In late 2017, the TRU Board instructed the CEO and Community Rugby team to review junior rugby within the region. The review was extensive and identified that we needed to concentrate on Coach Education as a key area for development.
After extensive consultation with several Stakeholders, including players, this led to the development of our Mako Rugby initiative, which aims to provide a uniform and developmental approach to coaching junior rugby.
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The goals of Mako Rugby are to:
- Develop & implement a fundamental skills program through all junior rugby grades focusing on easy to deliver, fun & progressive sessions.
- Develop the initiative into all junior coaching programs to provide a uniform & developmental approach.
- Provide a well-developed coaching resource and set of tools to assist all coaches including all-weather coaching booklets & e-coaching videos.
The all-weather coaching booklets were made possible by the generous support of Philip Woolf and his team at ITM Motueka & Takaka.
In developing the program structure, we started by focusing on the key skills that players must learn to become future Mako.
These fundamentals, now called the Mako 5, are:
- Catch & Pass (off both hands)
- The Breakdown
- Decision Making / Games Sense
- Tackling
- Body Position in Contact.
The Mako 5 are the basis of each session, coupled with using the Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU) approach to learning. TGfU is designed to tap into children’s inherent desire to play. It uses the concept of people learning skills through playing meaningful games and is very player centred.
We then split the junior grades into three age groups which are Mini Mako (U6 & U7), Hammerheads (U8-U10) and Great Whites (U11-U13).
The resource was completed at the beginning of the 2018 season and delivered at each Small Blacks coaching course.
All coaches receive an all-weather coaching booklet specific to the grade they coach, and after the Board made funds available, we now have our Mako Rugby e-Coaching videos online ready for coaches to use this year.
Overall, with the support of Mako Rugby and the Mako 5 our coaches, both experienced and first timers, are empowered to deliver quality learning experiences to their players and develop their own coaching skills. This will make for a better experience for everyone involved in our junior game.
Check out Mako Rugby online
#FinzUp
Tony Lewis