Ideas and resources for coaching U10s

I coach my son's mini-rugby side. Next year they will be U10s, which in the RFU system means they are allowed to ruck and maul as well as tackle.

I'm looking for advice on good online resources for putting together training for them next season. One specific question is whether it's worth paying to access the Rugby Site materials. They look quite good, but it's hard to tell whether the content is any cop from what you can access for free.

Alternatively, if you know any good drills, please let me know

A couple of other things:

• We've run a few sessions under next year's rules (including a brief rugby tour of Dublin) - it makes a huge difference and the game goes from something like League to something that's recognisably Union but the results are a bit random so far. Some of them  get it, lots of them don't
  
• The kids' individual skills are quite good but the real challenge is getting them to realise that they have to work as a team.
  
• The big challenges vs the Irish lads (who've been playing rucks and mauls for a year) were supporting the tackler or tackled player...
  
• making sure that someone played scrum half instead of getting pulled into the melee, and...
  
• ...making good choices about what to do with the ball (i.e. don't always give it to the fast kid and hope he scores - sometimes you need to straighten the line and draw defenders)
  
• They're 9 & 10 year olds, so getting them to pay attention is tough at the best of times - mini-games are better than drills
  

The best ideas I've come up with so far are:
1) a rucking race in pairs: Player 1 tackles the tackle bag, gets up and drives over until Player 2 can pick up the ball. Both players run to the end of the lane, turn and run back, Player 2 takes the tackle, places the ball, Player 1 drives over and both sprint for the line, then repeat swapping roles.

2) A 4 on 4 breakdown contest - Team A has the ball, Team B tackles (Team A loses the ball if they dodge the tackle - because otherwise there are kids who would step out of it every time). Both sides ruck the ball (only 2 per team in the ruck at this level), winning team's scrum half passes the ball to the 4th player and it starts over. Run for 5 minutes and the team with the most possessions in that time (or the longest run of phases) wins

3) Variants on 2 - a) As 2 but with mauling instead of rucking; b) rucking and mauling both allowed.

Any other ideas very welcome.

Poorfour, do any of you coaches have access to the Dan Cottrell coaching drills- these are regularly updated and can give you good ideas. Our coaching coordinator passes on the emails with the drills. Also Rugby Coaching Drills is another good site, but it costs to join. Some of the free web sites only give a brief outline as its hoped you will sign up for more.

An idea to build rucking skills start with touch. when touched the player goes to ground. Toucher goes on one knee and raises hand and does not contest for the ball. Once they have got the hang of ball presentation and possibly tackler being out of the game introduce one on one contests getting body angles correct, then two on two etc.

Use either nominated scrumhalf or 2nd etc player there to clear ball away, but make sure first player, or first two ruck and not pick up the ball.

Thanks, I will check out the Dan Cottrell stuff.

I'm actually quite keen not to keep the tackler out of play. The RFU rules allow the tackler to get up and contest the ball, which gives the defence a great chance of a turnover, so I want to concentrate on the tackler as the primary rucker and get the second player as support.

I get the tackler to compete, once the support players are there, sorry didn't make it clear. I've found that the tackler has a natural tendency to compete for the ball or roll all over it when on the ground at that age. P's me off when other teams do it, but crafty play when mine do   

If you are getting tackler to compete, demonstrate the preying mantis...make sure they get to their feet and get their arms free and clear before competing for the ball.

Yes - we have a bit of that. That said, we do have some tacklers who are very good at competing for the ball (including poorfour jnr, who appears to have an innately correct technique) so I am aiming to coach the others to good form rather than hold the kids with the skills back.

Our challenge is usually that the good tacklers are also the good ruckers, so quite often they compete for the ball without support. Getting the second player in (and the scrum half directing things) has been the big challenge.

I know the problem. S&S junior, although should be renamed Fast and Furious   , does the basics well and if he isn't the tackler is often 1st player there.

PoorFour

I am currently doing the Level 1 coaching course with the WRU. I am sure you know this is RFU SRU and WRU course for U7's to U13's.

There is a website I was given by one of the coaches/tutors last night which is wrucoachinglocker.co.uk.

This is a new website, they said that over the next 6 - 9 months this is going to grow in to a huge resource for coaching at these levels. There is not a lot there right now but it will be worth keeping an eye on for future.

Cheers, doc. I did my Level 1 last year and that site wasn't available but I will check it out.

My advice is what ever you choose, keep it simple.

Actually, with the lot I coach, competitive is more important than simple. They seem to handle complex games that they can win better than simple ones that are just drills

Poor For have you done basic diamond passing Drills with them? Ball carrier support left and right and player coming from deep ?

Its very east to evolve from those into the bases of a pod system, that is ball carrier either looks to of load left or right if not on goes to ground one player secures the ball the other plays scrum half passning to the deeper runner.

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http://www.betterrugbycoaching.com/Article-1539-94-Rugby-Coaching-Drills-to-Improve-Rugby-Player-Skil-Support-Play-Pod-rugby-coaching-session