Zoe Marshall on NRL school program 123 Rugby League
Zoe Marshall
The Sunday Telegraph
August 03, 2013 2:40PM
This may sound surprising but I still don't know some of the very basic rules of rugby league.
It's so much harder learning all the intricacies of the game once you're older, let alone thinking I could try to play as an adult.
I feel as though I have missed the boat and I, for one, would have loved to learn these skills in primary school.
And now a new NRL program is doing just that.
123 Rugby League is teaching children the rules of footy and could produce the next superstars of the game.
Specifically aimed at four to seven-year-olds, many primary schools and childcare centres are adopting the program, which includes a super cute picture book featuring two farm dogs, Bluey and Red, and practical activities. The goal is to engage children by using storytelling to appeal to their imaginations, along with enhancing their reading, listening and comprehension skills. At the same time, they are taught very basic skills of rugby league (try scoring, playing the ball, evasion).
Teachers are also reporting that girls are equally enjoying the new program.
The 123 Rugby League program contains a story made up of three chapters, with each chapter containing seven different activities.
NRL development officers take the children through the book over three consecutive weeks. The officers play the role of the farmer, while the children become the characters in the story.
By week three, the children play a game on a rectangular field, still as characters in the story, while also performing NRL skills (try scoring, playing the ball, dodging, sidestepping, basic pass and catch).
At the end of the course, children receive a certificate congratulating them on completing the program, and the school receives an A3-sized "Big Book" plus eight smaller booklets to use in the classroom as part of the school's reading program. Rebecca Parsons is a school teacher at Peakhurst Public School, in southern Sydney. She shared her thoughts on the program.
"Using the story book approach, the NRL development officers immediately had the attention of the students," Ms Parsons told The Sunday Telegraph.
"Children love stories so they were very attentive from the outset. Then they related to the animals and the characters in the story. It was a particularly successful way to ensure the girls were not intimidated by the rugby league content. If an activity is fun for the children they will learn quickly. 123 Rugby League allowed for this enjoyment and the children quickly understood the basics of the game."
Trials of the new program were conducted by NRL development staff in Queensland schools in 2011, before it was rolled out across the country.
To the NRL's knowledge, no other sport has a national program for children within this age group.
So as well as teaching the basics of rugby league, they are also learning fabulous basic motor skills and becoming familiar with one of the greatest sports there is.
This program now has 22,000 participants nationally in 2013.
If anyone would like more information, please contact playrugbyleague.com.au
