With assistance from newly trained coaches, several children in the San Francisco area are being introduced to rugby in a fun way. Anthony Lenos, a Play Rugby USA representative and USA Rugby Regional Development Officer, along with the Playworks Team have been putting on several rugby field days – or Jamborees as they call it – in the San Francisco area.
“Jamborees are like a rugby field day,” Lenos explained, “The day consists of a lot of games and events that help to introduce children to the sport.”
A typical Jamboree consists of structured games that ultimately lead up to playing a flag rugby game. Early in the day, children partake in activities to practice passing the ball, taking flags and communicating with one another as a team.
“During the ultimate flag rugby game at the end of the day, kids use all these games together and start to make connections to see how the game is played,” Lenos explained.
“We all know how great rugby is and all the values it can provide. This day is just an opportunity to shine a light on that.”
Beyond children learning how to play, Lenos credits the involvement of the coaches as to why the day is so successful. Prior to the Jamborees, Lenos coordinates coach training to get Playworks Coaches familiar with the Play Rugby USA curriculum and the best practices for coaching.
“The whole idea is to make sure that the individuals we are training not only see this as a valuable tool for their operations, but we also want them to become advocates,” said Lenos.
“The kids look up to these adults” he added, “The more adults that get involved in coaching, the more positive anchor points there are for kids which ultimately helps children succeed.”
Lenos mission behind these Jamborees is to introduce the sport to as many children as possible. For Lenos, the coach trainings are one of the more a critical component for achieving that goal.
“The more people that get involved in the coach training, the better. Each adult can demonstrate to children how rugby is a really fun, exciting and friendly sport. And that is what will help grow the game.” He concluded.
To learn how you can get involved as a coach and inspire children to play rugby, visit the USA Rugby Training and Education website, HERE.
