The Gazette Lanzarote Jan 2014 | Page 115

The victorious Under-10s at Playa Honda. Young Champions Grass roots football at Puerto del Carmen goes from strength to strength as the Under-8s and under-10s both won tournaments in Playa Honda. he tournaments were held at Playa Honda as part of the “No to Domestic Violence” campaign, and both of the Puerto del Carmen teams excelled, with the under-8s continuing their terrific form by triumphing over seven other teams from all over Lanzarote. The under-10s were also on fire, coming top in a tournament which held six teams. This bunch of talented kids also remain top of their league and are T still unbeaten. Elsewhere, the undfer-16s had a dream come true at the home ground of the Canaries´most successful team, UD Las Palmas.Puerto del Carmen under-19s star Pablo Rivero was recently signed by Las Palmas and, as part of the deal, requested that his old team get a game in the Gran Canarian capital. The under-16s started their visit with a game against Las Palmas’ C team – they lost 5-0 and poor Antonio Rioja broke a collar bone, but the opposition was tough. Later, however, the lads were invited onto the pitch in front of thousands of fans to join Las Palmas before the kick-off of their home match. The appearance was shown on Canarian TV. Meanwhile, PDC look forward to a full and successful New Year, kicking off on 10th January when there´ll be games all day. Find out more at www.cdupuertodelcarmen.com RUGBY Go for it! Anyone who has ever played rugby knows the sheer thrill of taking the ball and charging at a wall of opponents. And youngsters love this sheer physical experience more than anyone. aybe that´s why, every Tuesday and Thursday night at 7 pm, boys and girls aged from 10 to 16 gather at the Playa Honda sports ground for an hour of rugby training, overseen by coach Colin Hughes. They are Los Volcanitos, LRC’s junior team. After a late start this season, they´re raring for their first competitive game in Gran Canaria this month. In just a few years of existence, Los Volcanitos have a great match record, and want to keep that up in 2015, with further matches penciled in for February and April. Coach Colin Hughes says “At this age you can see huge improvements after just a few training sessions.” The emphasis is on passing, positioning, tackling and running at the opposition. Los Volcanitos would love to welcome any other youngsters who fancy a crack at rugby – just pop along to one of the training sessions to find out more. As there is only one team on the island, competitive matches involve M Ava, Billy, Charlie, Chloe, Christopher, Germán, Jack, Reef, Ese, Georgina, Mercedes, Kevin, Kendal, Sami, Szymón, and Yvan, with team captain Alex & coach Colin travelling to Gran Canaria, Tenerife or Fuerteventura – or receiving teams from those island here. This isn´t cheap, which means Los Volcanitos are also desperate for sponsorship. So if you´d like to get behind one of the most dedicated groups of youngsters on the island, just get in touch. “These youngsters are really starting to come together and play as a team, “ says Colin Hughes,who can hardly wait to see the kids play a proper match. Colin would also like to say thanks to Kerry Peck, Nigel Nevitt and Peter Broome, whose support and assistance has been vital and much appreciated. To find out more, go to Volcanitos Rugby Lanzarote Facebook page, or just visit the playing field at Playa Honda (behind the secondary school) on Tuesday or Thursday nights. The Gazette | January 2015 | 115