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.
