The Benefits of Rugby for Children
If we talk about sports for children, rugby isn’t usually one of the most popular choices, and few families even think about it. One of the reasons is probably that it has a reputation for rudeness and aggressiveness. However, even though it’s a contact sport, this doesn’t mean that it’s aggressive or violent. We’d like to recommend rugby for children!
The main objective of rugby is to move the ball towards the opponent’s half. You then score points by crossing the goal line with the ball in your hands. If we look at it that way, it all seems rather simple. However, it’s far more complex than that.
Rugby is a sport where teamwork is essential and players must learn how to acquire it, as well as all the other necessary skills.
The benefits of rugby for children
If children start this sport at an early age, then they’ll improve greatly in the following aspects which are essential for their development.
- Concentration: This is a key aspect for children and teenagers in their studies. Concentration is also an indispensable requirement for playing rugby, as it’s a sport that requires constant attention.
- Speed: Acquiring speed will give your children greater agility in their movement, and the ability to react to any circumstance.
- Motor coordination: Along with speed and concentration, children will develop their motor coordination, which will be very useful during their growth.
The values they acquire
- Respect: Believe it or not, children can learn about respect by playing rugby. This is because it’s a sport where fair play forms a central part.
- Companionship: As rugby is a team sport, the players must always be very aware of where their teammates are at all times. By doing this, they realize that without every single member of the team, there’s no way they could reach the other side of the field.
- Friendship: Like any team sport, rugby encourages the importance of friendship. Children are exposed to all sorts of different situations in which they can easily make friends.
- Inclusion: It’s an inclusive sport, where all types of children can play. Diversity is actually an advantage, and it doesn’t matter whether they’re tall, short, thinner, well-built, strong, not so strong, fast, or not so fast.
The good thing about this sport is that different positions require different physical characteristics. This makes children feel important and they can acquire responsibilities within the group. In addition, they learn to respect their peers, since they’re all pieces of the same puzzle.
Rugbytots
If, despite all these benefits, you’re not totally convinced that this is a good sport for your children, or that they’re too small, then let us introduce you to Rugbytots. This initiative is aimed at children between 2 and 7 years old. By playing it, they’ll begin to acquire rugby’s values, but without having direct contact while playing.
In addition to basic aspects such as passing and kicking the ball, it’s great for instilling fundamental values such as respect and companionship.
The goal of Rugbytots is to develop social skills in children. In addition to that, it promotes good motor and physical development, along with a mentality that’s linked to values in a fun and enjoyable way.
At the ages of 2 and 3, the trainers seek to develop the social skills mentioned above. Then, between 3 and 5 years old, they start to apply different aspects of rugby. And, finally, between the ages of 5 and 7, they’re ready to play a game of rugby.
At the age of 7, children can then join a rugby club if they so wish.
All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.
- Duthie, G. M. (2006). A framework for the physical development of elite rugby union players. International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance. https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/ijspp/1/1/article-p2.xml
- Tavares, F., Smith, T. B., & Driller, M. (2017, August 1). Fatigue and Recovery in Rugby: A Review. Sports Medicine. Springer International Publishing. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40279-017-0679-1
- Corcoran, G., & Bird, S. (2009). Preseason strength training for rugby union: The general and specific preparatory phases. Strength & Conditioning Journal, 31(6), 66-74. https://journals.lww.com/nsca-scj/fulltext/2009/12000/Preseason_Strength_Training_for_Rugby_Union__The.10.aspx