Hornets U8 vs Vale U8

A good turn out at Kendal this Sunday for the fixture with Vale who fielded two teams on a dry, bright and brisk day at Mint Bridge. Thanks to Vale's coach Trevor for joining us along with his keen players. With so many enthusiastic players turning out for the Hornets two teams were selected with a remaining group undertaking training when not playing. Some good rugby was played by both sides across the 5 games with the Hornets just taking the edge with a 3:2 win. Massive congratulations to all of the players for their efforts, and the positive attitude of the Hornets when getting stuck into additional training when we had to rotate the teams around to make sure everyone got a good run out in the games.

It seems every week we are getting different players that stand out in terms of their performance and attitude which really adds to the quality of our squad, and gives us coaches a difficult time in deciding on the Player of the Week; however the eagerness in which Iestyn’s team-mates wanted him to get the ball showed just how well he was playing yesterday and he was a deserved winner – well done Iestyn. In wet sticky conditions it was very pleasing to see that we had minimal handling errors, even when the players were encouraged to pass the ball more and play more as a team.

It’s not a training drill I ever thought we’d need to include on a Sunday morning, but I’m certainly considering a session on taking/grabbing an attacker’s tag – I’m not sure if the cold weather was making it harder for the Hornets or good Velcro, but it’s certainly an area for improvement! Another area I will be looking to improve on is setting up our starting positions better, and getting there quicker after a try has been scored, rather than taking time out to discuss the score!!

All that being said, if they are the main areas for improvement then all the players should be happy and encouraged with the progress they are making.

One final point I would like to add is to commend the players on their discipline, teamwork, respect and sportsmanship on and off the pitch. They are a credit to the sport and should be very proud of themselves as we the coaches are. A good example for the ever growing numbers within the squad .

Danny