Rugby Football League to transform children's coaching

Local TV

We headed to Headingley, the home of Leeds Rhinos, as the RFL (Rugby Football League) has become the first governing body and sport in the UK to partner with national campaign 'Play Their Way' to transform the way children and young people are coached.

Transcript

00:00Play Their Way is a particular campaign about how we engage young people in sport and physical activity.

00:06For us to have a healthy nation, we obviously have to invest in the next generation

00:10and the coaching workforce that facilitates that activity.

00:14So Play Their Way is really built on the child's rights to play.

00:18It's a development programme that the RFEO have taken on fully as a sport

00:22to make sure that they coach their coaches so that they can facilitate children to enjoy physical activity in sport.

00:28The big question is, how can we improve our coaching and give our coaches the tools to ask the children

00:34what are some of the parameters that you want to play these games?

00:38For example, do we need to tackle under-nines?

00:42Young kids who are 6, 7, 8 and 9, they can play rugby league, a fantastic sport

00:47that's got all the skills needed to have fun, to run around, be agile, get those motor skills going

00:54without bashing each other and potentially upsetting one or two young people

00:58who don't like that rough and tumble yet.

01:00So it's keeping people involved and engaged in the game.

01:04And as somebody who's had everything that's been given to me in life through the sport,

01:08it's great for me to see that.

01:10The slogan is Voice, Choice and Journey.

01:12So it's really about giving youngsters a voice in terms of how they enjoy their physical activity in sport.

01:17a choice in terms of the way that that's facilitated.

01:20So, for example, if it's a really rainy day, you know, would you really take the kids out into the rain

01:25or would you ask them, actually, do you want to do something indoors or outdoors?

01:28Sport is a great thing for any child to get involved with.

01:32It's about fun, making friends, fitness, learning how to win and lose and developing lots of resilience.

01:40So sport's a great way for children to develop.

01:44I used to come through this south stand to watch Leeds Rugby League.

01:49I was inspired, educated, and then turned as to who and what I wanted to be.

01:52And my dreams came true.

01:53And were Danny Maguire's and Keira Bennett, who's also here today.

01:57And to think that anybody who's in here today, who's a young person, born at any period in the school year,

02:04can come and maybe start that journey, plant a seed that comes to the same fruition that we enjoyed.

02:12And hopefully they get to thrive and fulfil their potential and have their dreams come true as well.

02:16Some of the kids I played with right back in my early days are still some of my best friends right today.

02:22So, yeah, I think it's a great thing, especially Rugby League.

02:25One of the fundamental building blocks of sport is play.

02:28And actually, that's what this programme is designed.

02:30It's designed really about getting young people to play.

02:32And sport sometimes is a word that maybe puts people off because they think it's beyond their reach.

02:38But actually, play manifests itself all the way through into sport.

02:42So, if you start playing games, TIG is a really classic game.

02:45And rugby is really aligned to that, actually.

02:47So, if you start playing TIG, eventually you put a ball into play, eventually you put some rules in.

02:51And before you know it, you're playing the sport.

02:53So, it's really about how we bring young people through the great coaching skills of the coaches

02:57to make sure that they get involved in the game.

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