Filed under: Dan Cottrell, Rugby Coaching, Rugby Skills, Rugby Training | Tags: American Football, aussie rules, catching, contact, footwork, kicking, tackling
American Football and Aussie Rules
I have put two “national” sports together because they are not widely played elsewhere in the world. I know there is an American Football League in Europe and there are pick up games of Aussie Rules played in places like London, but the reality is that these sports are very closely associated from their countries of origin.
Each game has a strong cultural bias and most of the key thinking comes only from those countries. In that sense they lack a global perspective. It does not mean that rugby cannot learn much from their coaching processes and techniques.
Enough of why I put them together, what can we learn from them.
Aussie Rules
Kicking. The game’s main means of transferring the ball and the only way to score points is through the use of the “drop punt”. This kick is dropped onto the striking foot so the end is kicked and there is no spiral. The result is a straighter kick than a spiral kick and an easy ball to catch. Remember these players are aiming for their team mates to catch the ball.
Catching. I think that Rugby Union is beginning to employ the hands above style of catch used in Aussie Rules more and more. For kick off receipts, it is the method most commonly used by second rows. For cross kicks, it helps the jumper reach the ball before his opponent. The height of the jump and style of jumping is a key element in this.
American Football
Tackling. Despite the “padding”, tackling in American Football still needs to be as technically efficient as a rugby tackle. Though the ball carrier rarely offloads the ball, the tackle has to bring the player to the ground. It is well worth looking at the footwork required and head position. For some further thoughts see Philip Copeman’s Iron rugby site.
Footwork. Avoiding contact and making effective contact needs footwork which was way ahead of the game of rugby for many years. We are catching up, but could still learn more. Better body shapes for contact come from a strong base.
Kicking. The punting style in American Football was adopted by Dave Alred who then coached Jonny Wilkinson, plus other top kickers.
Filed under: Dan Cottrell, Rugby Skills, Rugby Training | Tags: Cliff Richard, coaching kids, coaching secrets, tackling
There’s no secret about success. Did you ever know a successful man who didn’t tell you about it?
So said Kin Hubbard, the American cartoonist, humorist, and journalist of the early 1900′s.
There are many “secrets” of successful tackling that you are told about. But Hubbard would not have realised that the real secrets that the successful coach won’t tell you about occur in the next stage.
The second session of tackling is more vital than the first. The secret to a successful tackle is the follow through. That is actually a literal and physical statement. You need to follow through the coaching and the player needs to follow through the tackle.
The technique of tackling is about making AND completing the tackle. Players who complete the tackle will not miss the tackle. To complete the tackle, the tackler should land on top of the tackled player, or at worst be in a position to get to their feet before the tackled player can do so. Half tackles allow continuity. Half tackles can lead to quarter tackles where the ball carrier breaks free.
So the secret I am revealing is thus: Practise the follow through and completion of the tackle in the second session. This neatly builds on the first session and enhances the skills to “make” the tackle. And those skills are good footwork to get close to the ball carrier, a strong impact with the shoulder, a ring of steel with the arms, leg drive through the tackle and using the body to twist and roll with the tackle.
Who is the best celebrity tackler?
I found this piece on Cliff Richard in Contact Music.com
The British crooner, 67, is now well-known for his mild-mannered stage persona, but as a youngster he was a feisty athlete – scaring his schoolmates with his dominating style of play.
In a new book, Cliff Richard: The Bachelor Boy, former pupil Pete Bush recalls, “He was an absolute madman on the rugby pitch. He would go for you and his whole intention was to get you.
“He was terribly aggressive. He would go in hard. No one wanted to get tackled by Harry Webb, as we knew him in those days. He didn’t mind getting dirty.”
Brian Cooke, another student at Cheshunt School in England, adds, “He was pretty good at football and rugby. Also, a lot of people don’t realise that he was undoubtedly the best scrapper in the school. You didn’t play around with him. You wouldn’t have gone around picking on him.”
