TEACHING RUGBY TO CHILDREN

SEBASTIÁN E. PERASSO

TEACHING RUGBY TO CHILDREN

Translated by Florencia Ferraris

To my son, Isidro

THANKS

To Marcelo Loffreda, who kindly wrote the prologue for this book.

I have known him since I was very young because of his close bond with my father. However, the decade that separates us made having a relationship between us a true utopia.

Always with my nose on the fence, I grew up admiring the captain of the First fifteen of my club during nine seasons, the emblem player of the SIC [San Isidro Club] who played continuously for two decades.

The years went by and once I was on the senior squad, the opportunity to talk among peers was separated by an abyss. When I stopped playing and distanced myself from the active practice of rugby, the passing of time began shortening those vast distances and I finally had the possibility to get to know him closely and with no intermediaries…

Since very young, he stood out among the rest. Nevertheless, he assumed with nobility and responsibility the leadership that was imposed on him thanks to his strong personality, his sports stature, and his ability to play and, later on, coach. In times when examples are scarce, ‘el Tano’ is a compass that indicates the path of rugby.

Arrogance and pride are nowadays commonplace in many athletes that have reached only meagre sports achievements. As a counterpart, ‘el Tano’ has received the highest honours both as a player and as coach. However, that demeanour of the simple and prudent man is still unchanging. ‘El Tano’ belongs to a legion of people who, rather than feeling glorified, are uncomfortable with praise.

His feats and his achievements have made him one of the most important persons in the history of rugby in Argentina. His numbers cause amazement and his career would leave any renowned athlete of any discipline open-mouthed. Nonetheless, behind that waterfall of achievements and recognitions, that mountain of awards and trophies he has earned, there is a simple man, a person who loves my dear club and is proud to proclaim and spread the foundational values and principles of the game itself.

His gestures and his words are a guide for new generations not to lose their way and go down the road of self-improvement, honesty, and respect.

Let this space serve as an expression of my thankfulness.

Sebastián E. Perasso

PROLOGUE

One of the things I thank my parents for is taking me to a rugby club when I was nine. It was not precisely the one in which I played my whole life, but, paradoxically, its main rival. But that is another story.

I had a normal and nice childhood, with many friends. And thanks to rugby it was even better.

I got to my first training session holding my father’s hand, not knowing what it was about. I was wearing the famous (at least for my generation!) and dear football boots ‘Sacachispas.’ I was neat and tidy, the way my mum expected me to be. I wore a pair of blue shorts and a white T-shirt that I used to wear for gym lessons at school, and on my inside I felt a mixture of uncertainty and expectations, nerves, fear, and embarrassment. I could say at that moment I started feeling something unknown until then, something that would later on be called stress.

The most interesting thing was when the training session started, something arose inside me, still an incipient being in body and mind, something I still feel nowadays when I am involved in the game. It was a combination of passion, challenge, enjoyment, an intense experience of the here and now, I don’t know – something very strong and deep that keeps happening. A kind of magic formula that makes me be really alive, really attentive, and really alert.

This book is for those who already are, or intend to be, in contact with the thousands of kids that cover the rugby fields on Saturday mornings. Those kids, too, in some way, are ‘players’, but before that they are children, with everything that implies: they are open, pure, unprejudiced, spontaneous, inquisitive, authentic, honest, and innocent. That is why, they do not only need coaches or instructors, but they also need the educator, the counsellor, the confidant, and every once in a while, the teacher. These roles should coexist in a same person: the coach.

In the modern game, players are asked to be versatile, and the same should be asked of age grade rugby coaches – versatility, but obviously, together with specific qualities and a bigger responsibility.

Monumental task ahead, is it not? However, to begin, all that is needed is audacity and good will. From then on, you will be welcome in any rugby club. All you have to remember is that one of the main goals at an early age is to arouse interest in and enthusiasm for the game.

It is not my intention in these lines to talk about the virtues of rugby. That is what this excellent book is for, which not only delves into topics referring to the first stages of the kid-player, but also teaches us, nurtures and transmits concepts useful for any age. Forever, in fact. I invite you, then, to get into this enthralling adventure narrated by Cheba that surrounds us thoroughly, completely and responsibly in a different way of living and passing on values and principles.

What Cheba asks of us is to get involved, to commit to this wonderful game that from very early on trains, educates, and allows us to live generously and caringly, a game that influences many children’s lives in a respectful and positive way during a time in which whatever they learn is stuck with them forever.

The most amazing thing is that not only are we able to help the children be better people through the game, but the same will happen to us.

Marcelo Loffreda

INTRODUCTION

Our club is the family we choose for ourselves.

Ángel Guastella

In spite of the years, the experiences remain fresh and unchanging. My first stage in age grade rugby was characterised by disenchantment on the field and for the joys and great moments off it. That ambivalence during my starting years as a player has been a trademark during my period in age grade ruby.

I started playing rugby in my club, SIC, when I was five years old. However – I confess –, I have very few memories on the field from that period. It is likely my self-esteem gave a sign to my memory in order to have mercy on me. Or, maybe, to be completely honest, nowhere in the most obscure corners of my mind could I find a single individual play that stands out. This is because my petit frame together with my limited technical conditions only produced poor performances. Performances that generated high doses of disenchantment and disinterest towards the game.

So my first year in the world of rugby was a period that lacked the conviction and love for the game, defined by the rugby mandates inherited from my family. But beyond my disinterest in the oval ball and my poor performances always devoid of charm and talent, off the field the outlook was very different and, frankly, encouraging.

I have very pleasant memories that are even now are very vivid. Despite my disregard for the game, I created a sense of belonging in my club, building in it innumerable friendship that I keep to this day. Leading a ‘club life’ involved, to a large extent, going through happy and great moments.

At SIC I spent my first years of getting in contact with rugby. A time of well-worn ‘Sacachispas’ boots stuck to my feet from the crack of dawn until twilight. My ‘Uribarri’ rugby shirt, discoloured and worn-out, stuck to my skin during those long days at weekends. I wandered through all the corners of the club with my brothers, cousins, and friends. I played in the reed beds that surrounded our perimeter or in the famous ditch that gave our institution its nickname, La Zanja (The Ditch). Then, years later, advances in civilisation made it so that a pipe was laid along our symbol, which turned everything into nostalgia and pure memories.

After each match, it was a ritual to walk under the stands. Once the crowd had walked away from the field after the match, we looked for coins, cups, and any other thing that would get our attention. It is also impossible to forget, furthermore, the rugby tours of the time. The Nine-a-Side in Santa Fe, and the visit to the sub fluvial tunnel, the tour to Mar del Plata to the Sporting Club and the games at the beach; or my visit to Aranduroga, a traditional club in the city of Corrientes…

As you see, dear readers, in those first years, most of my experiences in the world of rugby took place off the playing fields. Because it is there where age grade rugby is fully enjoyed. It is there where friendships are made, where a strong sense of belonging is established and built, and where we forge and strengthen bonds that are written in stone forever.

ABOUT THE BOOK

The present work consists of seven chapters. The first one, called ‘Functions of the coach’, tries to specify and develop the different roles that an age grade rugby coach takes on. Here, what is emphasised is the need to ensure the physical and affective safety of the players as a prerequisite to create a setting of support that gives the children an environment that is favourable for learning. Moreover, I address in a generic way, the challenge of communicating with the children effectively in order to involve them in the teaching. And I’ll outline, also, different forms of leadership, stressing the need to establish a new model according to the current times.

The second chapter, which is named ‘The profile of the coach as an educator’, delves into the educational aspect of the coaches, highlighting the importance of their responsibility as opinion makers. As for the third one, ‘The training’, it aspires to precisely define the principles and objectives of sports training, analysing everything related to its requirements and planning.

The fourth chapter, ‘Guidelines on education’, tries to thoroughly analyse the basic premises of age grade rugby, paying attention to the children’s age and their psychomotor development. Furthermore, it offers coaches the appropriate tools to reflect, motivate the kids’ powers of observation, and encourage the research and the wish to learn.

Chapter five, ‘Rugby as a transformative tool’, suggests a parallelism between life and sport, pointing out the numerous lessons that rugby provides that can be applied to life. Whereas the following one, ‘Removing prejudice’, is entirely dedicated to a major challenge – trying to eliminate the preconceptions that exist around rugby, as a precondition for more kids and teenagers to practise this fabulous sport.

Lastly, the seventh chapter is a final reflection whose purpose is to encourage readers to search for their own dreams and goals. In this task, the great dilemma is trying to identify a personal mission and then trying to carry it out without quitting or giving up.

Now the book has been introduced, and we invite you to get into the universe of age grade rugby, a fascinating but, at the same time, different world. A unique place that leaves a very deep impression in the lives of thousands of kids.