We have just come back from London, where Max stood up on his own for the first time. Luckily, he then repeated it for the camera, hence here is the video. Next - walking!
30 July 2014
29 July 2014
Zach - Rugby U6
Zach recently finished his second year of rugby (under 6's), which was the first year of playing competitions.
It was a fantastic year of rugby. It is not his favourite sport, football is, but Arabian Knights is a great rugby club and the other kids / parents make it special.
The first tournament was held in the national stadium in Abu Dhabi, and it was all a bit of a shock.
I volunteered to help coach, and as we had a big squad, we entered three teams of seven. I took charge of Zach's team, with no real idea what I was doing, and a very loose understanding of the rules for U6 tag rugby. I was most nervous about being asked to referee, which thankfully didn't happen.
It was very hot, but the kids were great, and we actually managed to win most of our first games, including knocking out both the other Knights teams in the knock out stage, to reach the final.
Unfortunately, the Dubai Exiles pipped us in the final, but Zach did really well, including scoring a couple of tries.
Coaching was fun but hard work, however the tournaments were really intense experiences. We had a few in Dubai, plus one in Al Ain, and towards the end of the season we traveled to Doha, in Qatar.
The top Knights team came second in most of the tournaments, but Zach was normally playing in the middle team. However, we only took one team to Doha, and after a fantastic day, his team managed to win the tournament, which was such a great experience for him and his little rugby mates.
To end a great year, Zach won a 'U6 Most Improved Player' award, which was one of seven awards given to the squad of nearly 40 kids.
It was a fantastic year of rugby. It is not his favourite sport, football is, but Arabian Knights is a great rugby club and the other kids / parents make it special.
The first tournament was held in the national stadium in Abu Dhabi, and it was all a bit of a shock.
I volunteered to help coach, and as we had a big squad, we entered three teams of seven. I took charge of Zach's team, with no real idea what I was doing, and a very loose understanding of the rules for U6 tag rugby. I was most nervous about being asked to referee, which thankfully didn't happen.
It was very hot, but the kids were great, and we actually managed to win most of our first games, including knocking out both the other Knights teams in the knock out stage, to reach the final.
Unfortunately, the Dubai Exiles pipped us in the final, but Zach did really well, including scoring a couple of tries.
Coaching was fun but hard work, however the tournaments were really intense experiences. We had a few in Dubai, plus one in Al Ain, and towards the end of the season we traveled to Doha, in Qatar.
The top Knights team came second in most of the tournaments, but Zach was normally playing in the middle team. However, we only took one team to Doha, and after a fantastic day, his team managed to win the tournament, which was such a great experience for him and his little rugby mates.
To end a great year, Zach won a 'U6 Most Improved Player' award, which was one of seven awards given to the squad of nearly 40 kids.