U14 Girls
Our Junior Gryphons U14 Girls’ rugby program is an excellent opportunity for girls to take the next steps in developing their rugby skills, and building long-lasting friendships with teammates. Although the focus is still very much on fun and enjoyment, we aim to increase the overall understanding of game of rugby to create intelligent and talented players.
Our U14 Girls sessions involved lots of games and activities that focus on fun and competition, but also tie in key rugby skills like passing, identifying space and communication. Where possible our U14 boys and girls teams sometimes train together, and mix things up and highlight that rugby is a game for all shapes and sizes, and is an inclusive sport.
U14 Boys
Our Junior Gryphons U14 Boys’ program is all about getting kids to fall in love with the sport. We focus on game-based training, with lots of competitive challenges and activities to help develop both general motor and rugby specific skills. We place a strong emphasis on the values of rugby and begin to instill the key principles of respect, sportsmanship, teamwork, and honesty.
Our sessions are lively, noisy and full of energy – perfect for boys who need to run around and blow off steam. When possible and appropriate we try to combine our U14 Boys and Girls non-contact sessions to highlight that rugby is a game for all shapes, sizes, genders, and people, and is truly an inclusive sport.
U16 Girls
Our U16 girls team gives teenage girls the opportunity to ramp up their rugby skills and understanding of the game through introduction to the full fifteens laws. New player and rugby novices are always welcome!
Our practices focus on some of key fundamental skills of rugby including, but not limited to catching, passing, kicking, tackling, defensive positioning, positional roles, and general rugby tactics and strategy. These skills are developed, along with key components of fitness, through fun exercises, engaging drills, and game simulations.
U16 Boys
Rugby is an exceptional sport for teenagers with high energy, or need an outlet or a place to blow off steam (particularly young men). Our U16 Boys program equips teenage boys with the full range of rugby fundamentals and create a strong cornerstone of rugby skills and understanding to build upon. While the main focus remains on fun, physical exertion, teamwork and improving the overall understanding of rugby laws and tactics, we want to create a strong, cohesive team culture where boys can form long lasting friendships. U16 Junior Gryphons will learn and refine their passing, catching, tackling, and kicking skills. They will play games and activities that help them think about and better understand defensive alignment and attacking strategy. The U16 program is an excellent summer activity for any boy, regardless of previous rugby experience, looking to make new friends, learn new skills, and challenge themselves.
U18 Girls
The Redcoats U18 Girls team is the main feeder team to our Senior Woman’s side, and many of our U18 players go on to represent Varsity rugby teams across Ontario (particularly the Guelph Gryphons). We are proud that many of our U18 Girls have come up through our Junior (and sometimes Mini) rugby programs. However, it’s never too late to start playing rugby or join the team! Our U18 practices are very sociable and welcoming.
Our U18 girls are continued to be educated on the laws and game tactics of rugby while continuing to hone their skills. Players begin to enhance and focus on their positional skills, with backs and forwards separating to work on set piece and set play moves. At times, there are opportunities where our U18 girls will partner with our Senior Woman’s team for non-contact training session to help further and promote the development of young female rugby players, and give them a taste of what Senior Rugby has to offer. We have a strong belief in mentorship and encourage our senior woman to be role models for our U18 Girls, who in turn are looked up to by our other Junior teams.
U18 Boys
Our U18 Boys program helps young men improve their overall rugby skillset and knowledge. We welcome any and all new players, whether you’ve played rugby before, or never picked up a ball. Our training sessions are loud and lively, with a lot of game based training and games of touch rugby. Many of our players play for their local high schools and so this Junior Gryphons program offers the opportunity to continue playing rugby through the sunny summer months. Many of our U18 Boys have gone onto to play for the 1st XV of several varsity rugby teams including the Guelph Gryphons, Laurier Golden Hawks and Waterloo Warriors.