Ice Cold: PURC U8 Penguins 2017!

It must be time for winter sport, because right on cue the rain came to water our burgeoning rugby superstars!  The Penugins don't care about the weather though, because we're ready to go no matter what is thrown at us! Today's games were an awesome chance for our heroes to put on the park the work they've been putting in at training, and did they what.  Our Penguins defence in one on one situations was superb, with Noah, Michael and Josh getting stuck in.  It wasn't bad in one on three situations either, with Jack the perpetual motion machine nailing player after player.  When our opposition teams did manage to get wide, we had them covered there too, with Joey, Maddox and Alex making sure the opposition weren't going to sneak away easily without a Penguin there to deal with! Speaking of Jack, both he and Joey showed the benefit of a good pass opening up space for our team mates - when our heroes start to consistently throw good passes, great things will ha...

Hi folks The Penguins will be playing this Saturday at Elm Park.  Meeting time is 8:30am for warm up. We will have 4 x 12min games vs the other Pakuranga teams.  We are scheduled to finish at 10:15ish am. Please remember to bring mouthguards, rugby boots, water and something warm to change into for after the game. If you can't make it, please let me and Nick know in advance so we can plan accordingly. Cheers, Paul UPDATE: 27 April:  Change of start time and format

So everyone knows what we're trying to achieve with the players and the team, from time to time we'll update the blog with our current training focus.  In that way, you can help us reinforce the messages we're trying to get across to the players, and also pick up on any areas you may think your son can put in some extra work while training away from the team during the week. Training philosophy I've been working with players of this age group in both rugby and baseball for 8 years now.  Over that time I've read a lot of information on development of children in this age group (and older), and I've been able to develop a coaching philosophy off the back of it. In general, skill acquisition comes from maximising skill attempts during training.  Also, at this age group it is important to maintain engagement by keeping the kids moving as much as possible, and minimising the amount of talking "at" the kids (a hard learned lesson, and one I still work ...

Important dates! Here is the schedule for the Penguins up to and including 6 May: Tuesday 11 April - regular training night, 5:30pm, Elm Park Reserve Saturday 15 April - EASTER - NO RUGBY Tuesday 18 April - training night START TIME MOVED to 4:30pm due to the likelihood we won't have access to the park lights.  Held at Elm Park Reserve as usual. Satuday 22 April - NO TRAINING! Tuesday 25 April - ANZAC day training, START TIME MOVED to 4:30pm.   Held at Elm Park Reserve as usual. Saturday 29 April - Pre season game.  Likely at Lloyd Elsmore, but time and venue TBC. Please confirm via email if you are NOT available. Tuesday 2 May - regular training night, 5:30pm, Elm Park Reserve Saturday 6 May - Tacklebox and game, Mt Wellington War Memorial Reserve, Dunkirk Road, Mt Wellington.  The tacklebox is where an ARU officer watches us training the boys in tackle technique to make sure they are being shown to tackle in a safe manner.  There will be a ...

Please scroll down to check out information on the PURC U8 Penguins season! Under 8 rugby is the first step in the transition from ripper rugby to what will be full field rugby when the players reach U11s.  As such, the expectations on the players (and you, their parents!) are lifted from Under 7s, but it's all part of a developmental pathway.  Please do your best to be realistic about your expectations for the season! Training We have been allocated a training time and location - Tuesdays, 5:30 - 6:30pm, at Elm Park Reserve (next to Elm Park School) on Gossamer Drive.  Please be there so your son is ready to go at 5:30pm sharp.  We have an hour worth of work to get through and we move quickly through it. Remember to bring mouth guards and rugby boots - players missing mouth guards will be unable to fully participate in the training.  Please also remember to bring a full water bottle along so we can keep the players properly hydrated.  Plea...

Penguins rugby 2030! Hi folks This is the online home of the Pakuranga United Rugby Club (PURC) U8 Penguins rugby team for the 2017 season.  Check back here for match information, post match reports, training information and all things awesome about Penguins rugby! Cheers, Paul