Improve your players’ handling by giving them plenty of opportunities to pass the ball in training. Not all the passes are the same, and not all passers either. Help your players discover which works best for them, while giving them hints and tips on how to progress.
Here we have four videos of activities you can mix into your training to develop better passing and then move onto decision-making situations where they can use those passes.
Start with our Fun, competitive, passing warm up. It’s ideal for all ages of players and isolates the top half of the body. The competitive element makes the players look for ways to win, which, in turn, leads to them thinking more about their hand positions and follow through.
Take this detail to the next stage with Make kids better passers. This exercise from Mark Calverley has the players giving direct feedback to their peers on the accuracy of their skills. It’s great because it allows the players to become coaches, so making them think more deeply about their own skills.
Then we have video activities from two experienced skills coaches. Ben Pegna, who worked with the Wasps academy shows us how we can use an enhanced Game of netball to focus on better handling in a more chaotic environment.
Rob Appleyard, who coached the Dragons and was a skills coach with the WRU has a great warm-up 3 v 2 activity which can be used in training and before matches to get in plenty of ball work and decisions.
Use this kneeling down passing exercise to work on good upper body style for passing, where the players use their shoulders and hip rotation to generate power in the pass, and elbows and wrist to create acceleration and accuracy. It's also good for working on catch and pass techniques in isolation. MORE
Develop your players’ skills within a games environment. Mix questioning, demonstration and instruction to allow the players to understand
their roles and responsibilities. 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
Use this game-skill-game approach to develop your players tackling skills and game awareness of how to complete the tackle. It focuses on footwork and shoulder contact. MORE
Not all rucks are made the same and neither are the players. Especially in the forwards, the difference in height can mean they need to explore varied techniques. Here’s how… MORE
Here’s how you can mix up your training session when you are working with the forwards to ensure they concentrate on the rucking techniques they are most likely to use. MORE
A lot of rugby is a race – who’s first to the ball. In this activity, it’s who’s first to the ruck and then who’s first to be in a strong position to win or retain the ball. MORE
Here is a new contact activity, and how I would introduce it to players who've not seen it before. The activity itself works on good techniques in the ruck area and decision making around the tackle. This is part two, when I add some knowledge to their current understanding, to build up their skillset. MORE
