Rugby Clubs for shy P5 - East Ren/Glasgow South.

[Meeplemakeglasgow]

Hi,

My nine year old stepson has decided he wants to try Rugby and we’re looking for the right club to bring him along to.

We live in Whitecraigs so there are a few clubs near us such as:

• Whitecraigs RFC

• GHA

• Cartha Queen’s Park

• East Kilbride RFC

The issue we have is that he is quite shy boy, he’s reasonably athletic but has never shown much of an interest in sport.

So we’re hoping that joining a team will help bring him out of his shell and gain him some confidence.

My (much older) son plays Rugby but lives elsewhere now and doesn’t know much about mini/youth set-ups in any local clubs.

I’ve been told that some clubs here are very much geared to performance/results (even at this age) and others are more community focused so was wondering what anyone’s knowledge/experience of them is as our fear is that going into a really competitive environment straight away will put him off the sport for life?

Thanks

I've consulted with dh on this

Much as I would wholeheartedly recommend Cartha QP as a very welcoming club that is focussed on community and enjoyment of the game, if you live in Whitecraigs, you should give Whitecraigs a try first. They're a good club.

I would avoid GHA if you don't want an overly competitive environment.

EK is a bit far.

Ds went through the entire micros/minis/junior set up at Cartha (although he did play at Glens for a few years before going off to Uni as we didn't have a team at his age group at the time) and now that he's back in Glasgow is back playing for the Cartha senior team.

Dh has only recently stepped down from running the Junior section after over 15 years

Not in your area but my son has played against all those clubs bar Whitecraig during minis & now midis.
We have always had good clean games against Cartha & GHA, but we are competitive mind you lol so we are well matched.
Get him interested in a pro team as well, my son eats, sleeps & breathes rugby & is a HUGE Edinburgh fan🏉

Thanks @prettybird (and also thanks to your DH).

He does go to school with some boys who play for GHA but from what I can see and have heard they take it pretty seriously already, so I wasn’t sure it would be the best place for him.

I actually was swaying towards Cartha as have heard only good things about it but will look into Whitecraigs more now 🙂.

Thanks again.

Whitecraigs is a good club. The guy who runs the Junior section is a grumpy sod but has a good heart (we happen to know him via my SIL).

As with any club, the coaches can vary and I have no idea now (as I'm not as closely involved with the Junior section at Cartha as I was - and dh has stepped back too) what the P5 coaches are like at either club. So if your ds doesn't get on at Whitecraigs, you can always give Cartha a go.

Whitecraigs has a nice seating area with a fire in its clubhouse and the pitches are a bit away. The advantage of Cartha is that it has a decent coffee machine and its clubhouse looks out over the pitches so you can stay in the warm while your little darling is outside getting cold and muddy