like to say well done to eastmoor dragons u8s who won there gala on sunday winning 6 out of 6 against some tough teams including west hull.they then played at belle vue last night where they where split into two teams and one of them played stanningly and oulton u9s and they beat stanningley and lost a by one to oulton

I know there are many who visit this thread who either coach or are involved with junior sides. I have never had a child in any of the teams I have coached (I don't have the time for a child with coaching!) and I am curious as to whether having a child of your own affects the dynamic of the team or politics within the whole group?

That's a great question Seth,for me personally I don't think it has ever affected the team has a whole has I've treat my lad has just another player although sometimes you can be a little harder on them.

Another reason for me stepping down has a coach was that I want jake to learn from another coach and not have the added pressure of trying to do that bit more,watching him play for his school team under another coach made it easier for us both and i after say that it was great just to watch him play without worrying about another 16 lads.

I do think it helps give a more balanced view when a coach doesn't have a child in the team but finding coaches like yourself is very hard.

The strange thing over the last 15years or so I have been involved with junior rl, the Coaches kids are always the captain, and are either 6, 7, or 13, and the kicker !!!! with the odd and rare exception.

quality

Gala this week on Sunday at Cas Tigers for the u7s. Not sure what other teams are playing but Stanley are. Gala will take place all day with the final being played on the main pitch at half time during the Cas v Wakefield fixture.

The point you make about learning from other coaches is an important one, I'll sometimes get other coaches to come in and lead a session, I think the more quality imput they can get the more they will develop.

I can imagine it could be a challenge to focus on the development of a squad and your own child's within that as is only natural. I can also imagine that others may 'judge' or focus on the role the coaches child plays, which is not always fair. I don't know of any other teams at junior level who have a non parent as coach? I think it has been an advantage in some ways given some stories I've heard.

We have, and we've just recruited another for next season.

I suppose it's helped us to avoid any drama due to suggestions of favouritism and such, but the reality is that decent coaches with the right attitude are so hard to come by, that if one your parents has those credentials, you'd have little choice but to use them.

For me, the RFL leaves too much to chance around junior coaching - there should be a much more robust RL curriculum for junior players and the delivery of it should be properly policed in terms of CPD and regular assessment; as it stands, junior coaching is too inconsistent and doesn't always focus on player development.

Some good news on the coaching front for the panthers 12s with 3 new coaches stepping in.

I know from experience that all the Local RL clubs running Junior Academy’s (Hudds/Wakey/Leeds/Fev/Cas) actually do this, I am particularly impressed with Fev approach as they have CPD and personal development plans for individuals not relating to the rugby side (I.E. personal/social and academic development)

The amateur coaches attend CPD run by the pro club. Our club are also an RFL focus club and we have a coach coordinator programme with coordinators at mini, mod (my role) and junior 13 aside. We are working to help support coaches develop their players, as with anything the programme will depend on how receptive coaches are.

That's the first I've heard of anything like that - how would one get access to it?