GETTING them early is a mantra applied to all manner of sports - but at Riccall each week there’s a buzz among the youngest generation.

Rugbees - an initiative set up by former York Academy, Heworth and New Earswick All Blacks player Mark Tipping - melds rugby fun and coaching for youngsters aged between three and five.

For 45 minutes each Saturday at the Regen Centre in Riccall, Tipping and his coaching ally Jamie Bingle, convey the skills applicable to both league and union codes to participants whose attention span can quite frequently be diverted.

But the duo, displaying the sort of patience more associated with saints, keep their mini-charges enthralled - for the most part - in developing rugby league skills.

That’s no mean feat given they are trying to coach among the most hyper-active and potentially distracted competitors.

Said Tipping: “It’s challenging, but as long as the youngsters are safe and having fun then we are able to give them some basic skills.

“And it’s a genuine lift when you see youngsters, who started out just wanting to do their own thing basically, gradually start to pick up things about the sport and start to develop. Both Jamie and me have said that when that happens, it is such a buzz.”

Co-ordination and communication are the main signs that the transformation from play to potential has been successful.

“We deliberately keep the sessions down to 45 minutes so that we can keep the kids’ attention,”

explained Tipping, who first started the venture three years ago when his own son Billy was aged three and “there was nothing about rugby league” for him.

“There were also sons of some of my former team-mates at New Earswick and then just grew from there.

“It’s the complete opposite of training older players and adults.

For them you have to vary training sessions to keep them interested, but for the youngsters it’s more about repetition and a routine so they can settle and take things in.”

Besides being a former player - he also saw action in Australia at Freemantle Roosters - Tipping is an experienced fitness professional and sports therapist.

The sessions are non-contact and are based on the Early Learning Foundation principles for introducing basic sports skills to pre-school and primary school age youngsters.

Such has been the success and popularity of the venture that Tipping and Bingle, a former rugby league and union player, have a waiting list for would-be participants.

And Tipping revealed how one of the first players on the Rugbees’ venture last week made his debut for New Earswick under-sevens in a competitive game.

Now moves are being made by Tipping to start an after-school group for older youngsters, which, if it gets up and running, will provide another pack of potential.

For more details of the sessions check out the rugbees-york.com website