OA Minis – Review of 2016-17

The OA mini section started and finished the 2016/17 season in excellent health from the youngest OA players in the Rugby Rats through to the under 12 age group preparing for the transition to the Youth section of the club. The under 7s through to the under 12s have quickly adapted to the new rules of play and age grade rugby philosophy introduced by the RFU in the prior season.

In the words of the RFU. 'The rules of play use a building block approach and aim to equip players and coaches with the skills they need as they build towards the XV-a-side game. They offer progression and challenge for players season by season and our game remains Player Centred and Development Driven. The principles of the rules are to;

1. Put the child first
2. Maintain rugby as a game for all shapes and sizes
3. Increase enjoyment for all
4. Increase involvement for all
5. Retain players in the game.

So hopefully the reward at OAs will be developing our players of the future. To do this we have to invest in our coaches, all of whom are volunteers, so to that end we are delighted to say that we have increased the coaches training budget for the year ahead.

Looking back to last year we were blessed with much better weather throughout the season losing only one or two Sunday morning to adverse conditions. If you haven't been to Woollams on a Sunday morning its well worth a visit to watch the c500 players in the mini section alone learning how to play our wonderful game.

Our playing schedule was once again expertly put together to ensure the right balance of training and game time. For the second year we held our own developing player festival at Woollams early in October which was a resounding success and now looks to be a permanent fixture in the diary and we are really pleased to be able to increase the number of teams attending this season. Our travels away took us to familiar grounds for fixtures and festivals including Bedford, Bishops Stortford and Hertford to name a few, and further afield to clubs such as Rosslyn Park, Ealing and London Irish where the players are really tested against stiff competition.

We benefit from a great partner relationship with Saracens and for another year players enjoyed the big match experience at Allianz at great value whether playing in the pre match festivals and half time games or providing the guard of honour at the start of the game.

The season ending county festivals were as ever brilliantly organised by various clubs around the county, and at OAs we pride ourselves on every player having the opportunity to attend. The season then came to its final climax with the annual tour, which this time saw a return to the delights of Camber Sands. Its a testament to the strength at OAs that we had multiple teams across the mini age groups attend the club tour and older mini age groups also managing trips to Jersey and Italy.

Our club only survives by a hardy group giving up a lot of their time so thanks must go to all those volunteers that coach, provide first aid, run the shop and organise the fixtures that makes OA mini rugby such a success. Some of our volunteer stalwarts have stood down this year (they know who they are) so a special thanks goes to them and the many, many hours they have given.

We have no doubt that the 2017/18 season will deliver much like the last. The measure of that will be friends, new and old playing together, learning new skills on the development pathway and above all having FUN.

Mike and Steve

Joint Mini Chairmen

OA Minis Reports & News 2017-18