Filed under: Dan Cottrell, Rugby Fitness, Rugby Training | Tags: Rugby Fitness, Ospreys, rugby warm ups, aerobic rugby, anaerobic rugby, Chris Jones olympics, Huw Bevan
Canadian Team Warm Up
Activate the brain and muscles
This blast of hard work is short-lived, and does not use up too much of the energy needed for the game. The anaerobic energy is restored with a short break before the start of the game, supplemented with energy foods and drinks.
The workout engages the brain and muscles together so they are working in unison in readiness for the match.
In an series of articles in next month’s Rugby Coach Newsletter, I will explain how Chris Jones’ research, based in part on the Gold Medal winning success of our athletes in the Olympics, can be used for your team’s benefit. Also Huw Bevan will show you how to put this into practice with your own team.
It will give you key ways to:
- manage your team’s warm up,
- use food and drink to restore the right energy levels prior to the match,
- understand what gets the players ready the quickest,
- know what to avoid in the warm up.
I have tested these methods in the last month on my own teams, and I can testify that the first 15 minutes of the performance has been excellent, well above normal expectations.
For further information on Chris Jones and his high performance techniques, click here.
Filed under: Dan Cottrell, Rugby Coaching, Rugby Fitness, Rugby Training | Tags: chirs jones coach, pre-season, preseason, rugby conditioning, Rugby Fitness, rugby weights
There are too many “beach” fitness gurus around these days and not enough true sports’ fitness experts. By beach fitness I mean people who will tell you how to look great on the sand this summer but don’t know whether it will help you last 80 minutes on the rugby field.
The other week I had the pleasure of meeting someone who is at the cutting edge of fitness. Chris Jones trains Olympic triathletes and his services are in demand all around the world for high performance coaching.
Filed under: Dan Cottrell, Rugby Coaching, Rugby Fitness, Rugby Team Management | Tags: being dropped, managing expectations, Ospreys, regional rugby, selection
It is going to be tough time for 40 boys in the Osprey region (Wales) next week. The Under 16 and Under 18 squads need to trim their numbers by 20 each after trials over this weekend and the start of next week.
It is not only the boys who suffer, but also their parents who have invested time and travel expenses ferrying their sons to and from the training sessions.
For both squads it has been an intense four weeks, with three evenings a week of fitness and skills (some of these from me!). The players are fitter, stronger and more attuned to a higher level of rugby. But for some it will feel that the dream ends now.
Filed under: Dan Cottrell, Rugby Fitness, Rugby Skills | Tags: coaching technique, contact rugby, judo, rugby safety, Rugby Skills, tackle situation
Here is a Judo throw which you might be able to use in your rugby training.
REMEMBER: safety first. Work on soft grounds with prepared players.
But, as Craig’s blog post asks below, is it legal?
Filed under: Better Rugby Blog Guests, Rugby Coaching, Rugby Fitness, Rugby Skills, Rugby Training | Tags: judo, Rugby Coaching, Rugby Fitness, Rugby Training, rugby training technqiues
Craig McKay, a Rugby Coach subscriber from Grimsby, UK, says that certain professionals in rugby are telling us that judo is a necessary part of development training for young players, even Premiership players. He wants to know why.
Something is bothering me.
My son trains with the local professional club’s development squad and so I get hear about some of the current thinking in rugby. And one of those ideas which keeps coming up is using judo training to enhance the ability of players in contact.
I want to know more. It sounds like a good thought, but I need some more convincing.
Here are my five must know questions… (more…)
Filed under: Better Rugby Blog Guests, Rugby Coaching, Rugby Fitness, Rugby Refereeing, Rugby Skills, Rugby Team Management, Rugby Training | Tags: Rugby Skills, rugby players, Rugby Tactics, Colin Astley, rugby game, rugby coach, rugby conditioning, rugby coach specialising
Once upon a time while in discussion about our wonderful game of rugby, a “non-believer” couldn’t see the point of continuously running across the field to a breakdown. Why not? Because on arriving at there, you simply see the ball go back in the opposite direction, so you have to run to where you have come from.
Of course, I defended the nature of our game to the hilt, but in the cold light of the day and many years of thinking about it, I think the “non- believer” could have had a valued point. And that this has broad implications for rugby coaching at a grass roots level.
One of my pastimes in the name of research for rugby conditioning is noting how long into the game it takes the front row, then the second row and then, dare I say, the back row to start walking following a set piece. This “research” is only carried out at grassroots and lower league games, as the higher the standard you go the more physically impossible it is due to the speed of the game to be everywhere, even back rows.
Nick Tatalias, a rugby coach specialising in contact conditioning, has an interesting theory about this. Quoting from an article by him:
“The players seen standing on the fringes of the rucks and mauls with hands on knees breathing hard are tired because they are recruiting a much higher percentage of their muscles in each encounter than the opposition players.”
He goes on to say that typically the conditioning coach sees this happening and prescribes more aerobic type conditioning, but that this further exacerbates the problem.
What Nick is saying is that if you are using nearly all your strength in the scrum, there’s nothing left in the tank for work around the field. So he prescribes that greater levels of strength are needed, better anaerobic conditioning and lastly sprint endurance.
But what about the social rugby XVs that are pulled together each weekend? To them the mere mention of training is a swear word.
Well help is at hand for you to conserve even more energy and put an end to running across the pitch only to see the ball move away in the distance. This can be done in various ways to best suit your team but basically it’s like this. Instead of having your forwards trundling or walking across the pitch to the breakdown, but really only getting in the way of the backs, have them stay in channels after a set piece, working up and down the pitch as opposed to across it.
For instance, and depending on who’s attacking or defending, have your front and second rows stand near to or behind or in front of the centres and wings, leaving your back row to cover the entire field. Or split your pack down the middle and have them work the left and right sides of the pitch, depending on their scrum positions. The variations are endless and you could chop and change during the match to suit attack or defence, making the opposition even more confused.
The advantages of this system, I believe, are that it allows for:
• On the shoulder support for offloading the ball in the tackle, getting players into gaps.
• Doubling up in defence, allowing for two man tackles.
• Mini rucks, ensuring you get quicker ball.
• Secure, quicker ball at the breakdown, as your players get there first.
• More of your players to defend in midfield, giving the opposition less options in attack.
• More of your players to attack in midfield, offering you more overlap opportunities.
• More of your players to cover when a team mate is out of position following a move.
You might be thinking what if the opposition use a rolling maul and you haven’t got sufficient numbers to counteract?
Well rolling mauls are hard to stop once they get going and need to be stopped on the outset. However, with the experimental laws (ELVs) being trailed you could soon be able to collapse a maul anyway.
Colin Astley, www.inno-rugby.co.uk
Filed under: Rugby Coaching, Rugby Fitness, Rugby News, Rugby Refereeing, Rugby Skills, Rugby Team Management, Rugby Training, Toby Curthoys | Tags: Better Rugby Coaching, Rugby, Rugby Information, Rugby Newsletter, Rugby Playing Styles, Rugby Skills, Rugby Talent Spotting, Rugby Training
Welcome Coach,
My name is Toby Curthoys. I’m going to be posting my thoughts and views on a wide range of rugby coaching topics in the months ahead. I’ll kick-off by telling you a bit about myself and why we have created this blog.
I am the publisher of Dan Cottrell’s Better Rugby Coaching publications and training aids. Whilst Dan makes sure the quality of everything we do is second to none, my job is to develop our range of products to reflect the needs of rugby coaches worldwide.
Unlike Dan who played to a very high standard, I have no talent for rugby. But I do have a huge passion for the game.
In my opinion there’s room for all styles of play across the vast “rugby spectrum”. I love to see fast open play, with nimble side steps by the hooker and delicate offloads by the fly half.
But I also appreciate the more gladiatorial elements of the game, like the front row combat. And if one team’s route to success is by hoofing the ball into the corners at every opportunity – then good luck to them!
In fact, I think it’s the range of playing styles, skills required and people involved that make rugby such a great game. That and the fact that anyone can play the sport and be challenged by it.
That’s why I am committed to not only helping rugby coaches, but also playing my part in expanding the sport worldwide.
This blog is for everyone involved in rugby coaching and all the issues you face have a place here. We’ll be contributing something new each week, and I’d like to extend an open invitation for you to join in with your comments.
Through this blog we can listen to what you have to say about your coaching issues and, with our many contributors, look at ways to help you.
Whether it’s individual or team skills, coach development, refereeing, player behaviour, discipline, the role of parents, team management and selection, talent spotting or fitness, Rugby Coaching Blog aims to cover it all.
Your feedback and contributions are important and valuable for coaches all over the world, as this blog allows knowledge to be shared among coaches in scores of countries.
Please get involved, comment on this blog and give us your feedback. I promise to do our best to make this the most informative and compelling rugby coaching blog on the web.
If you haven’t already, you may wish to sign up for our Better Rugby Coaching weekly newsletter. As a member, I guarantee you will receive truly valuable rugby coaching tips every week.
Best of all it’s free!
Yours in rugby
Toby Curthoys, Better Rugby Coaching Publisher
Filed under: John Grisby, Rugby Coaching, Rugby Fitness, Rugby Training | Tags: American Football, DNA Performance, Football, John Grisby, Players, Rugby Coaching
This post is by John Grisby
It makes no difference if you do not understand the mechanics of American football, the scoring system, time keeping, or players’ positions. In this specific case, these things are irrelevant to understanding the scope of the coaching achievement.
Over 30 seasons coach Roger Barta has won 273 games, lost 58 and guided his team to six state American football championship titles. His Smith Centre High School team from Kansas are currently on a four-year winning streak. During 2007-2008 they have won 54 games in a row and outscored opponents 844 to 20. They broke a national record set in 1925 by scoring 72 points in the first quarter of a game, and despite replacing the entire senior team before halftime with first year freshmen, they went on to win that game 83-0.
Barta’s approach could not contrast more starkly with the way most coaches push their players in competitive sports. For this team, playing football is almost the last thing on their mind. In fact they are not really bothered about winning games. The “how”, “who”, “what” and “why” of what they do goes far beyond the pitch and gives an entirely different meaning to the word “winning”.
Coach Barta possesses years of technical, tactical and strategic expertise. He still enjoys writing his scouting reports and running the same offensive and defensive formations season after season. Yet there is something very different about how under him, each individual as a member of the team approaches every practice, game and championship title.
What emerges is a picture of how he uses his qualities as a coach, both as a leader and a human being, combined with his football expertise, to make an impact.
That impact starts in the first year a player steps on the field right through to their senior year, and, one would imagine, continues throughout their lives.
Ask any Smith Center player what makes him perform so well and it is probable that he will not mention football but rather the qualities of the coach. Here are some examples:
Purpose - “He puts special things into winning. Small things like silence on the bus and holding hands before taking the field”.
Challenge and enjoyment in the process - “We like to set different goals every game like only allowing ourselves a certain number of yards each time we have the ball”.
Leadership - “As good a coach he is, he’s a better guy. He treats everybody like gold”.
Mentoring and Being - “He speaks with us about how to be men, things like respect - then shows us”.
Responsibility and awareness - “Each player signs a contract to be drug, alcohol and tobacco-free - for ourselves and the team”.
The qualities Barta demonstrates are especially powerful in the critical years when young talent needs to be nurtured in order to flourish. According to the players, the result is a transformational experience for each player.
Coach Barta’s success shows at the very least the enormous potential for a professional development club or youth academy to adopt this approach. If you can develop coaches who have a personal signature powerful enough to inspire people and an entire system, it usually delivers huge returns to the club, to the coaches, and most important of all, to the players.
About the author: John Grisby is a Performance Coach at DNA Performance which helps individuals and teams become aware of their potential www.dnaperformance.co.uk
Filed under: Dan Cottrell, Rugby Coaching, Rugby Fitness, Rugby News, Rugby Refereeing, Rugby Skills, Rugby Team Management, Rugby Training | Tags: Frank Hadden, Rugby Coaching, rugby debate, Rugby Practice, Rugby Skills
After the Osprey’s (the Welsh regional side) lost to Saracens in the Heineken on Sunday, a disappointed head
coach, Lyn Jones was asked by an TV interviewer about the team’s errors.
He was probably thinking “Can it be my fault a 40+ capped international player drops the ball?”
He diplomatically deferred to possible tactical errors. Some newspapers however, were quick to question his rugby coaching ability.
Rugby coaching is about coaching rugby skills. A coach shapes a team’s approach to the scrum and lineout. Each ruck and maul will be influenced by the training sessions and feedback over weeks, months and years.
But as Frank Hadden, the Scotland coach, has said previously in Rugby Coach, it is the player who steps over the whitewash of the touchline to play the game, not you.
It is hard to watch your team play and make unforced errors. It is easy to pin the blame and quickly to look to either the players or yourself for fault. Fuel for your next rugby practice.
The enlightened view is not to blame anybody. Personally I find this hard to do. “Move on, don’t focus on the past, focus on the now” is the mantra that the top players use. Tiger Woods, the world’s best golfer, is a shining example of the removing the blame.
Where does this leave the coach? In the TV interview, he has to say who he blames. To his players, he has to say “let’s play the next game”.
I quite like the approach of Manchester United coach, Alex Ferguson. He says it all in the changing room straight after the game and that’s it. Mind you, I would not like to be on the end of his post match criticism!
Filed under: Dan Cottrell, Rugby Coaching, Rugby Fitness, Rugby News, Rugby Refereeing, Rugby Skills, Rugby Team Management, Rugby Training | Tags: Better Rugby Coaching, Rugby Coaching, rugby debate, sports coaching community
Hi, my name is Dan Cottrell and I want to welcome you to the Better Rugby Coaching Blog.
I have been coaching rugby for over 15 years at lots of different levels and age groups and I want to share my thoughts on some of the current thinking on rugby skills, rugby drills and rugby training, As you may know I am editor of Rugby Coach. We produce a series of rugby coaching resources which covers sessions, practice, plays and tactics on every aspect of the game.
This blog gives me and my team an ideal opportunity to give the latest comment on rugby coaching life-I speak to coaches every day. In fact it is newsworthy when I spend a day not replying to an email, posting a comment on the forum or chatting on the phone to another coach. This blog gives you a window on my coaching world so you can share the hopes, fears and joys of rugby coaching.
I am still learning. I have written over 300,000 words since 2003 on rugby scrums, kicking, rugby defence, tackling amongst many other areas. And I know there are still more words to write. I am open to opinion but I have a set of core values. In the Rugby Coach office we receive plenty of emails every week telling us we are saying the right things, and sometimes disagreeing. We don’t mind the debate. However we take safety and child protection very seriously.
So this blog is for everyone in the coaching community. A chance to hear and share views. And a chance for us to post up some great ideas from others: video, pictures or stories from all around the rugby coaching world.
