Under 13’s – A team in transition

The Under 13’s are definitely a team in transition at the moment. Not only have we lost 16 individuals from last season , but there have also been a number of personnel changes this season which only adds to the instability of the team.
Hopes were fairly high after a decent performance a couple of weeks ago against Trafford MV, where although we got beat, we actually looked and played as a team. Unfortunately these hopes were not to materialise against a well disciplined Rochdale side who were superior technically and did the basics better than ourselves.
I will not go into specifics about where things went wrong,(players are more than aware of these), so let’s learn from this and go forward as a team.
Things are not all gloom and doom however. We have an excellent core of players around who we can build a decent side as well as an injection of promising new players,(Kieran and Sam who played on Sunday for example) that can only be positive for the team going forward.
There are however some issues that we need to address urgently if we are to keep these players around who we can build a team for next season –
1) Win and lose as a team – STOP the internal squabbling and blaming each other when things go wrong. Encourage each other.
2) STOP arguing with the referee. This has been creeping into our game recently and needs to stop. Apart from one game this season, referees have been fair and they can only give what they see. Captains speak to the referee the rest – be quiet.
3) Training – turn up for training and listen to the coaches. Be prepared to work hard, learn,(coaches do know what they are talking about – most of the time) and enjoy yourself.
4) Put into practice what you learn in training,(basics like tackling, passing, rucking and mauling are forgotten by a large number when it comes to match day).
5) Fitness – We only have 90 minutes on a Tuesday to work on fitness and skills, lads you need to help yourselves, Take the dog a walk, walk to rugby instead of getting a lift, do sports at school when possible etc
Finally thanks to Rochdale for providing the referee at such late notice and hopefully our paths will cross again and we will give you a closer game.

Man of the Match - Jordan Taylor,(for doing what a forward should do)