Why Boys & Girls Should Play Rugby
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1. Improve physical health
Starting with the obvious, but rugby brings physical health benefits to anyone who takes to the field – and kids are no different.
2. Develop social skills
Developing social skills is another huge part of parenting, and one that again needs to be developed at a young age if the benefits are to be reaped in the future.
3. They need to lose
Because it is character building, because it’s good practice for life, because the young kids will get over it and they need to know that.
4. They need to win
Because it’s bonding, because it feels good, because they need to know that there are rewards for effort.
5. Equal Opportunities
Unlike just about any other team sport, rugby is about all players having the same opportunity to run with the ball, pass the ball, and play defense.
6. Rugby is for girls too.
For those people who don't know much about rugby, despite the physicality of the sport, rugby is a sport for girls too, and a very entertaining one at that. I mean, it is an Olympic sport - and the Austrlain Girls sevens team won Olympic Gold! So for any girl who wants to find a sport to play, rugby is definitely an magnificent option.
7. Build self-esteem and confidence
Regularly engaging in sports can help subtly boost your child’s self-esteem. This happens as the child sets small goals on the field, such as perfecting a skill, and achieves them.
8. Learn valuable life-lessons
All sports have lessons that can be taken from the field and applied to real life. But rugby has lessons that can’t be found in any other game – we’re not talking about the standard generics of “teamwork” and “playing hard.” We’re talking about the preparation for life that can only be found on the rugby pitch.
9. Positive Role Models
It’s quite likely your kids will discover positive role models in coaches and older players.
10. Make lifelong friends. Rugby is a brotherhood & sisterhood.
11. Breed academic success
It’s hard to believe that what your child does on the field can impact what they do in the classroom, but it does. Children who were involved with at least one sport were more likely to get better grades suggests a study conducted by the American College of Sports Medicine.
12. Safety. No, really—safety!
Safety is a huge part of the sport and culture of rugby. Check out our player safety policies.
13. They’ll experience the incredible feeling of being part of a team
14. They will respect others, regardless of their decisions
The Rugby field has a strong tradition and culture of respect - respect for your teamates, the opposition and, importantly, the referee. When the referee makes a decision we disagree with, kids still call him “sir” and don’t talk back.
15. It helps to reduce stress
Exercise and other physical activity produce endorphins—chemicals in the brain that act as natural painkillers—and also improve the ability to sleep, which in turn reduces stress.
16. Everyone is useful somewhere.
In a sport that is most popularly played with 15 people on the field at one time, there is obviously a wide range of positions that need to be played. And each position comes with different physical requirements. My point is that anyone and everyone has a position in rugby that they are best suited for, and everyone can be helpful to the overall team game plan.
17. The passion for the game.
Ask any rugby player what they think about rugby, and, somewhere along the lines of their explanation, they will probably talk about how much they love the game. That's because rugby is not a game to be taken lightly. I think a good way to explain this is to use one nice quote from poet Ralph Waldo Emerson: "Nothing great in life can ever be accomplished without enthusiasm."
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18. It could even go somewhere…like the Olympics!
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