Whether you won or lost this weekend, I expect you are thinking “there’s still so much to do”. No matter if you are just starting the season or mid-season, it always seems to be the case.
Here is the good news: all the other teams are in the same predicament.
The way forward? Balance your current needs with your future requirements. The current need is for instant improvements. This is important for both your side and for you. Your players want to see themselves as better players, and feel they are making progress.
What gives you this sort of instant success? Fitness is always a winner, as is building on your strengths. Both make sense. Fitter players, executing good skills better, will demonstrate improvement.
But you also have to consider building a team for the future – and developing tactics and techniques, which takes time. In which case you say the following to your team: “We need to improve our [INSERT HERE YOUR TECHNICAL/TACTICAL WEAKNESS], and will implement a plan to have to be better in [INSERT NUMBER] weeks’ time”.
Every week, you can build up the sophistication of that tactic and technique. Small doses, layer on layer of learning and testing. I did this twice in detail recently – once with a defensive system and once with our contact area.
For example, we had no proper ruck chain (a defensive system around the ruck) which could pressure the opposition on slow ball. I told them it would take time, and we built it up in stages. We spent ten to fifteen minutes each week – first on getting players into position, then on moving forward, then on arriving from different situations.
It worked in its full form after six weeks, the time when I said we would judge our progress. Patience paid off for developing higher order skills.
Fast line speed around the breakdown is crucial when trying to shut down an attack. Use this defensive activity to get organised quickly and put the opposition carriers under pressure. MORE
This session works on balance and reaction. Players enjoy the challenge of moving backward before racing forward with the ball or to tackle. There are lots of chances to use good communication and teamwork. MORE
Last week, I accidentally did something good. And then I realised that I should have been doing it from the start. I had set up an exercise which was based on an activity my son had suggested. I was so concerned with making the activity work, I became overly focused on one aspect. By the... MORE
Play games where there are 360 goal lines or multiple angles to score from, so every player in attack and defence has to be moving and communicating off-the-ball to help score or prevent scores. MORE
Match-time tackling can be 1 v 1, but often it’s a team effort, especially for younger players. Use this simple activity to build confidence, communication and tackle technique. MORE
The defender who’s very low and over the ball at the tackle area is very difficult to remove. If you decide not to coach the “croc roll”, what are your alternatives. MORE
Encourage all the best attributes in a good defensive line with this game of slide and hammer. It will improve your teams’ line speed and cohesiveness. MORE
Organisation and line speed are the foundations of an offensive defence. This activity develops the lines of running, communication and speed to put pressure on the attack. MORE
