Under 5/6's Information
Welcome to the under 6's page. This age group is for children in the school year 1 age group starting on 1st September, i.e. children aged under 6 at the 1st of September 2010.
Micro Rugby is where it all starts. If you are a youngster wanting to learn about rugby, you start at micro rugby level. New players are almost always enthusiastic and want to get stuck in right away, but like everything, you have to learn to walk before you run. Therefore, at micro level we spend time having fun but developing skills and tactics and learning the rules at the same time. The most important thing is that the children learn how to play the game safely and in the right spirit. Surprisingly we experience relatively few bumps and bruises and the children keep on coming back for more!

The coaches for this age group are
Matthew Amer Tel: M 07736 972860 or e-mail lisa.amer@btinternet.com
Richard Connell Tel: M 07939 982006 or e-mail rick.ebs@blueyonder.co.uk
Don McKenzie Tel: M 07979 357099 or e-mail donmac@blueyonder.co.uk
Glynn Smith Tel: M 07979 357099 or e-mail glynsmith194@btinternet.com

If you are interested in bringing your child down to experience micro rugby, please read our aims and sample training reports and see what we do in our sessions. We suggest they have a 2-3 weeks trial to see if they enjoy the sessions.
For more more information contact Dave Butler .
Dave Butler Tel: H 01422 371672 or e-mail davebutler@orrufc.co.uk

2010 - 11 Season
The under 6 section, known as the micros allows children aged 3, 4 and 5 to start learning how to play tag rugby. They do not play competitive games until they reach their sixth birthday then they can join in with the under 7's squad and play competitive games. They train on Sunday mornings and occasionally travel with the under 7's to train with the opposition. In cold weather we often have the opportunity to use the Rishworth School Sports hall.

What does your child need to join and enjoy micro rugby? A willingness to listen and join in are good starters. We would ask that the kids come with a pair of football boots, some shorts and tracksuit trousers, a sirt and warm top fleece/tracksuit top. (in winter, please ensure your child has several layers of clothing). An ability to get dirty (which most kids have) is good, and a get up and go attitude is a big help.

As a parent, is it a good idea to send your child to us? We are all individuals, what excites one child may not interest another. Bring your child along, leave them with us and we hope that your child will have got ‘the bug’ and be keen to return, although it is important to stress that the coaches are not babysitters on a Sunday morning - they want to see your child take an interest and be developed. If the qualities are not there we will try to bring them out, but we do realise that rugby is not ‘it’ for all. At micro level we do not play in competitive matches or tournaments until they reach their 6th birthday.

The aims of the micros are
Having Fun
Every thing we do is designed to ensure that, first and foremost, all participants have fun and are enthusiastic about their rugby training. Every week we introduce a variety of exercises designed to develop basic individual and team skills through play. We engender healthy competition but always with a strong emphasis on sportsmanship and encouragement.

Safety
As parents ourselves we treat the safety of your children as paramount when considering our itinerary. Tag rugby at this age level is non-contact in that we do not play to tackle or encourage aggression towards each other. But don't expect any clean shirts because children seem to love the mud!!

Benefits
Develop good hand-eye coordination, balance and agility. A healthy lifestyle, involving healthy eating and drinking as well as exercise. Your child gets "The feel good factor" through exercise, helping towards your chid feeling happy and content. Your child is encouraged to play in teams, teaching important social skills, friendship, discipline and team building.

Building for the future
We consider it a great honour to be the people giving your children their first taste of rugby and aim to ensure the healthy behaviours our sport helps to develop serve your children well in the future and keep them coming back for years to come.

If you have any questions about our Under 6 rugby programme please don't hesitate to contact Dave Butler or a member of our team.
We look forward to seeing you.

Matthew Amer, Don McKenzie and Glynn Smith Under 5/6 coaches

Sunday 6th February 2011 Training report from Camp Copley.

The Micros training morning…..and the’ conditions’…… well……WET, WINDY, MUDDY, MESSY & COLD…….but did we all enjoy it???...... YES WE DID!!!! Great fun.

We started the session with the usual, well drilled and energetic warm-up, which this week concentrated upon stretches and some gentle cardio work of star-jumps, jogging and relay races. Whilst the coaches wiped away the sleep from their eyes, the boys really pushed themselves by sprinting to score some super-quick tries…..this drill was particularly well demonstrated by Connor Hickling, Thomas Amer, Carter Mabson and Archie Sykes. Thereafter, the game of Scarecrow tagging saw some fantastic tagging by Ewan Bell and Freddie Shields.

The 1st Rugby drill of the day was another session of ‘2 on 1’ tagging and try-scoring……..the boys have really developed with this drill since reconvening/starting in September. It should be noted that all of the boys can now catch the ball from a 10 yard distance, whilst the ‘taggers’ listen and execute the discipline of returning to the defensive ‘mark’ with ease….this is excellent to see. Marley Thacker, Jobe Wilby, Max Smith and Leo Iribaren all dodged the ‘taggers’ and managed to score 4 tries each, whilst Edward Amer and Toby Didgiunatis both displayed great balance and footwork to weave the way to the try-line to score 2 tries each. Freddy Shields and Charlie Harrison snatched over 6 tags each in displaying fantastic defensive skill.

The 2nd drill was a long-running ‘tagging’ race......here, it is great to see such determination and hunger in sprinting to the try-line whilst evading the capture from the chasing ‘tagger’…….Edwin Mackenzie, Charlie Lovering, Ben Hall and Casper Connell all had huge smiles on their faces as they crossed the try-line (in-front of the parents) without being ‘tagged’……well done to all the lads here.

To complement the muddy conditions, the tackle bags were brought out (apologies to all mums for the extra washing required post training, NB - Vanish Oxiaction will work wonders, honest!??!!). Once again, all the boys must be given great credit for listening to the instructions and the demonstration and then putting that into action with some great ‘hits’ on the tackle-bags. Top tacklers were Toby Didgiunatis, Jobe Wilby, Charlie Harrison and Ewan Bell. Whilst Carter Mabson and Oliver Morris demonstrated the shoulder-push with some excellence.

After a fast and enjoyable game of Bulldogs……(which now must be the loudest game of Bulldogs in West Yorkshire!), we finished the morning with a mini-game. The Sharks won this close encounter 3-2, with 3 skilful tries from Charlie Lovering, whilst 2 determined tries from Charlie Harrison made sure it was a close game. Additionally, it was great to see such fantastic teamwork in the game, with Charlie Rushworth, Marley Thacker, Leo Iribaren and Oliver Morris all displaying fantastic positional and catching skills. All of the Under 6’s are in great shape to start playing competitive games next year…….well done to all who participated.

Certificates this week went to:
Ben Hall (Try-Scoring)
Charlie Lovering (Try-Scoring)
Casper Connell (Tagging)
Carter Mabson (Agility)
Leo Iribaren (Try-Scoring)

Well done to all…….see you next week.
Feedback always welcome.
Matt.
Lisa.amer@btinternet.com Tel – 07748 076504

Micros Training Session Report for 30/01/2011
Wow……a fantastic training session was held on Sunday the 30th January 2011 for the ORRUFC Under 6’s (aka The Micros!).

The session started with an energetic warm-up of star-jumps, toe-touching, stretches and running…….well demonstrated by Edward Amer, Archie Sykes and Max Smith. Thereafter, we split into 2 groups of ‘Tigers’ and ‘Sharks’…..and continued the warm-up with some relay try-scoring races. The ‘stars’ of this drill were; Joseph Diggles, Ewan Bell and Ben Hall, who all raced to score a try and return to their team-mates in super quick times. The warm-up completed with a game of ‘tag scarecrows’. Here we saw some fantastic energy, agility and movement from; Carter Mabson, Leo Iribaren and Freddy Shields, whilst Toby Didgiunatis and George West were the superstars in freeing the Scarecrows!

The next drill was a ‘1 on 2’ tagging event…….and the teams split up into 2 groups. In the 1st group Lucas Fernally and Jobe Wilby showed what fantastic try-scorers they are with 5 tries each, whilst Charlie Harrison, Oliver Hill and Thomas Amer managed to grab 3 tags each…..well done to all the lads. In the 2nd group Casper Connell and Archie Sykes both scored 4 tries and Edwin Mackinzie and Toby Didgiunatis stole 2 tags each…..what a fantastic effort!

After an exciting long running game of ‘whistle tag’, where Archie Sykes, Jobe Wilby and Charlie Harrison all displayed great passing and catching skills…..the Coaches got the tackle bags out for some messy fun! Connor Hickling, Casper Connell, Freddy Shields and Carter Mabson all launched some massive hits on the bags, whilst Max Smith, Oliver Hill and Leo Iribaren all hit the 2nd bag with some force……well done to all!

Finally we finished the morning with a game of Bull Dogs…….well done here to Charlie Harrison, Ben Hall, Ewan Bell, Charlie and Max Smith for some fantastic tagging.

A really enjoyable session…..well done to all the lads. Certificates this week went to:
Archie Sykes (Try scoring)
Jobe Wilby (Try scoring)
Lucas Fernally (Try scoring)
Charlie Harrison (Tagging)

We hope to see you all next week and hope all the boys enjoy the training.
Thanks.Matt.

Sunday 12th December 2010 - Rishworth School

An eventful, bumpy and tumble training session was held at Rishworth School for the under 6's from the Old Rishworthians RUFC.

15 lads attended the session, welcoming the smiley faces of brothers Redford and Nate Holdsworth to their 1st session of the season. After an action-packed warm-up of; jogging, sprinting, press-ups (well demonstrated by Thomas Amer, Connor Hickling and Max Smith !!), star jumps and 'Simon Says...', the boys started their drill sessions.

Thereafter, the boys commenced a game of 'Tagging Scarecrows', and after some fine dodging and tagging......an unfortunate collision between Leo and Nate resulted in both lads requiring some TLC from their onlooking parents.....thank you to both sets of parents. After an ice-pack Leo was mad keen to re-join the session, however both coaches and his dad agreed that the 'Gladiator' Leo should rest and recover.......all the best to Leo, we all hope the bump disappears quickly and we will see you next week for some more rugby fun.

The next drill was a passing and catching drill. The boys again really excelled here and managed to increase the number of passes and cones to 3 sets of 3.......of notable excellence in this drill were; Charlie Harrison, Joseph Diggles, Charlie Lovering, Marley Thacker, Charlie Swales and Carter Mabson who all managed to complete the exercise with no drops.....well done boys.

After that, the next drill was a long distance tagging '1' against '2'. Here, we witnessed some fantastic try-scoring from Oliver Hill (4 tries, no tags lost), Charlie Rushworth (3 tries, 1 tag lost), Joseph Diggles (4 tries, 1 tag lost), Redford Holdsworth (4 tries, no tags lost), Nate Holdsworth (4 tries, 1 tag lost) and Freddy Shields (3 tries, no tags lost)........the stars of defence in this drill were; Charlie Harrison (5 tags taken) and Ben Hall (3 tags).....fantastic, well done all the lads.

To finish with the lads enjoyed some energetic games of 'dodge ball' and 'bulldogs'......Marley Thacker stole the show on dodge ball, with some well aimed hits with the rugby ball....whilst, Freddy, 'the Charlies' and Max Smith all excelled at bulldogs.

Certificates this week went to:
Max Smith
Thomas Amer
Nate Holdsworth
Oliver Hill
Freddy Shields
Well done to all, we hope you all enjoyed it.

Next Sunday, we aim to stage Training outdoors at the Old Rishworthians RUFC, Copley.
Also, please do not forget the Christmas party at 3pm.
Finally, best wishes and a speedy to recovery to Edwin Mackenzie who had a small operation last week......brave boy and a speedy recovery is wished by everybody connected with the under 6's

Matt.

Review of 2009 - 10 Season
Warren Doyle again took charge of coaching having already spent 2 years coaching the squad. Three parents Stephen Davidson, Dave Smith and Richard Connell also volunteered to help Warren to give us our target of four coaches to run the micro squad. We had a good squad of 30 players split almost equaly between under 5 and under 6. We tend to split the squad into 2 sections, the younger players and those just started and the older more experienced players. The squad and new coaches have all settled in well. During the cold spell we were lucky to have the opportunity to use the Rishworth School Sports Hall and maintain the training seesions. We were unfortunate with the weather on the Sundays we planned to take the squad to local away fixtures to train with another club. It does give the youngsters the experience of playing away for those old enough to play competitive rugby next season. Weather permitting we hope to arrange joint training sessions next season.

The squad:
Under 6's Freddie Connell, Oscar Lee, Felix Jackson, Max Didgiunaitis, Jon Alexander Baker, Alex Ackroyd, Francis Mackenzie, James Wadsworth, William Boom, Henry Bowker, Samuel Whitton, Thomas Westgarth, Harvey Oaks, Shea Simms.
Under 5's Lucas Fearnley, Luke Haigh, Lucas Mackrill, Jack Billington, Oliver Hill, William Davidson, Jake Goldthorpe-Smith, Leo Iribaren, Max Smith, Joe Wild, Harry Wainwright, Isaac Cowell, Thomas Amer.

The Micros Slideshow.
Click on arrows to view more photos, click on photo to enlarge.
View

Review of 2008 - 09 Season
The under 6 players had a good season training and learning to play mini tag rugby. There were 25 players in the squad and good numbers each Sunday training. We ran several joint sessions with Huddersfield YMCA at the club and at Huddersfield YMCA to give the players the opportunity to get used to playing away. Several players moved up to the under 7 squad to gain competitive match experience ready for next season.

This season Neal Lumb, Darren Grogan, Guy Laurie and Warren Doyle coached the squad. with four coaches we will be able to split the squad into 2 groups, the under 5's and under 6.
Any new players under 5 or under 6 who would like to play mini rugby are very welcome to come down to Copley on Sunday mornings when they are training or have home games. Please look at the fixtures list to check the minis are at home.

Under 6's Squad Jack Lumb, Edward Grogan, Thomas Doyle, Bobbie White, William Adams, Toby Laurie, Daniel Bentham, Harry Bentham, John Baker, Oscar Rowe, Jack Brooke, Ben Gianotti, Isobelle Shaw, Jasmine Shaw, Ben Hygate, Sophie Hygate, Oliver Walton

Review of 2007 - 08 Season
The under 6 section, known as the micros has been one of the successes this season. Over 20 players some as young as 4 have joined this season. We have been very fortunate to find 4 parents Neal Lumb, Darren Grogan, Guy Laurie and Warren Doyle to coach the squad. They have worked miracles to develop these youngsters.

As the players reach their sixth birthday they have joined in with the under 7's squad to play competitive games. All those players have performed well with several picking up man of the match awards. The highlight being able to take part in the Huddersfield and Harrogate Festivals as a development B squad made up of inexperienced under 7's and the micro players. Taking this into consideration the players did themselves and the club proud.

The micros have trained every week and towards the end of the season we invited Huddersfield YMCA micros to come down and join in a training session and play tag rugby. The session worked well and we returned the compliment by travelling to YM for a session. We plan to find another suitable club to join in next season.
The basis of next seasons under 7 squad is now in place with 3 parents willing to coach the squad.

Under 6's Squad Jack Lumb, Edward Grogan, Thomas Doyle, George Wannan, Gabriel Moore, Bobbie White, Oliver Muscat-Baron, Oliver Brian, Rees Baraclough, Kieran Brocklehurst, William Adams, Toby Laurie, Max Hartley, Oliver Walton, Daniel Bentham, Harry Bentham, John Barker, Oscar Rowe, Benjamin Morris, Jack Malinson, Brandon Savage, Reggie Herd, Kieran Lewis

Review of 2006 - 07 Season
The second successful season saw the following new players join the under 6's squad. Natalie Housecroft, Ben Collier, Harry Smith, Oliver Muscat Baron, George Wannan, Thomas Gillespie. We now have a squad of 11 under 6 players who will form the basis of the under 7's next season and able to play competitive games and 8 under 5 players who will be able to join in the under 7's squad as they reach their sixth birthday. Some of the under 6's have already played a few games with the under 7's and Kian Sutcliffe, Finn Sutcliffe and Corey White were members of the Harrogate Festival under 7's runners up squad.

Under 6's squad Corey White, Natalie Housecroft, Kian Sutcliffe, Matthew Beswick, Harry Stobart,Ben Collier, Alex Oldroyd, Toby Muscat Baron, Laura Taylor, Morgan Smithies, Lucy Puddephatt,

Under 5's squad Gabriel Moore, George Wannan, Thomas Gillespie, Luke Potts, Finn Sutcliffe, Oliver Muscat Baron, Thomas Georgiou, Sam Roberts

Review of 2005 - 06 Season
The under 6 section completed their first season at mini rugby and the numbers have grown as the season progressed. We now have a squad of six under 6 players who will form the basis of the under 7's next season and able to play competitive games and six under 5 players who will be able to join in the under 7's squad next season as they reach their sixth birthday. The following players joined the club during the season.

Emma Bower, Luke Potts, Harry Nicholson, Kien Mather, Rhys Wadsworth.
Some of the under 6's have already played a few games with the under 7's and Emma Bower was a member of the Harrogate Festival under 7's winning squad.

William Symms won the most improved player award
Toby Muscat-Baron won the player of the year trophy.

Sidhil Limited
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West Yorkshire, HX2 9TN
Tel 01422 233022
Fax 01422 233040
www.sidhil.com

Griffin Sports Supplies
77 Rustic, Piece Hall
Haifax 01422 369600
For items such as rugby boots, protective headgear, gloves, body armour, stay warm garments etc
View Griffin Sports Supplies

Interested in Playing for the Under 6's
Anyone interested in playing Under 6's micro rugby please contact any of the coaches or people below. Alternatively just come down on a Sunday morning 10:30am to Noon during the season September to April. Please check our web site home page first in case they are training at another club.

Steve Cockroft via e-mail stephen.cockroft@btinternet.com
or telephone 01422 352685

Dave Butler via e-mail davebutler@orrufc.co.uk
or phone 01422 371672