EXPERT SESSIONS AND ADVICE FROM QUALIFIED AND EXPERIENCED GRASSROOTS RUGBY COACHES
When we return to play, there will be plenty of rustiness where skills have fallen away.
While our priority will be re-engaging players with games, we will still need to mix in “skill zones”. This is another name for a more intense focus on a particular skill or technique.
Have a bank of skill zones ready to drop into your sessions.
Let’s focus on passing. Here are a range of activities/drills that give plenty of chances for players to catch and pass under various different levels of pressure.
Each offers different ideas which can easily be set up and added as part of the warm-up, a breakout during a game or part of a carousel of activities.
Here are the other plans in our lockdown series:
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
in Email Newsletters, Tackling
With the contact rugby not far away, you will be planning some form of tackling practice to fit into your training sessions. In these unusual times, you might find yourself almost reteaching tackling for some players. Even for more experienced players, they will need time to rediscover the safe, efficient and effective techniques and skills.... MORE
in Core skills, Email Newsletters, Rugby drills
In Jason Tee and Mike Ashford's e-learning course, Turn your game model into a training session, they set out how you can solve a performance problem. For example, how would you improve your double tacking or quick ruck ball or passing out of the tackle. They suggest you break down coaching the problem into four stages. Depending on your current players' understanding, you can start your next training session at any one of those stages. MORE
