Nagle Park

On Saturday August 15th, we went to Nagle Park in Maroubra. I was hoping so see some of the infamous "Bra" boys, but no luck. At Nagle Park we watched youth games of three different sports. The first venue we watched was youth rugby. It was actually kind of funny to see young kids running around and tackling one another. We then crossed the street and watched youth girls play Netball. It is a variation of basketball. Their are no backboards, each girls have a designated position of what their role is. For example "goal attacker" is one of the few positions that the girl can actually shoot the ball. The ball seemed to be very similar to a volleyball, but I think it might have been a bit heavier. On our way to the next venue we watched an even younger group of girls play netball, but what was different was that they played on grass and the hoops were not as high. I assume that they played on the grass because it is safer. It was just interesting to see the same game being played on a difference surface. The last game we watched was a boys youth AFL game. It took me some time to understand what was going on, but I think I have somewhat of a grasp on the sport. These kids were in very good shape, and I guess they have to be for a sport like this.
The parents atmosphere seemed a little subdued compared to the crazy parents you have back in the States. I definitely think it is better that the parents were like this because it does not put pressure on the kids to perform well. It was nice to see youth games in another country and see the similarities and differences. All in all I think the youth sporting events are very similar to the one's in America. I think youth sports is important to have when growing up because not only are you in the outdoors and exerscising, but you gain so many positive things out of it, such as: a bigger social group, learning things that you may not know from other kids, and spending time with friends and family on the weekend.

National Centre for Indigenous Excellence

On Sunday August 8th, we went to the National Centre for Indigenous Excellence to see the U-16 rugby championships. The game we saw was the first one of the day between Northern Queensland and Northern territory. Northern Queensland took the easy win with a score of 40-7. It seemed to be a very lopsided game. One thing in particular that I noticed was the size differences in the U-16 division. I think it is that age where some kids are far more developed than others. Some kids towered over others.
This rugby was the first one I have ever seen in person, I have seen a few on television and really did not have a clue with what was going on, but when I saw this game in person, I understood a lot more, especially with the help of one of the boys mothers who helped explain some of the rules to me. I feel that this field trip was a great learning experience and look forward to going to other Australian sporting events