Rugbytots is the first of its kind; a specifically designed play programme using the multiple skills of Rugby to create a fun and enjoyable environment whilst developing basic core motor skills.
Their programme has been designed to develop a child’s physical, psychological and social attributes, as well as gently encouraging rugby specific skills such as running with the ball, finding space, kicking, catching, scoring a try and much more.
A standard class with Rugbytots has the following structure:
- Warm Up
- Catching/Passing Games
- Relay/Obstacle Courses
- Kicking Games
- Team Games
All Rugbytots lead coaches are paediatric first aiders, Garda Vetted and trained to a very high standard to ensure children enjoy their time at Rugbytots in a safe and organised environment.
Our Rugbytots programme caters for kids from 2-7 years of age. Classes are broken down into the following age groups:
- 2-3.5 year olds (40 minute class)
- 5 – 5 year olds (45 minute class)
Main benefits of attending a class with your child:
Parental interaction: Particularly in the younger age groups this is a recurring theme throughout a class. With parents busy schedules; weekends are a hugely important time to do activities with their children. We have class routines that allow both parent and child to have lots of fun together which can help nurture a bond, particularly when doing the Haka!
Basic Fundamentals: Our classes help kids with some basic fundamentals such as counting, colour recognition, hand/foot eye coordination and spatial awareness. All of which are very important for kids as they get older. The nature of the routines allows kids to think for themselves in a non-pressurised environment, success receives a huge clap of hands, failure also receives a huge clap of hands.
Social Interaction: Another important aspect of the class is the social interaction between kids through the use of team games such as relays, passing the ball down the line and tag. There is a team and individual element to all of these games so team members roar on their tots to help get the job done. There are no losers in these games only winners. The roar of appreciation from team members, parents and coaches provides kids with a huge boost in confidence which will make starting school or Montessori that little bit less daunting as they will be used to befriending others.
Exercise: One of the most important aspects of our classes is exercise through action, 90% of the classes are spent running by performing a rugby related action or just a fun game! Our warm ups ensure kids use every muscle in there body by mimicking jungle animals and the coaches. Through the use of tag or monster try kids learn some of the basic fundamentals of rugby such as the side step, finding space and spatial awareness by avoiding collisions with others. Studies across the world have shown that kids that start exercising from a young age are more likely to continue exercising into their adult lives and it also reduces the chances of suffering from childhood obesity.
Following structure: The Rugbytots coaches are not there to discipline children but our aim is to create structure during the 45 minutes that we see them each week. There are rules to each of the games we play that kids must/try to adhere to. We follow the basic elements of rugby by imploring kids to hold the ball with 2 hands at all times (no showboating), taking 3 steps back before they kick the ball, throwing the ball from the side and only grabbing one tag at a time. This will help when they enter school or other sports by understanding rules need to be followed in order to have fun and win!
Relevance to other sports: One of the great things about starting rugby at such a young age is that the skills learnt are easily transferable to other sports such as Gaelic, hurling, soccer, tennis, golf and many more. Rugby uses both hand and legs for throwing and kicking actions and with a focus on hand/foot eye coordination this can provide children with the basics required for other sports.
Rugbytots have classes throughout Dublin and are now a national operation with over 20 venues around Ireland; these include classes in Dublin, Meath, Kildare, Offaly, Laois, Louth and Galway.
For further information about Rugbytots, please visit our website Rugbytots.ie or contact Richy Downey at richy@rugbytots.ie /086 – 839 0818.
