Jack Pattinson, academy and DPP coach at London Irish, in the South of England, talks to me about how he plans his coaching and what principles drive his sessions.
I challenge him about the balance between skills training and game training, what the future player needs to know and how he measures success.
We discuss:
The difference between coaching grassroots and academy rugby
How he helps players love the game
How do we measure success in our coaching
Creating World Class young mean and what that means for a 15 year old
What are the primary principles of the London Irish academy
Should we be coaching players for what the game might look like in five years’ time
Why a coach needs to more than a “catch-pass” teacher
What a plan looks like, and how much it might change
Free play – how to incorporate it into sessions so it adds value
A destination for your coaching plan
The chicken or the egg – do you coach the game and then see what skills are needed or vice versa
How often have you heard: "No, yes, good, great," and then lots of sighing. Does this sound like a coach you know? And does this really seem helpful? Let's consider how we enhance our language to engage players and most importantly understand them. MORE
Bird and LJ welcome Katie Sadleir, general manager Women's Rugby with World Rugby since 2016 and was recognised as one of the top 10 rugby influencers (Rugby World Magazine 2020). MORE
received these two emails within a few hours of each other, so this isn’t an isolated situation. However, I will hasten to add, it’s not a problem either. Up to the age of 17/18, boys grow at very different speeds. This is both physically and mentally. It’s likely that the more “aggressive” teams you face have a number of boys are ahead of the curve in this sense. They are more mature than their peers. MORE
Whether you were hooked or not, Game of Thrones was a phenomenal TV hit. Over 32 million viewers watched season eight. There were lots of reasons why but one which has perhaps a lot to do with the way we should be coaching rugby. MORE
Demanding games tend to be toughest on your best players because they put themselves in the action the most. Help them manage themselves to play for longer. In a tough period of games there will be many players beginning to wane after successive demanding outings. The extent of this waning will depend on their strength... MORE
For years, I've thought the most important principle to coach, both in attack and defence, is "go forward". The other principles support this, as the primary way to score is to go forward. In defence, you need to go forward to stop the attack going forward. I've changed my mind. MORE