for the club.

We are confident that several of our current group of U15 and U16 players will shortly provide the seniors with a significant boost to the playing resource. We should see quite a few of next seasons U17s play senior rugby for the club as they reach their 17th birthday. It is important that as a club we strive to continue to improve the management of the switch of players from the junior to the senior ranks. It is a critical stage and we must acknowledge that not all players will be capable of coping with this change but we must make sure we have a smooth process to enable young players to graduate into senior and ultimately 1st team rugby.

Four U16 players represented West Yorkshire - Reuban Pollard, Matthew Hunt Brown, Paul Henry Jackson and Matthew Cooke. PHJ has been asked to train with Leeds Carnegie Academy. The U7`s Won the Harrogate festival competition and u7 Tom Georgieu scored a record 95 tries for the season!!. The outstanding under 10`s won the 2 day Scarborough festival plus the Doncaster festival. U7, 8, 9`s and 10s played at half time at Headingley during Leeds Carnegie matches. 11 coaches attended RFU Tag course. 6 coaches attended Level 1 Coaching award.

We now have 30 junior coaches and we are close to providing 3 coaches at each age group for next season. We now have 171 junior players active and registered, playing from the ages of 4 to 16 (181 in 2008, 147 in 2007, 90 in 2006, and 45 in 2004/2005). This is slightly down from last year but considering we lost 2 complete squads is still a commendable effort. The junior section continues to grow the overall club membership, which has trebled since the start of the junior section. So far 21 players from the junior ranks have now played senior rugby for the club.

Juniors Review of the Season
This season saw the loss of two sides at U17 and U19 level, however we gained a new U16 and an U12.

Under 16's
Playing record P22 Won 12, Lost 9 D 1. Players used 28. An excellent season considering it is only their first season together as a squad and played against teams which have played together as a squad for many seasons. Warren Dodd has developed an outstanding U16 group who have competed and beaten some well established sides, which is amazing for their first season. Many of these lads will play senior rugby next season.

Under 15's
The U15s have been another huge success for the club in only their second season, and with a little more consistency coupled with player availability they would have improved on their playing record which read P17 Won 5 Lost 11 D 1 Players used 27.

Richard Wild, Chris Fox, Gez Rollings and David Kelly have done a fantastic job in coaching the U15`s who, are made up primarily of lads from Copley Village.>/p>

Minis Review of the Season
In the Minis we have now have a dedicated army of coaches and parent helpers, many being former players from various clubs in Halifax.

Under 11/12's
The U11/12 have made real progress with playing numbers increasing from a squad of 10 to 20 players during the season. With Mick Bruce now on board as next season U12 coach we are confident that this critical age range with make further progress and next season we will split this age range to have separate U12 and U13 teams. Mick Bruce was ably assisted by local rugby legend Andy Day who kindly helped out this age group even though his son plays for the U10`s!. Andy will coach the under 13's next season with the help of 1stXV players Chris Flanagan and Joe Billing.

U11/12 playing record was: Played 19 W 6 lost 13

Under 10's
The U10`s almost have an embarrassment of riches with coaching from with Bob Davies, Steve Cockroft, Dave McDonnell, Hugh Creasy, Jon Bake etc etc. This age group are making a real impact in Yorkshire and we are confident that quite a few of this group will play representative rugby in the near future.

The highlight of their season was winning the Scarborough Festival, the Doncaster Festival and West District runners up (losing in the final to Brods). The U10 playing record: P43, Won 35, D 3 L 5,

Under 9's
The U9`s have been run by Brooksbank`s Head of PE Dave Puddephatt. This is a critical age range as this is the first season of contact rugby. They have made great strides on the pitch this season especialy after Christmas. Early in the season they lost players and were down a squad of 6. However with help of a few under 10's they were able to play their games and slowly a number of new players joined and enabled the squad to field a full under 9's team. Also 2 parents Adrian Muscat-Baron and Geoff Symms helped with the coaching.

Towards the end of the season they were playing well and recording victories against well established teams Sandal and Brods. The U9 Playing record reads P 23 Won 5 L 15 D 3

Under 8's
The U8`s run by Grahame White continue to make progress in their last year of tag. They won the majority of their games and will make an impact next season as contact rugby looms. One other important fact Grahame and Neal Mallinson have been coaching Tag to Copley Junior School during the summer term, consequently we continue to gain a number of players from our local junior school. A fantastic gesture considering this is being done in their own time at their own expense.

U8 Playing record as follows: P45 W 22 D8 L 15

Under 7's
The current U 7s are showing real potential having already won the Harrogate festival and boasting some really talented players in their ranks. Tom Georgieu scored 95 tries during the season, but this couldn't be done without the help of his teammates and the talented coaching staff ably led by 2nd team skipper Paul Savage and Chris Georgiou. With even more talent available next season this age group will be one to watch over the next season.

U 7 Playing record: P34 W 24 D3 L7

Under 5/6's The Micros
Finally we have a hoard of youngsters playing at U6 and below. These players train most weeks and move up to the U7`s on their 6th birthday. This is an important stage as it means that we start each new season with an up and running team of U7`s who have the experience of playing rugby for a season. With a squad of 20 players this season we should have enough to start 2009/2010 with a ready made U7 team..

The season saw former junior coach John Clough continue to ably assist Director of Coaching Jamie Bloem as 1st XV Coach. He did this with his usual enthusiasm and skill and the overall results of their 2 years of effort are there for all to see?2 consecutive promotions?can we achieve a hat trick of promotions?

Development 2009-2010

• We will run teams at U6, U7, 8, 9, 10, 11,12, 13, 16 and 17.
• Coaches are in place for all age groups although recruiting for U12 and 13 age groups is ongoing.
• Adverts continue to appear in local magazines promoting the club at both junior and senior level in addition posters are placed in schools promoting the club.
• We continue to develop links with junior and senior schools to aid player recruitment (Copley, Rishworth, Heathfield, All Saints, Holy Trinity, Park Road, Brooksbank etc)
• We will add a new junior/mini pitches next season. I would encourage you all to take a walk down the river to see how
• this piece of land is developing as we speak.
• We continue to encourage players and coaches to attend appropriate training courses and will run in house,
• subsidised courses where possible.
• We will continue to encourage talented players to attend district and County trials and elite player sessions where appropriate.

TARGETS and OBJECTIVES

• The ultimate objective/mission statement for the junior section is:
• To provide a safe and enjoyable rugby playing experience for children from the ages of 5 to 17.
• We aim to have single year teams to cover all age groups. This should be achievable within 3 to 4 years as we add the youngest age groups from the U7 level. Next season assuming we meet our target we should have all age ranges covered apart from U14 and U15. This will continue to place pressure on the clubs playing fields and clubhouse. Resources will need to be continued to be made available to improve the playing surfaces and maintain the clubhouse. The Copley and Hollas Lane site need to be made capable of accommodating a total of 3 matches a week.
• We do not intend to run Colts teams (U19)as our experience shows that this is poorly organised, with many fixtures unfulfilled, as clubs look to colts players for their senior ranks. Therefore U17 will the oldest age range for the Junior ranks.
• Aim for a minimum 5 players per year to move up to play at senior level.
• Aim for minimum 2 and ideally 3 coaches/parent helpers per age group.
• We will continue to run the junior section as self financing and will continue to assist in the funding of the clubhouse and pitch development either through direct contributions or 200 club contributions.
• Develop further the link with local schools and especially Rishworth School. We should be looking to encourage the school to play key 1st team matches at Copley on a Saturday morning and Wed afternoon, thereby encouraging players to play for the juniors and the seniors in the future. Brods and Crocs follow this route via Crossley Heath and Hipperholme Grammar school club links and gain most of their senior players via this route.

Thanks to the following:

• All children and parents
• Helen Ratcliffe, Julie Cooper & Pat Bullough - Junior Co-ordinators
• Julia Costello - Junior treasurer and secretary
• Kitchen Ken, Maria and Chris Fox for their fantastic catering.
• Fred for his humour and continued support as well as Julie behind the bar.
• All the junior coaches and parents who continue to unselfishly give their valuable time and hard work to the club.
• All the match reporters?look at the Courier on a Thursday night.
• The fantastic level of support from the Junior and Senior committee.
• John Hopkinson and Kevin Flanagan for keeping me relatively sane, plus their friendship and support over the years
• Dave Butler - Webmaster & fixtures secretary?.I firmly believe we have the best rugby website in Yorkshire if not the country!!

Finally..
After 5 years as Junior Chairman and many more as a Committee member I have decided now is the time to step down. I would like to thank the club for supporting my efforts particularly over the 5 years as Junior Chairman. I feel we have overachieved our objectives when we originally set out on this path in 2004. My view is that the club will not progress long term without a sustainable and vibrant junior setup. I look forward to seeing a continued flow of juniors into the senior ranks and the continued progress of senior rugby as a result.
G. N. Cockroft June 2009

Review of 2007 - 2008 Season

Review of 2006 - 2007 Season

Review of 2005 - 2006 Season