WELCOME TO POCKLINGTON RUFC JUNIORS & MINIS

Fixtures

Contacts

This is just a brief welcome to Pocklington RUFC mini and midi section. At the moment we are aiming towards an accreditation from the Rugby Football Union called the Seal Of Approval so we are rewriting some of our Codes of Conduct, as these are produced they will be published for you. Below are an outline of the guidelines we expect from officials and members of the club :-

Coach and Managers

Each age group has a team of RFU qualified coaches and managers who are all CRB checked. They will instruct, encourage (even tie bootlaces!!) and help both players and parents while they are at the club. The emphasis at Pocklington is on player development, both skill and personal and to create an encouraging and enjoyable environment for all.

Players

All players are expected to behave considerately when representing Pocklington, listen to the coaches, respect both team mates and opposition whatever their ability, be polite and courteous to referees, parents and other club members but most importantly they must remember to have FUN and ENJOY themselves.


Parents

Please remember your children are here for themselves, never force a child to play if they don't want to. Your 'Positive' verbal encouragement is welcome, especially if it directed to both sides (even a kind word to the referee would not go amiss!), winning is not the be all and end all. We pride ourselves at Pocklington on our fairness and friendliness. Especially at the lower age groups, parents are encouraged to stay and support their children, we do not supply club transport so travel to away matches is your responsibility - although lifts can usually be sorted out from most local destinations. The club is here for you and your children so please take an active part in its success.

Registration

Your team manager will have club registration forms for you to fill in and for U9's and above a Yorkshire Registration form as well. The age groups follow the school Years.
Years 1 and 2 will be U7's Year 3 will be U8's
Year 4 will be U9's Year 5 will be U10's
Year 6 will be U11's Year 7 will be U12's
Year 8 will be U13's Year 9 will be U14's
Year 10 will be U15's Year 11 will be U16's
Year 12 will be U17's Year 13 will be U18's

The Registration fee is a one off payment for the year of £25, (there is a concession for second, third, fourth, fifth! or even sixth!! brothers or sisters) .This pays for your match day meals and towards the running of the junior section i.e. shirts and equipment. After registering you will receive a club handbook containing contacts and fixture list.

What do you need ?

The club will supply the shirt for the games but there are certain essential items of kit your child will need

Boots Football or Rugby but they must have metal studs, at the
moment you can still wear Predators or bladed boots but there
is always an ongoing debate about their suitability. At the U7
and U8 age group the style of boot is not as important as the
children play non contact Tag rugby.

Clothing Shorts (navy blue), Socks (navy blue with white top for U7-
U12 ) (navy blue and white hoops U13-U18), these can be
purchased from the club.

Protective Clothing, The club does keep a stock of small gum shields for the
younger age groups but it is highly recommended that as the
children get their second set of teeth they obtain a gum shield
from a dentist, all children should wear a gum shield.
Any body armour or scrum hats must carry an IRB tag and be
suitable for rugby union .If you have any doubts ask the shop
or your team coach or manager.

As well as the essential items please make sure your children are dressed appropriately for the weather, warm and waterproof tops, training or tracksuit bottoms, gloves. We are looking into obtaining waterproof tops and other items in the club colours and logo for you to purchase.

Aims and Objectives

Our aim at Pocklington is to provide a safe and encouraging environment for any child to develop their sporting and personal skills, to whatever level they wish to obtain. Whether it is just to enjoy the friendship and camaraderie at club level, progression through to the senior club or even on to representative rugby. We currently have present and ex junior players representing England, North of England, Yorkshire and East Yorkshire .We appreciate each child is different and we will help them to get the maximum enjoyment out of their time with Pocklington Rugby Club.


Rob Webber and Charlie Allen representing England

Fixtures

We try to keep the fixtures as local as possible more so at the U7-U12 age groups, as the U13-U18 play on full size pitches and a longer game they do travel further a field. Because the majority of our fixtures are 'friendlies' we do not have to have a 'win the league at all cost attitude', this means that we can concentrate more on player development and players will not be left on the touchline hoping for a few minutes of rugby but can take a full and active part in the team.


Rugby

As the age groups progress so does the level and format of the rugby played

U7's & U8's play non contact Tag Rugby with teams of between 5 and 7 players on a quarter size pitch.

U9's play contact rugby with teams of 9 players (3 forwards, 6 backs) and uncontested scrums and lineouts on half a pitch.

U10's play contact rugby with teams of 9 players (3 forwards, 6 backs) who contest scrums and lineouts on half a pitch.

U11's and U12's play contact rugby with teams of 12 players (5 forwards, 7 backs) who contest scrums and lineouts on half a pitch.

U13's - U18's play contact rugby with teams of 15 players (8 forwards, 7 backs) who contest scrums and lineouts on a full size pitch.


This is just a basic outline of the format and children will be instructed to the rules
and diferent variations in the game as they progress through the club.If you have any more questions please come and ask any of your coaches or team managers.

We try to keep costs at the club to a minimum so our principle fund raisers are sponsorship and club functions as well as some funding from the RFU and local council partnerships. If you are in a position to sponsor a team, then please contact your team manager and we can discuss how best to utilise your donation.
We hold functions during the year for both adults and children, please try to attend them as it promotes a friendly family atmosphere and they are good fun!
We also endeavour to hold club tours at the end of each season ,the popularity of these tours grow every year as we travel to a wide and varied choice of destinations !! even now travelling abroad with trips to Italy last year and trips this year planned to Spain, Holland and a return to Italy, so bag packers get yourselves ready.

If you have access to the internet then some useful sites to read are www.rfu.com which is the Rugby Football Union site ,if you look under the community pages you can find detailed rules of the game (Continuum) and other useful areas. Also www.yrs.co.uk which is the Yorkshire Referees site where you can find directions to the local club grounds when we play away matches.