What's it all about?

Pride, confidence, leadership, and joy. Janice Leung, Captain, accepts the teams' awards and shows us what it's all about.


I was never a good rugby player. When I was at school, I did my best to avoid team sports. My dad took me to watch rugby games, then enrolled me in the youth section of a local club. I never had much idea what was going on. Back then, rugby coaching seemed to consist of turning us out onto a frozen field in February and letting the big kids knock over the little kids. There was no Tag, no Touch, no six-a-side or seven-a-side. I didn't take to it all. Worst of all was the weight of expectation: the feeling (probably imagined) that my dad wanted me to be good at this, but we both knew I never really would be.

Now, though, I love rugby. Aside from running (which I'm good at) rugby is really the only sport that delights me. I still don't play it. I started to get really passionate about it just three-and-a-bit years ago, when I first introduced it at NIS, in my first year here. What I love about rugby is teaching it.

But why? Rugby is minority sport in Hong Kong and worldwide. This is 'just' primary school; and honestly, many of our NIS kids playing rugby now will never touch a rugby ball again once they go up to secondary school. We play just a few tournaments a year, and we are not the kind of school that places a huge emphasis on a full trophy case in the lobby. So what's it all about?

What it is all about is building something. I want our kids to have the experience of getting together to make something new, a team. And through that team learning about themselves. The kids this year who have taken part in rugby have amazed me. Their skills and fitness have improved dramatically. That is all down to the time and effort they have put in. They have learned that every minute of their time set aside for purposeful play and practice improves their skill, improves their understanding, and boosts their enjoyment. They've learned about leadership: how to lead, and how to accept being led. I've seen them feeling low after losing a game, and coming back fighting for the next one. They've learned about courage and persistence.

I was very proud of all our players today at the end of practice. We played a very heartfelt, very tense mini-tournament in which each team was hugely interested in winning but all kept their tempers and played their best rugby. Sitting down with them afterwards to discuss squad selection for the next tournament, they moved me with their openness and willingness to include everyone, every player who had showed up for practice. The word they kept using was 'commitment'. Any player, they felt, who had shown commitment, should have the chance to go to the tournament, regardless of ability, regardless of taking the 'strongest' or the 'best' squad. This all came from the kids, not from me as coach. They showed me that they cared about winning, and were willing to train hard and play hard to do well: but more than that, they wanted to honor the commitment and contribution of everyone who had worked and sweated through all the training with them.

Again: rugby may not be a part of their lives in the years to come. I don't know. But I do hope that the lessons they have learned in the NIS rugby team this year will stay with them and find application wherever they go and on whatever missions they find in life.

Here are some wonderful pictures from Jeff Coey, taken at the ESF TAG Tournament on March 19. The kids are in action again at DBIS Beach Touch on April 16, then a HKTTRA Primary Touch on April 22.

Clare steps a JIS defender...

...gets outside him...

...and forces him to commit to the tackle before offloading to her brother, Evan - perfect timing!

Evan takes the ball cleanly and attacks the corner...

...straight ahead, with Clare giving vocal support!

He already knows he's scored...

...and makes sure with a good, controlled placement. That wasone of many wonderful passages of play.

Here is Lily, fearless among the Kellett giants.

Fiona is our best defender and loves to make big, fast attackers stop and go backwards!

Warren coaches Clare.

Noah in full stride. Ewan and Mr Merrett coaching from the side.

The Captain steps...

Hanlin keeps two hands on the ball and takes it straight up the field.

There are many other photos from the day - many thanks to Mr. Coey. I hope to make a yearbook and burn a DVD for all the rugby team members!

Outdoor Athletes Class, Saturday 16 January: Cloudy Hill Hike

During the next Outdoor Athletes class, we will be hiking on Cloudy Hill. This will be a hike of around 90 minutes- we won't get to the top of the hill, but hopefully we will make it about half way up, where we will get some fantastic views of Pat Sin Leng, Tai Po town, Tolo Harbour, Tai Mo Shan, Hong Lok Yuen, and the Tai To Yan ridge.

This short hike is part of one of this term's themes: 'Planning Outdoor Activity'. Over the 8 weeks of this term, I want to the kids to learn the basics of estimating time, distance, and speed of movement, on foot in the hills. This is a vital component of outdoor safety: basically, knowing how far you can walk before it gets dark.

During the hike, I will also be teaching them the basic ideas of fire safety in Hong Kong's countryside. This is a high-risk time of year for hill fires, and I will be explaining the principles of planning a hike with fire safety in mind, and the actions they must take on seeing or smelling flame or smoke in the hills.

Any parents who want to come along are most welcome!

A little more background...

This is an interesting Wiki section on the history of the naming of the positions in American football, with some very detailed research showing how they all link back to the original Rugby football. Just for interest, I hope to have the kids try all the 'non-soccer' football variants during this year: American Football, Gaelic Football, Australian Rules Football, Rugby League, and Rugby Union.

Camp Packing List

Please read the previous post for advice on sleeping bags, mats and flashlights.



I've mailed the camp packing list for Christmas Camp, and I'll reproduce it here:






Note the superb color coding! Stuff in the red box is very important. I can cover for pretty much anything in the other boxes but if you forget '1st Priority' items there is not much I can do.

Some background...

For those students (and parents!) who want to understand a little more about the sport of Touch Rugby, try reading this article:

History of Touch

But before you do.... remember that 'football' is a name used for many different games, all over the world. In Australia, 'football' or 'footy' is the name for Australian Rules Football, Rugby League, Rugby Union, and Touch (four different games!). In America and Canada, 'football' also refers to a rugby-like contact game where the ball is carried in the hands, and its non-contact version (which we are learning in PE class at school at the moment!). In new Zealand, a 'great footballer' means 'a very good rugby player'. Australia has a very popular TV show called 'The Footy Show' which, for some days of the week, is about Aussie Rules Football, and other days, is about Rugby league! And for most of the world, of course, 'football' means 'soccer'.

ALL these games come from the same root, far back in history: great, disorganised, violent and dangerous games played between villages in the English and Irish countryside. Slowly over the years the games evolved more rules and spread over the world, taking on different characters as they travelled.

It's a subject that can take up a lot of your time on Wikipedia! For now, perhaps is enough to know that Touch Rugby and Touch Football can be exactly the same game, depending on which country you are in!

Rugby tournament photos

Mr. Coey (Evan and Clare's dad) took hundreds of photos of all the kids in action at the recent rugby tournament. They are all great shots and there are far too many to post them all here. Here is a selection:

The Girls B Team after their last match. There is real pride, love and courage in these tired faces. (Note to self: get team socks before next tournament.)




Lik Wong in full flight. What a great player Lik is becoming!



One of many superb diving tries by Ewan Donald in the tournament. King of the 'astroturf burn', Ewan is never shy of losing a little skin to keep the team ahead.



Making the most of first phase possession, Fiona Leung takes a hit-up.

This tiny selection doesn't do the pictures justice. I have the DVD at the school and I will start burning copies as soon as I can.

Rugby- going forward

The first HKTTRA Touch tournament was a great success for all our teams. The Boys 'C' Grade team had a great time and showed me that they are really starting to understand the game and how to play it. Their defence and organisation across the field were excellent. In Touch rugby, if you start with a strong and organised defence, the attacking and scoring will eventually take care of themselves.

The Girls 'B' Grade team also had an excellent tournament. Again, it was great to see their real understanding of the structure of the game and their outstanding defensive positioning. What they need now is to learn how to score, and I've already given them some direct targetted feedback on that from the tournament. What's great about this team is the depth- we have nine really strong players who learn fast and work hard in every session.

The Boys 'A' team excelled themselves by going into the semifinals of their division. We should take a moment and reflect on this achievement. The 'A' division is for boys aged under-13. In fact, our Boys 'A' only has one under-13 in it. The rest of the boys range in age from 11 down to 9. They were playing against teams six twelve-year-olds and beating them. This is a huge testament to how much they have put in to their team. I am sure that as they continue to play, learn, and train, they can expect more success in the future.

I'd like to hear feedback from parents on how we can go forward with rugby. What I would like to do is to divide the rugby ASA into two separate training sessions on two different days. For example, the Boys 'C' team on Tuesdays, and the Girls 'B' and Boys 'A' on Thursdays. I think this would give all the teams the best opportunity to develop before the next tournament.

However, this would mean dropping the Cross Country/ Distance Running ASA for at least a term. Or perhaps moving it to another time-slot, like early Saturday morning. I'm really not sure how a schedule might be worked out, but I'd like to hear what parents think before I make any changes. So please contact me through the usual channels or talk to me when you see me around the school!