Hey girls, are you looking for an exciting new sport to try that builds confidence and close bonds with teammates? Well, lace up your sneakers because touch rugby for girls is calling your name.
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Hello, aspiring coaches! Are you looking to introduce promising young student-athletes to the fast-paced world of touch rugby for girls? Well, you’ve come to the right place.
This comprehensive manual will equip you to lead, train, and inspire girls aged 10-12 to safely enjoy touch rugby for girls and all its developmental benefits.
Girls, Get Ready to Score Big With Touch Rugby for Girls
Touch rugby is a fast-paced running and passing game without tackling, making it the ideal starter sport for girls aged 10 to 12. In touch rugby for girls, two teams of 6 players take the field with the objective of scoring tries – or points – by entering the opposition’s touchdown zone.
There are no rough scrums or intimidating tackles here! Just focus, communicate with your teammates, and be agile.
Coaches!
Touch rugby for girls offers a gateway for girls seeking a lively, inclusive team sport centered on agility and clever ball handling without high-impact contact. Instead of full tackles, players touch their opponents with their hands to stop progress. Approach it as energetic, full-body chess on the field!
The basics: Two teams of 6 take positions across a 70m x 50m pitch. To score, players run the ball downfield and plant it behind the opposition’s score line to earn a “try” or point.
As we explore the basics of positions and strategy, remember that the priorities are fun, inclusion, and growing your skills together as a team! Now, let’s break down the roles so you’re gameday-ready.
The Ins and Outs of Positions and Gameplay
Teams advance the ball by running or passing it to teammates behind or lateral across the field. Where should we focus coaching attention to set girls up for success? Let’s find out!
The touch rugby field is 70 meters x 50 meters, with 6 players per team ready for action. Here are the need-to-know positions and responsibilities.
Individual Positions and Responsibilities
Competent touch rugby for girls depends on players’ clarity of purpose in their respective roles. Let’s analyze essential positional duties in touch rugby for girls.
Link (1)
The link stands in the middle of the field, acting as the vital playmaker who links the attacking and defending sides. You’ll distribute passes to teammates and identify openings in the opposition to attack.
Accuracy is vital for this position!
In addition, sharp decision-making determines when to run, pass, or stall play.
As the playmaker, the link touches the ball the most. You’ll distribute passes to wings and middles while analyzing the best moments to mount an attack.
I’ll repeat: sharp decision-making and field vision are vital.
To identify effective links, you’ll have to observe if they exhibit these vital traits.
- She scans the field quickly and accurately to detect holes in the opposing defense to attack. Her focus dictates the team’s.
- Handles and passes the ball deftly, having mastered zippy spiral passes to wings and middles. Precision passing beats power.
- Thinks strategically using foresight and field awareness. Is the defense overloaded on one side? Should we stall and reset? Her quick analyses shape strategy.
Wings (2 on each side)
Stationed on the right and left edges of the field, wings rely on speed and sharp swerving to evade opponents. Your goals are to swiftly score tries and support the central link player.
The wings wait on the lateral edges of play, anticipating upfield passes from the link. Explosive acceleration and agile cuts confuse defenders. Wings ultimately finish plays by striding or diving across try lines before defenders recover.
Speed is the name of the game here. Wings rely on agility and swift footwork to blaze past opponents and score tries. You’ll also need attentiveness to back up the link’s attacking plays.
Your success as a wing here depends on the following;
- Raw acceleration reaching top speed rapidly. Precision footwork keeps her upright while changing pace and direction.
- Concentration locked on passes from any angle. Even off-target throws get secured.
- Decisiveness commits to explosive sprints upfield the instant she receives a pass. Delay risks losing an opening.
Middles (2 on each side)
The middle stays close beside the link as a balancing force between attack and defense. You’ll back up both sides of the play and manage smooth transitions across the field. These players fill in the gaps between the link and wing positions.
Involvement in attacking and defensive plays means constantly assessing the action and using strong passing skills to mount a coordinated effort across the team – no small task!
The jack-of-all-trades middles flank the link, ever poised to defend against opponents challenging up the middle or hustle laterally to back an incipient try. The middle’s versatility bridges the strategic gap between link and wings.
The middle is the glue-binding offensive and defensive tactics. Support the link’s ball distribution while coordinating wings’ scoring attempts. Expect lots of transitioning across the field – flexibility is key!
Middles fill the spaces between wings and links, requiring equal parts speed, precision passing, and high game IQ. Help direct the ball upfield while backing defensive efforts—communication, swift judgment, and all-around skill shine here.
Well-rounded middles stand out through the following traits.
- Adaptability morphing between defensive or offensive duties as plays dictate. Seamless role changes come naturally.
- All-conditions handling for cradling accurate passes and errant throws alike. Hands snatch passes from all angles.
- Endurance staying alert through back-and-forth transitions. Brain and body keep humming!
Now that we understand touch rugby positions individually, how do we synchronize them toward a whole-team objective of outmaneuvering opponents? Let’s strategize putting insights into action on the field.
Convert Positional Strengths Into Team Strategic Advantages in Touch Rugby for Girls
Parceling the team into specialized roles gifts you with unique strategic opportunities. Here’s how to compound individual strengths into team-wide advantages in touch rugby for girls.
Dictate tempo and direct focus through the link. Designate her as the conductor, determining the gameplay’s cadence and point of attention. For example, her shouted directive, “Wing slant!” triggers all eyes, watching for an upfield pass opportunity.
Exhaust defenders through coordinated misdirection. Consider a hidden-ball trick play where the link and middle fake laterally left but then sprinted right on a delayed pass. Defenders lurch the opposite, realizing too late where the actual attack channels are.
Create 2-on-1 mismatches to isolate overwhelmed defenders. Imagine both middles approach different wings as if preparing twin strike plays. The isolated defender on each edge can’t cover two players at once. She chooses…and the unmarked player scores.
In touch rugby for girls, you shape unpredictable plays through combinations of player strengths. Study your athletes and devise ways to strategically mismatch opponents by directing focus unchecked toward weaknesses.
Set Piece Plays: Turn Individual Technique into Team Scoring Power
Beyond dynamic free-form play, set piece plays concentrate team precision into defined tried-and-true scoring blueprints. Think eminently repeatable lacrosse fast breaks or soccer corner kicks. Design options leveraging your squad’s unique gifts.
Some ideas.
Quick-strike wing crosses feature your fastest athlete grabbing a lateral pass near midfield and then outpacing scrambled defenders on diagonals toward the try zone corners.
The lateral link dances the link, faking left, pivoting right, and then firing to a mid-position for an instantaneous drop-off return pass score before overcommitted peripheral defenders can respond.
The kickout combo exploits a line drive link pass soaring over defenders’ arms to hit a wing in full stride at the try line corner. The aerial gap allows your fleet footed wing to outpace the final recovering defender for six points.
Set pieces provide familiar scoring plans while allowing you to insert new players for development. Repetition builds contributions. And designed plays generate exhilaration and confidence when executed successfully.
Now, let’s discuss higher-level developmental philosophies to enrich girls’ touch rugby experiences further.
Coaching Values: Encourage Growth Mindsets, Confidence and Connection
Beyond tactics, leverage your coaching influence to instill values that empower student-athletes for lifelong success. Specifically, it emphasizes growth mindsets, self-trust, and communal bonds.
Here’s why.
Growth Mindsets
Too often, girls are praised for intrinsic qualities rather than work ethic. This implies abilities are fixed, sabotaging persistence. But talent only realizes its potential through determination and confronting challenges.
Instead, reinforce that capabilities expand with effort. Applaud disciplined attempts to raise skill levels. What commitment will they make working toward new milestones, like 15 precise passes in a row or a 5% quicker change-of-direction time? Progress takes patience.
Confidence
Confidence emerges from competence. Girls who repeatedly perform skills like fluid passing or deceptively agile cuts eventually trust their abilities to execute under pressure. Provide repetitive drill work toward technical mastery. Confidence will naturally follow.
Once confident, encourage reasonable risk-taking, like slightly more audacious cutback moves or threaded passes through small openings. Not reckless abandon but bold trust in expanding capabilities. Help her test her limitations and then progress beyond them.
Connection
They shared struggle bonds teams. Design collaborative drills, forcing problem-solving and persistence together. Individual progress rests upon communal success in the chaos of a complex drill. Outlast the challenge, and they’ll credit their unified grit.
Beyond games, open dialogue around growth, change, and support. Disarm fear of judgment by honestly sharing your winding journey. If she knows you struggled too, she’ll be more candid about her own path.
Lead with empathy.
By intentionally cultivating growth mindsets, confidence, and trust, you mold complete athletes equipped to excel at sports and life. That’s the greater win.
Strategies for Touch Rugby for Girls Greatness
Now for the fun part – tips to develop your touch rugby prowess. Here are five key areas to focus on.
1. Team Communication
Clear and upbeat communication allows teams to operate seamlessly on the field. Give specific directives like “Pass to the left wing!” and celebrate great plays together. Constructive feedback helps fine-tune strategy.
2. Skill Building
Consistently practice essential skills like darting upfield, precision passing, and ball handling. Set up mini obstacle courses focusing on agility. Successful touch rugby relies on competence and confidence in the basics.
3. Sportsmanship and Teamwork
From pre-game warmups to the final whistle, uphold values like encouragement, integrity, and camaraderie. Wins and losses happen – what matters most is the bonds built along the way.
4. Confidence on the Field
Set personalized goals to raise your capabilities over the season. Perhaps you aim to increase passing accuracy or improve change-of-direction times. Check-in with coaches and teammates to track your progress. Each small success builds confidence to succeed further.
5. Having Fun!
At its heart, touch rugby is about the sheer fun of running, passing, and outmaneuvering the competition together. Laugh, strategize with teammates, and enjoy every minute on the field.
The memories and friendships will last a lifetime!
And that’s a match!
Girls, congratulations on taking the first step toward an exciting season ahead. Approach practices and games with focus, kindness toward others, and the ambition to grow your capabilities one try at a time.
I can’t wait to see your skills progress and confidence soar on the pitch this season. Now get out there and own the field as a united team.
Get ’em, superstars!
Coaches!
That constitutes a complete primer equipping you to lead young girls through rewarding touch rugby experiences sure to enrich their physicality, skills, and character. From field layout to gameplay strategy to instilling developmental values, employ these insights toward joyful, progressive training.
This running and passing game unlocks athletic possibilities lacking contact sports barriers. See past and current player abilities and envision the confident, resilient competitors they might become after months of compassionate yet challenging mentorship. Shape that future through encouragement, ambition, and unwavering support.
Then enjoy the fruits of your leadership nurturing growth, watching them integrate lessons sport offers into happier, healthier, more promising lives overall.
What could be more important?
