It’s been organised by Ulster Pathway Coach, Ricky Andrew: “The aim of this competition is to identify the best kickers in the 2006/07 age range in the province. However, there are other advantages to this type of competition, as we believe it will allow us to develop the kicking skills of players in the pathway programme at U17/U18 level, and to identify and uncover new players outside of the programme.
“It also allows us to give all competitors vital help and instruction to make long-term improvements to their kicking game. These young players will be given fundamental kicking cues, activities, and even warmup exercises so they can continue to develop their skills in a part of the game which is becoming increasingly important and necessary to practice away from team sessions.”
Entry Requirements
- Clubs and schools may nominate 1 male player born in 2006 or 2007 to take part.
- The player chosen must be capable of performing the kicks listed below to a good standard.
- If a club or school feels they do not have a kicker of a high enough standard, then no player should be nominated.
- If a club or school feels they have more than one player who could compete, then please get in touch with Ricky Andrew \[ricky.andrew@ulsterrugby.com\].
Competition Structure
Regional competitions will take place in the weeks beginning the 24th and the 31st of October, with venues to be decided based upon the location of players who are taking part.
These events will see competitors ranked by their performance, with a Top 8 invited to a Provincial kicking session with Ulster Rugby coach Dan Soper on the 16th of November. There is also the potential for an additional 2 'Wild Card' players to be involved.
The following week, on the 23rd of November, these players will compete in the Provincial Final to decide who is the Best Kicker in Ulster.
The Regional Competition
A kicking-related warmup will take place ahead of a 15-minute session which will include fundamental kicking cues, and some simple kicking activities that could be easily replicated. The competition will then begin, with the following 4 events:
Send it!
This will test the players' ability to send long, accurate kicks deep into opposition territory. Each player will have 3 kicks to get as much distance as possible while landing the ball within a 15m wide channel.
50:22
Players will be tasked with taking cross-pitch kicks to get their team a lineout inside the opposition 22. Players have 3 attempts to kick from inside their half, with the first bounce taking place inside the 15m line. The score will be measured by the distance from the 22m line that the ball goes into touch.
Sky Ball
Competitors must kick the ball as high as possible to land within a designated zone 20m away. Players can choose to perform a box kick, or an up and under. Points are scored if the kick lands in the correct area, and remains in the air for a minimum of 3 seconds.
Get us on the Scoreboard
This event will involve kicking penalties at goal off the tee. Players will take 3 kicks from 3 different locations: in front of the posts, 10m to the left of the posts, and 10m to the right of the posts.
Scores will then be accumulated, and the Top 8 will progress to the Provincial events.
The Provincial Competition
This final competition will involve a repeat of the 4 events from the Regional level: Send it! 50:22, Sky Ball, Get us on the Scoreboard.
2 additional events will also take place:
Pinpoint Restarts
This event will challenge kickers to land their restarts in precise areas in order to pressure the opposition, or contest for the ball. The first area is a 10m x 5m box just beyond the opposition 10m line inside the 15m channel; the second is a 10m x 10m box deep inside the opposition 22, also inside the 15m channel. Kickers will have 2 attempts to land their restarts in each of the areas.
Long Ranger
Players will be tasked with hitting long-range penalty kicks at goal from the tee. Kicks must be kept within a 10m channel, with competitors going for as much distance as possible – we will mark where the ball lands within the channel.
Based on scores achieved, there will be a weighted ranking of players for each type of kick. It is the final accumulation of ranked scores that will determine the Best Kicker in Ulster.