Pfitzy
George Gregan (70)
Cool - let's pretend that there enough kids to make it work everywhere.
Are we riding unicorns to the games now?
Junior rugby based on weight classes
- Thread starter p.Tah
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Cool - let's pretend that there enough kids to make it work everywhere.
Are we riding unicorns to the games now?
Killer
Cyril Towers (30)
It probably has more significance in an AFL state.
Its not easy to get a full rugby team every year, or 2 full teams in some clubs. It makes a difference when someone introduces a friend.
But with nippers the same age group at our surf club has 80 kids!
p.Tah
John Thornett (49)
I'll have to disagree its a furphy at the younger age groups, less of an issue as the kids get older and it gets a bit more serious.
Incidentally my kids dropped Nippers and cricket when their friends stopped going
p.Tah
John Thornett (49)
But how much do the Unicorns weigh?
p.Tah
John Thornett (49)
Jul 1- Jun 30 school year? why? are you raising accountants to try and get the GST back?
Why don't they just align the age groups with school years? what do other sports do?
The_Brown_Hornet
John Eales (66)
My boy is one of the smallest in his school rugby team and the school has allowed him to play both in the Yr 7 and Yr 8 team, because of his size and the rules around age eligibility (he's a June baby). He's found this season that his game has come on in leaps and bounds due to him not being flattened every week by 60-70kg gorillas in the older age group. In the Yr 7's team he starts and has done quite well in developing confidence in his defence and running into contact and the breakdown. He plays on the bench in the older team and whilst he finds it harder, he's at least had a chance to develop his technique to the point that he can compete. When he plays Aussie Rules on the weekend there is no such leeway given and some of these lads are enormous. Our team of midgets has lost every game by >60 points. Can't see how that's helping anyone.
One of his school team mates plays Saturday club footy and he's got dispensation from RugbyWA to play a younger age group due to his size. He's a very good player but probably even smaller than my son.
All of this I regard as a positive for the kids and the game as a whole. It's a crude version of weight for age, but the intent is the same.
One of his school team mates plays Saturday club footy and he's got dispensation from RugbyWA to play a younger age group due to his size. He's a very good player but probably even smaller than my son.
All of this I regard as a positive for the kids and the game as a whole. It's a crude version of weight for age, but the intent is the same.
southsider
Arch Winning (36)
There's just too many complications to it from my point of view
You can tell which posters on here have kids because they have the irrational emotional response when you say it cant/shouldn't be done.
From my view
1)kids want to play with their friends
2) there aren't enough juniors to form weight classes, if WE followed what NZ did we'd have to include a bigger age gap eg u8-u10 as opposed to single or double year age groups. Which then forms a problem around skill development which could be equally as dangerous with tackle technique, breakdowns etc. In the u10,11,12 age groups do we grade them by skill as well as weight? Don't think that is doable
3)How many kids actually get injured due to weight discrepancies? It seems to be for the most part the parents that have the problem, not the kids themselves
You can tell which posters on here have kids because they have the irrational emotional response when you say it cant/shouldn't be done.
From my view
1)kids want to play with their friends
2) there aren't enough juniors to form weight classes, if WE followed what NZ did we'd have to include a bigger age gap eg u8-u10 as opposed to single or double year age groups. Which then forms a problem around skill development which could be equally as dangerous with tackle technique, breakdowns etc. In the u10,11,12 age groups do we grade them by skill as well as weight? Don't think that is doable
3)How many kids actually get injured due to weight discrepancies? It seems to be for the most part the parents that have the problem, not the kids themselves
Killer
Cyril Towers (30)
the actual school yr starts say in late Jan to Dec.
But the eligibility is from 1 Jul to 30 Jun. I think its the same in NSW, I just didnt explain it well?
I still don't understand how playing numbers is relevant. It's not a suggestion to have two separate competitions, one based solely on age and one on weight. It's to change all juniors to weight classes such that kids can move up or down one age group.
How does point 2 change anything in regards to player numbers?
All it means is that in each age group you have some younger kids playing because they are really big and some older kids playing because they are really small.
In terms of point 3 I'd say not many. It is more a case of small kids not wanting to play because they feel intimidated by having to play against huge kids or more likely, parents not wanting their kid to play because they are really small and they think it is dangerous.
The reality in private schools where a lot of the rugby at least in Sydney is played is that there are a decreasing number of kids that are young for the year than old for the year. I finished school 20 years ago and there were probably 20-25% of our year that was on the young side of 1 January.
Now I would say that number is much less. If your birthday is later than February you're probably in the year below.
Sauron
Larry Dwyer (12)
So, you have no kids but know what kids want out of sport? Are you a teacher or a junior coach?
I think weight for age makes sense between the introduction of contact to u15 or so.
I also doubt there are so many man-babies running around that it'd have a detrimental impact on numbers. What about the smaller kids that might be inclined to pick up the game if they knew they were less likely to eat shit every weekend?
southsider
Arch Winning (36)
Yep been a junior coach and a development officer across multiple codes for about 6 years
Up to 15's??? Surely you jest! Why till 15's? Again where are these numbers coming from to sustain something like that?
Again in my experience it's more often than not the parents who have the problem not the kids themselves. And if they DO have a problem because of how small they are they CAN drop an age group.
Sauron
Larry Dwyer (12)
Yep been a junior coach and a development officer across multiple codes for about 6 years
Up to 15's??? Surely you jest! Why till 15's? Again where are these numbers coming from to sustain something like that?
Again in my experience it's more often than not the parents who have the problem not the kids themselves. And if they DO have a problem because of how small they are they CAN drop an age group.
Interesting!
Isn't under 15s when they start playing the closest to the adult laws? Or is that u13s?
Where are all the kids who currently play rugby going to go? Why will this affect playing numbers that badly?
One eyed pirate
Ward Prentice (10)
Nobody makes decisions in rugby so nothing happens to improve the game and it's bloody obvious there are problems. Check out the changes to rules, game format and player numbers in junior cricket this year. They are not afraid to make changes and junior cricket is booming after a lull. Check out the automatic grading process that occurs in junior soccer which forces games to be close. Rugby administrators are paralysed from the eye brows down. Too many conservative fuddy duddy views. Another great example of this fuddy duddy mentality is GPS/CAS schoolboy rugby - why hasn't this comp joined! There are now only 6 gps schools competing in first grade and only 5 competitive teams....but the GPS fuddy duddies are still holding out. Boys playing boys twice their weight is not cool and grading by weight is bloody obvious.
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One eyed pirate
Ward Prentice (10)
No, there ARE enough kids to grade by weight. But perhaps there are too many disparate small rugby clubs....yes that means someone is going to have to grow some balls.
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southsider
Arch Winning (36)
Well if we are going with that playing model. That literally happens now, you've just got to apply for it, if your kid is too small they can apply to play down and if a kid wants to play up they can too.
Again in my experience it is hardly ever the kids, it's nearly always the parents and ironically a disproportionate amount of said parents are from the north shore where they have the least amount of contact with the big scary islander boys
One eyed pirate
Ward Prentice (10)
No. I coach junior rugby, soccer and cricket. Rugby administrators are either asleep at the wheel or scared to make changes vs soccer and cricket. Grading by weight is not just about regrading the 10 large boys up and 25 small boys down out of say 200 (which are small changes!) It is the perception of safety to potential and existing players and parents, especially as concerns about concussion are rising.
The beautiful thing about rugby vs soccer and cricket is the collisions (I know that sounds sick but it's true). The problem is, that beautiful aspect becomes very ugly very quickly in juniors when the collisions become one sided.
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waiopehu oldboy
Stirling Mortlock (74)
The boy in the vid Reg posted is no longer playing due to the inevitable online trolling.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/leagu...-giant-7yearold-in-sydney-junior-league-match
Fuck me there are some terrible humans out there. How miserable must their lives be if their greatest/ only pleasure is hanging shit on people they've never met doing stuff that doesn't affect them in any way.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/leagu...-giant-7yearold-in-sydney-junior-league-match
Fuck me there are some terrible humans out there. How miserable must their lives be if their greatest/ only pleasure is hanging shit on people they've never met doing stuff that doesn't affect them in any way.
The_Brown_Hornet
John Eales (66)
I think that's a terrible outcome and I feel for the kid. It's not his fault, he can't fight genetics. I do, however, think that playing in a bracket with bigger boys would be better for him and the little blokes he was playing against. We're seeing in this case a kid leaving the game for the opposite reason a smaller bloke who gets bashed up every week does and that's a bloody shame.
The_Brown_Hornet
John Eales (66)
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