Junior Rugby League

At our field trip this morning I walked around and observed various different junior rugby league games. The first game I watched was one where eight-year-old boys were playing, all of whom were extremely competitive. Even on the sidelines I overheard one boy yelling about how his team was going to “smash” their opponents, and the boy on the other team responded to his comment by tackling him. Their competitive attitudes pushed them to play their hardest, and it was clear by their facial expressions how much effort they put into the game at every moment. I also noticed that the coaches encouraged them to work hard and helped them through each play by standing on the field and teaching them as they went. This reminded me a lot of the soccer league I played in when I was younger because the coaches were always allowed to coach on the field when they taught a team of young children and the referees were always older teenagers who played the sport themselves. Watching the rugby games also reminded me of soccer because of how many games took place at once and how many parents stood around socializing with one another. While the parents at times encouraged their children to play well, they did not seem to be overly concerned about winning which was also the case for the soccer league I played in on Saturdays growing up. Some of the coaches I saw, however, seemed incredibly competitive and I heard one coach yelling at his team to “shut up and play harder.” The boys seemed to respond well to this style of coaching, and immediately paid attention to what the coach was saying and began to put all of their effort and focus into the game. Watching the boys play, I was very surprised at how aggressive the boys were at such a young age because in America children learn to play contact sports beginning with “touching” instead of “tackling.” Despite the aggression, I did not see one boy complain about being hurt and did not see one boy who did not appear to be enjoying himself. The junior rugby league seemed like a great sport for a young boy to be involved in that not only helps children learn to play through continuous coaching but also teaches them in a social environment that seemed to create an incredibly supportive and positive community.