Dan talks to Abingdon School’s director of rugby Matt Gold.
We discuss his own experiences of speaking to a stellar cast of coaches in his own lockdown podcast series, Goldy’s Rugby Podcast. We reflect on the lessons he learned from speaking to coaches like Ben Ryan and Sir Gordon Tietjens, especially on resilience and dealing with pressure.
We then explore how he developed an all-embracing season plan at Abingdon. Matt tells how he and his team of staff introduced the plan, the importance of a team approach and how he sold it to the players and the rest of the staff.
We delve into the detail of a session. I challenge Matt on how his team of coaches allow for a differentiated environment and what a typical session might look like.
One of the main lessons from the podcast must be that while the sessions might look rigid on paper, the coaching group is actually adjusting it all the time to suit the players.
We also discuss when and how you empower your players. His story about a particular crucial half time team talk brings into shark relief the power of this approach.
Matt is always delighted to chat with other coaches. Catch him on @gold_matthew or email him at matthew.gold@abingdon.org.uk.
Dan Cottrell speaks to awarding winning coaches Dan Lycett and Ross Williams about their approach to coaching. Dan is head of PE and Sport and Ross is head of Athletic Development at St David's College, in North Wales.
They've won the Independent Schools Association award for outstanding sport (small school) and been nominated for the Independent Schools Association award for innovation, recognising their provision during lockdown.
We chat about how they have introduced a more ecological approach to their coaching, allowing their players to find meaning and have a more self-determined approach. MORE
Dan speaks to RFU national panel referee Adam Wookey about age grade tackle height changes, ball carrier height laws plus the new 50:22 and drop outs instead of 5m scrums being trialled at international rugby. MORE
Dan speaks to Bristol Bears defence coach, Omar Mouneimne.
Omar has coached with the Springbok 7s, the Sharks and Stomers Super Rugby teams, the Italian national team, Stade Francais, Edinburgh, Worcester Warriors as well as plenty of consultancy work. MORE
Dan speaks to coaches Mike Pope and Rhys Williams about how they’ve used what they’ve learned from reading Doug Lemov’s book: A Coach’s Guide to Teaching. Here are some of Doug’s thoughts after listening to the podcast Until it comes unprompted when we aren’t reminded to think about it, we probably haven’t learned it. “Interleaving... MORE
Nick Scott is director of rugby at Rugby Colorno. He previously spent 20 years helping to build a world respected coaching department at England Rugby, with 9 years as National Coach Development Manager.
We chatted about:
Why Nick isn't a reflective coach
When not to use questions
Speaking a different language in a different country
Building better relationships with people, not just players MORE
Dan chats to Lisa Lane Brown about how we can practically improve mental toughness with our athletes and players.
Drawing on her experience, first as a world-class ice hockey player and then as a mental skills coaches, she gives us recognisable steps for flipping the switch from nerves into confidence. MORE
