On Saturday 28th April Teddington RFC attended the RFU’s Old Mutual Wealth Kids First Convention at Twickenham. Kids First Rugby puts children first. It is aimed at U7-U13 boys and girls, it up skills coaches and creates a great rugby environment, so that everyone stays in the game for longer. With over 100 clubs participating it was a fantastic opportunity to share ideas and hear both from the RFU on what’s going on but also from many external speakers who could share their expertise with us.

After a rousing start involving drums, whistles, clapping and some out of tune singing we sat down to listen to Kurt Vallis from Google. Kurt’s rather impressive job title is “Head of Creativity” and as well sharing some great insights into the future, his key message for our young players and children was the importance of creativity and decision making both on the rugby pitch but as life skills.

Throughout the day we attended sessions on Play and Creativity, Parental Engagement and Embedding the Kids First Approach. For the big kids amongst us there was also the amazing opportunity to learn a few new activities on the Twickenham pitch. The day wrapped up with a session with Dean Ryan (Gloucester and England) who is now Head of International Player Development at the RFU and a Q&A with rugby legends that included World Cup winners Danielle Waterman and Lewis Moody.

It was a very positive and enjoyable day that gave the Teddington team loads of great ideas for next season – watch this space!