Abstract
There are many questions about youth rugby for whichthere are no immediate answers. At what age shouldthe young players specialise? How often should theypractise? How many matches should they play inseason? Science has lagged behind in providing clearanswers, and in many cases decisions about the development of thegame at this level have to be made based on logic and intuition. As aresult, opinions may differ and controversy may prevail.Recently a panel of experts representing different aspects of youthrugby was asked a series of questions about this sport, the aim beingto examine the answers given from different perspectives. The overallgoal was to identify where agreement does or does not exist.
Highlights
There are many questions about youth rugby for which there are no immediate answers
Should players already start specialising in rugby at U13 age-grade level? What are the potential long-term implications from a health and wellbeing, player performance and player retention point of view if they do specialise early? Justin Durandt: It is important that we define what we mean by ‘specialisation’ or ‘early specialisation’
Specialisation refers to when this type of specialisation happens while a child is still in primary school
Summary
There are many questions about youth rugby for which there are no immediate answers. At what age should the young players specialise? How often should they practise? How many matches should they play in season? Science has lagged behind in providing clear answers, and in many cases decisions about the development of the game at this level have to be made based on logic and intuition. How early in the year should U13 age-grade level rugby players start with rugby-specific conditioning and preparation, given that most schools generally have other sporting codes that are seasonally based? Mike Marshall: Four weeks prior to the first full-contact match might be the ideal time for preseason training in this age group.
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