A Survey Of Fact And Comment

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29264, 23 July 1960, Page 5

A Survey Of Fact And Comment

“Compare this situation with the dominance of the University dub, many of whose members come to the University from secondary "school first fifteens. With no players under age to worry about, University is not over-burdened administratively, and has good coaches,” says Mr Couling. “Players are still coming into senior teams lacking the fundamentals of the game and this will continue as long as there is the present unwieldy set-up in the lower grades, and the situation where kick-and-chase and win the competition at all costs, predominates over teaching correct Rugby,” he says.

Clubs who have financial difficulties these days would be freed from the burden all these young teams impose upon them. Young players, if they are keen to play Rugby, should do so only within their primary and secondary schools which arrange mid-week matches for them. It is recognised by coaches that the ages at which boys best assimilate the lessons taught them, are between 16 and 20, yet it is between these ages that most of the youngsters who began playing at 7 (sometimes younger) and 8, are dropping out of the game.

There is, also, evidence to suggest that boys have had a surfeit of football by the time they reach the under-age or lower open grades. Most boys playing in the Saturday morning competitions have already competed in primary and secondary school matches during the week and with one day’s training for school teams and probably another for the club sides, are engaged •in playing football four days out of seven—not counting - the “pick sides” games played at school at breaks and after school. To obtain some corroboration of Mr Couling’s contention that most of Canterbury’s top representatives did not enter Rugby until they were quite well advanced in years and weight, nine Canterbury representatives or former representatives—five of them All Blacks—were asked for the ages or the grades in which they first played competitive Rugby. The following were the answers:—

R. H. Duff, second year at secondary school but only regularly from his fourth year at secondary school; A. E. G. Elsom, standard 5 at primary school, under 7st (he explained that it was only because of a severe injury which kept .him out of Rugby for four years, that he was able to play for so long in first class Rugby); S. K. Henderson, under 6st 71b; R. M. Smith, standard 6 at primary school and fifth grade on Saturday at Ashburton; N. F. Roberts, secondary school; C. A. McDonald, secondary school; E. Hern, Standard 3; M. J. Dixon, at the age of 11; F. G. Hobbs, aged 15. Most of these expressed the opinion that boys can start competitive Rugby—that is, outside primary school Rugby—too early, and agreed that there were a great number of boys leaving the game as they progressed up the grades. Positive proof that young players had left Rugby and were no longer interested in it, or other codes as winter sport, has been obtained by the president of a North Canterbury club. This man, a former Canterbury representative and a coach, brought a team to play in the Christchurch under sst 71b competition for two years from 1950 and practically the same team stayed' together and played in the under 6st 71b competition for another two seasons. Three years ago, at a

seven-a-side tournament, investigation revealed that only two of the 25 players who played in his teams were still-playing Rugby. The others had given up the game and were not engaged in any other sport. He now believes, that if boys’

Rugby, is continued, then no competition points should be awarded. This, he believes, would allow the players to concentrate on learning thoroughly the elementary skills, "Senior players today have not got - these fundamentals and, according to reports from South Africa, one of the fundamentals —that of handling—has had to be taught to All Blacks,” he said. Mr J. S. Storey,' the chairman •of the union’s competitions committee, at this week’s meeting of the committee, reported that there were abbut 2200 boys playing in the under-weight competitions, compared with about 374 in the under-age grades. Mr Storey commented that the under-age grade was hot keeping pace with the increase in the under-weight grades. Problem

The problem of the very young under-weight players has apparently not gone unnoticed by the Canterbury union’s junior advisory board. Its chairman, Mr O. Noonan, when- asked to comment on the matter, said the majority of members of the board realised there was- a problem to be solved. “They are concerned that boys playing in the underweight grades are not carrying on their football after reaching the under-age grades. Many feel that the boys are getting too much football from an early age. Some clubs' tended to allow them to play too young. If a boy is near enough to sst and is aged about nine, that is good enough, but some are under 4st and are about six and seven,” he said. Other comments from those who are, or have been, associated with Rugby in Canterbury, were as follows:

Mr A. C. Felton (for nine years secretary to the union): “Boys 'ho commencing playing at 5,6, and 7, have had 10 years of Rugby by the time they reach the under 17 grade and most of them feel they have had enough. If they start at the age of 12, then after 10 years they are 22 and have reached open grade and probably senior grade, and they are just commencing to get somewhere. At 17, when they are giving up their football, they have got nowhere. I feel the' same position pertains m tennis and athletics where boys commence too early and are burned out before they have been able to accomplish anything noteworthy.” His answer to the problem: No organised competitive Saturday football until they are more mature.

A primary school teacher.— “l think boys should be 10 or 11 before they start competitive football. There is too much tension attached to under-weight Rugby and ( later the boys' enthusiasm wanes because* they are not playing for the fun of it.” His answer to the problem: The establishment of a nursery club along the lines suggested by Dr. D. H. Craven. Allow the boys to play among themselves, with no com-petition-points, no parents or supporters. No boy could start grade football until he was 14 or 15. A Christchurch doctor.— “l do not believe the amount of football they play does them any physical harm, buit by the time they are 21 they are fed up with Rugby and seek physical exercise some other way. I am convinced that too many boys take up Rugby at an early age at the wishes or encouragement of their fathers.” His solution: To let the children play if they want to, but not to have them- pushed into it by their fathers who might want to bathe in their reflected glory.

Mr H. C. Blasey (president of the unidn). —"Children will play games and they may aS well play Rugby while they want to. There always has been a wastage in the game, but at least Rugby has done this much good—it has ' taught them to play in a team game where the individual is not quite, so important; has taught them to take knocks and has kept them off the streets. I think it is a good thing for parents to take' an interest and I feel that the good outdoes any possible harm.” Rugby League i

The problem is one that is not peculiar to Rugby union football. Mr L. R. Huston, chairman of the Canterbury Rugby League board of control, and a man who has been closely associated with the code’s schoolboys’ division for many years has confirmed that Rugby League is also concerned at the loss of players. “This is a subject in which I am very interested,” he said. “I have formed the opinion that boys are' starting too early, and this is reflected in the players taking part, in senior football. Most of them are very young and they are dropping out of the game in their early twenties. I believe this' is directly, attributable to their starting their football too early. A lot are also pulling out at' 15 or 16,” he said. ,

The Soccer Association Is also; losing its players, but one member of the junior- management' committee, Mr A. Fraser, does not’ subscribe to the belief that the' losses are due to starting football’ too early. Many of the boys play-i ing soccer drop out after leaving high school, he said. Whether this was because they had too much football at high school, or not enough, he could not say. Boys playing soccer were starting at ages between 6 and 8, but the association’s experience was that the lower grades were becoming stronger each year with the majority of boys carrying on through the grades to fourth and fifth grade (about 15 and 16) at which stage they begin to fall away. This, he considered, was not so much the result of having had too many years’ football in lower grades, but because many of the boys felt by this time that they were not good enough to progress much further. All these three codes, but particularly the Rugby union, guard their players jealously against transfers to the rival codes, and it could' well be that each of them has preferred not to act in this matter for fear that their younger players do transfer. There does, however, appear to be a problem which, sooner or later, will have to be faced. The question taught be resolved to each boy’s mutual advantage by a meeting of the three.