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I’ve been a rugby mum a couple of years now but I am now also a newbie coach. It’s been less than two months since I started in the role but it feels like so much has happened in those months.
I enjoy it so much that every day I look forward to Sundays when I get to coach again.
I’ve loved rugby since I was 11 and read my first rugby coach biography at age 12. I love reading coaching bios. There is a big difference between coaching grown professionals and small children, but I’ve learnt that the ultimate ethos is the same – the physical, mental and personal improvement of the players under your care.
So six weeks into my coaching journey, we faced our first major challenge – the international juniors tournament that our club in Malaysia organises. It’s a major event in south-east Asia, with 173 teams from different countries and 2500-plus players competing in more than 500 games over a weekend. This year an Under-6 category was created and we entered a side.
Trying to organise and focus a bunch of Under-6s in training is a mad exercise in itself – let alone trying to get them to concentrate in an eight-minute game! As a coach of a mini-team, I am allowed on the field behind the players, to talk to them and try and help direct play. That is easier said than done.
The first game at the tournament was like a circus – we had kids running the wrong way, a couple staring into space, and when the club drone hovered overhead to take video of the play – well, talk about a distraction!
A coach in these circumstances has to just breathe in and breathe out, and quite frankly, have a sense of humour. It’s truly hilarious to see how randomly little ones behave on the pitch.
The next few games were much the same. We did score a few tries but let more in. The chaos continued with players playing with their gum shields, tagging their own teammates instead of the opponents, doing cartwheels during a match and attempting to score tries on any white line except the try line!
By some sort of miracle we weren’t last in our pool and ended up playing for the Shield trophy. A couple of kids had left and we had an injury, so we had only seven players on the field instead of the maximum eight. The other team not only had a full complement, they also had substitutes, and so I cheerfully resigned myself to the inevitable.
However, expect the unexpected with kids. Somehow they clicked better in this game than in the earlier games. There were some lovely attacking runs and they organised themselves much better in defence.
We scored a try and in the chaos of the game I somehow thought the other team had scored too. With 30 seconds remaining, a girl from the other side ran down left touch to the try line… but we have a tiny little whizz-kid, a mini-speedster, who ran an incredible angle to reach her and execute a perfect tag two metres out.
When the whistle blew I asked the pitch marshal what was going to happen. He looked at me strangely and said, “What do you mean? Dani, we won.”
That was such a shock. I didn’t expect that!
Feeling bemused, I told the kids to go to where the medals and trophies were being handed out. Really, I should have led the way as they kept walking and walking past the awards table and were almost at the food trucks when I caught up with them, turned them around and finally got them to receive their dues!
Kids. So funny.
To be satisfied as a coach of little kids, you’ve got to watch the expressions on their faces when they’ve got the ball in hand or when they’re going for a tag, and see the effort there. I love seeing the photos that professional sports photographers take of our games as that energy is shown so clearly.
And you’ve got to look not at winning games or tournaments. It’s seeing those ‘click moments’ when all of a sudden a child understands and executes a task well. The pleasure that they get when they do it makes a coach’s heart swell too.
I am very lucky to have a super co-coach who helps prepare the kids well and a terrific team manager who help make it all happen.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.