Simple mini-tag games to start your season (PS, great for all players too!)

Got a great bunch of kids for the start of the season and need some ideas to get you going?

First, if you’ve not coached young players, you need to know what to expect. Well… it’s great fun if you love chaos, but if you want ordered training, then you might be disappointed!

Start by following our mini-tag guides for under 7s and under 8s to make sense of what you should be coaching your players.

Then try out these games. They are easy to set-up and then quick to play. And even if you’ve moved on from tag, they are still good to play.

Evasive skills are an essential part of tag rugby. These games are also the easiest to set up because there’s not much passing involved. That’s why we suggest you use them at the start of the season to give your players plenty of chances for success.

Cloak and swagger is ideal for small numbers, or you can split your groups into fives or sixes, with a coach (or parent) with each group. It’s fun because the players need to be inventive to score tries.

A simpler game for larger numbers, Minefield has one group of players trying to evade their way across a box of players. Though the “mines” are supposed to walk in a straight line, they never do. Don’t worry, it just makes it bit more chaotic!

If you want to challenge players in a way that helps with differentiation, then Now you see me allows you to match up similar abilities. You can also “handicap” players, which adds to the fun.

Finally, if your players are already making good progress, the Tri-try challenge will help develop a better awareness of scoring tries and ways to score them.