EXPERT SESSIONS AND ADVICE FROM QUALIFIED AND EXPERIENCED GRASSROOTS RUGBY COACHES
Players who turn for training early often kick the ball around.
While you might not want to intervene and allow them to have free play, you might want to make this a “thing”.
That is, “if you want to start 15 minutes earlier than the official start time, I will lay on some activities to do. They are voluntary”.
Here are some kicking activities that only need a few players. You can stand back and let them get on with it, while you set up the rest of the session. Or, a co-coach can watch over to give the players some confidence or encouragement.
Against an organised defence, you can use closely packed groups of forwards to dent the line and then attack the recovering, disorganised defence. Often known as pods, this requires organisation, especially around the roles of the players in terms of carrying the ball and supporting that ball carrier. In its simplest format, after a set-piece like a scrum or lineout, the forwards who were not involved in winning the ball back after the first tackle, realign to take the next pass. This is in the expectation that the backline doesn't penetrate the line the first time. MORE
Make more of poor opposition kicks with this session. Also, work on what your defence might do when you do make a poor kicking decision. Most matches have poor kicks. Use these training scenarios to practise your team’s reactions and decision making. MORE
in Email Newsletters, Rugby drills
I recently polled coaches on Twitter on how long they spent planning. While over half suggested they spent up to 25 minutes on the process, two in every five coaches spent longer. Planning a session isn't easy and we all know the horrors of a poorly planned session. Here are two coaching ideas to make it easier. MORE
in Email Newsletters, Rugby coaching, Rugby drills
In all the excitement of the planning for the first full session back at training, I forgot three things that would have made a difference to training. Not perhaps the vital difference, but when you’ve coached for so long, it’s annoying when you make mistakes. I was lucky enough to work with three experienced co-coaches... MORE
in Email Newsletters, Return to play
With more and more sport opening up in the coming weeks, everyone will be excited about the prospect of training and even playing. For some teams, the training sessions will almost run themselves as the players are keen to just be back together and play. For others, they might have lost a certain amount of confidence, fearing that their months of inactivity will make a training session an horrific aerobic disaster zone. I think you have three tough decisions ahead of you. MORE
Back to training and there are five things you must do to ensure you make the most of your precious time with your players. Before we start, here are three things you shouldn’t do: 1. Do fitness testing. 2. Overload the players with too many skills. 3. Run extra sessions for catch up. Click here... MORE
