Here is a collection of great ideas for planning, fitness, skills and games for your pre-season preparation, whatever age and level of player you coach.
Get the detail right when coaching skills and everything will fall into place. Let's look at what players should do just before tackling a ball carrier. MORE
Got the lungs burning? Now it’s time to get those brains whirring! Put the players in lots of different scenarios which match possible situations they might face in a match to help them think about their options. Decision-making exercises mean that your team will have to connect with each other, communicate and discover what works best. MORE
We can all remember an inspirational figure in our sporting lives, someone who has made a difference. Now you are a coach yourself, you have the chance to be that figure for someone else. What a privilege. Also, what a responsibility. That means that good coaching and management comes from hard work and choosing the... MORE
Every team wants to start the season well. Use these sessions to build your players’ form and fitness so that they are ready to go on that first whistle. MORE
A session ideal for pre-season or in-season if you need to reconnect your players with their handling and pace onto the ball. Accurate passing is essential to maintain a flowing attacking move capable of exploiting mismatches and space. Look at the detail as well as the outcomes. MORE
Whether it’s in pre-season or you need a boost during the season, use this series of three sessions to ensure you have a strong scrum base. Here are the first two weeks.
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Here is a circuit that allows you to train the core running skills – changing direction, changing pace, turning, accelerating and running backwards or sideways. It is good for a pre-season or in season
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Here's an example of a mind-map preparing for a season. It's the starting point for a discussion of what needs to be covered and who's going to cover it. MORE
We take a traditional 2 v 1 exercise and add in two elements, a random starting position for the defender and forcing the ball carrier to change their line twice. MORE
A few seasons ago, I enhanced my own coaching in three ways leading to excellent improvements in my players’ skills. Here’s what’s made a difference. MORE
Shuffling and cross-over steps are essential skills for a defender to react to a change of direction of an attacker. Work on these in the development of your players’ tackling progression. MORE
Mentally strong people have healthy habits. They manage their emotions, thoughts, and behaviors in ways that set them up for success in life. Check out these things that mentally strong people do. MORE
Work on the basics of taking a drop kick, both to score points by kicking at goal in open play or, more commonly, for taking restarts, like kick offs. MORE
Wilbur Kraak, a senior lecturer and rugby researcher at Department of Sport Science, Stellenbosch University, South Africa, has recently published his findings on the effects of a skills specific coaching education programme on the skill level of mini-rugby players. Working with Jacques Basson, their conclusions shed further light on what good practice design looks like... MORE
