EXPERT SESSIONS AND ADVICE FROM QUALIFIED AND EXPERIENCED GRASSROOTS RUGBY COACHES
in Passing & Handling, Small-sided games
Ged Hall challenges players to be effective in finding space and passing, either on their feet or from the ground (the deck!). Good for fitness as well as decision-making. Deck hands is seemingly a very simple game to play, but beneath its simple exterior is a game that challenges players physically, mentally, tactically and technically. MORE
How do you coach decision making? As a subject much debated amongst the coaching scientists, it can be hard to work out what’s best for you to coach in your sessions. Let’s help you think about how you can use small-sided games to develop these skills. MORE
in Contact
The battle that takes place after the tackle is one of the most underappreciated areas of the game. The 5 F’s give you some ideas as to what to develop in players to gain an attacking advantage in these scenarios. In many instances, we see the attacker as a passive participant in the tackle until they get to the ground. However, in a number of games, it’s frequently the actions of the attacker in these scenarios that can make a difference to the result. MORE
Spaced learning is probably something you’ve already encountered in life without ever really realising it. It's the idea that it's easier to learn a topic or skill when it’s broken down into shorter periods or chunks. MORE
Peak Height Velocity measurements can reduce the number of assumptions you make about the current development stage of your players and help you help them with training programmes. MORE
in Warm Ups
‘Escape the square’ is a quick game that can be used in warm ups to get players focused on moving the rugby ball in attack, scanning for space and communicating with team-mates. MORE
in Attacking Principles of Play, Small-sided games
Applying pressure is an often-misunderstood principle of play, with coaches often equating it to scoring points in attack or turning a ball over in defence. Whilst applying pressure will commonly be the precursor to these actions, the principle relates more to the exploitation of time and space in attack, and the denial of these in defence. In the following game, we look to explore these ideas. MORE
We can see that increasing pressure is vital within a session for players to develop their abilities. We must be careful in how we choose to apply pressure and ensure that we work with players to ensure the best possible environment. MORE
in Attacking Principles of Play, Small-sided games
Despite being the most fundamental attacking and defensive principles of play, getting a team to Go Forward can often be a challenge. Use a game of Pitch Invaders to emphasise the importance of this principle. MORE
in Return to play, Rugby coaching, Rugby drills
In Return to play needs more winning and competition, we discussed that competition plays an integral part in developing players whether we approve of it or not. In our current RTP environments, it might be missing. We gave the example of using intrasquad/interclub tournaments as a way of encouraging some competition in our sessions. In this article, we are going to discuss another way of creating competition, a Sports Day with our players as competitors. A 'Sports Day' gives us the perfect opportunity: To create a competitive environment within our sessions. Provide us with a chance to carry out some covert physical testing of players which can be used to guide future session design. To analyse how our players perform, and if extra fitness work is needed, adapt our sessions to provide more physical stimulus. MORE
