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TEAM MANAGEMENT: How I reversed a 58 point loss (Huw Price)
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MOTIVATION FOR TRAINING: Reinvigorate your coaching (Dan Cottrell)
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MOTIVATION FOR THE MATCH: Motivating the team for match day (Peter Tann)
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE
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Reader's choice: One of the tools I most appreciate
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The Huddle: Team of champions, but not a champion team
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Jargon busting: Player centred approach
* Team management *
How I reversed a 58 point loss
By Huw Price, one of the International Rugby Technical Journal's first subscribers (from when it was called "Rugby Coach")
To beat a side that his team had lost to by over 50 points at the beginning of the season, Huw Price and his coaches had to make significant improvements – and quickly. In part one of two articles, Huw tells how he changed his team's attitude.
I coach my son's Under 15 team and have done so for many years. We have always enjoyed our rugby, but have never competed with the best teams on an equal pegging. When we lost 58-0 at the start of the season it was time for that to change.
From what I learnt, I believe there are some important lessons that you could easily use to turn your team around, and keep your season alive.
Long, hard and open discussion
The first part of any major change is for you and your coaches to be prepared to change.
We have a group of coaches of various degrees of experience and we met to have a full and frank discussion. It was not comfortable and not a quick meeting. However, we came away with some important conclusions:
- We needed to bring in some expertise.
- As a coaching group, each one of us needed to concentrate on a particular area.
To help our discussions, we watched a video of the game (and some of the other games).
Involve the team
Though we recognised as a coaching group the need for change, we knew that it was the players who had to accept the change. It could be that their ambitions were not the same as ours. A team meeting was convened to find out.
We asked them as a group what their opinions were of how we played and how we wanted to play. The questions we asked were challenging. Despite these being 14 year old boys, we needed the players to express their true feelings.
Having managed my own business for many years, I know that in any environment, it is important that the participants tell you want their feel, not what they want you to hear.
They admitted that they needed to change because they did not like losing in the manner that they were. Though it took some discipline on our part, we kept asking the questions and they did the talking.
Time for a change
What happened next was they started to talk about the specifics of how they wanted to change, including tactically. We, as a coaching group, learnt much about what we needed to concentrate on.
For instance, talking about the team that had beaten them so heavily, they identified that the opposition teams were quickly up in defence, used their number 8 and blindside winger extensively and were far more aggressive at the breakdown.
Key questions to ask your team
- What is your attitude to the way we play?
- What is your attitude to the way we train?
- Where do you see the team going this season and into the future?
- Where do you see yourself going this season and into the future?
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Creating the winning environment
After the player meeting, we had a chance to implement some of the ideas immediately. Though this was going to take time to see the full effects, we could make significant progress by addressing some of our shortcomings.
First, we noticed how poorly we approached each match on arrival at the ground. The players tended to look over at the other team, noticing how well they warmed up and there were already players predicting defeat.
We completely banned any negative or defeatist comments. The team was not allowed to look at the opposition. We insisted that we did not waver from a positive attitude to the game.
Summary
- Be prepared to be open to criticism within your coaching group and know that things need to change.
- Video games and look at the evidence rather than rely on "what you think happened".
- The team needs to want to change.
- Ask challenging questions of the team to understand their true feelings.
- Create a positive environment but cutting out the negative comments.
- Pre-match, the team's focus is on their own team, not the opposition.
In the next issue of Better Rugby Coaching, Huw looks at the changes you can make tactically.
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This article is reproduced from the International Rugby Technical Journal.
Particularly designed for Level 2 and 3 coaches, every month the Journal bursts into your email inbox brimming with expert, validated tactics and techniques provided by top level coaches around the world.
The latest issue contains these articles:
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Rolling the tackled player - Doug McClymont, renowned New Zealand biomechanist, on the techniques your players need to win more tackle ball.
High performance team mindset - David Melville, Symphony Team Building, on profiling your players' personalities to maximise the team's performance.
Four kick off strategies - Jim Love, head coach of Arix Viadana, the Italian Super 10 club, on using your kick off to exploit weaknesses in the opposition.
Get a better grip on handling - Damian McGrath, Head of Performance at Huddersfield Giants RLFC and former RFU skills coach, on the rugby league techniques used to improve handling skills in and out of contact.
Win the kicking game in your own 22 - Steve Gough, a Level 3 and professional kicking coach, on constructing a kicking plan out of defence, to maximise the pressure on the opposition.
Three ways to win the 7s World Cup - Paul John, coach of 2009 World Cup winning Wales 7s team, on how defence, conditioning and contact are key to 7s.
The International Rugby Technical Journal is only available by subscription from Better Rugby Coaching.
Click here to read more on the Journal, to subscribe and to download the latest 3 issues today.
* Motivation for training *
Reinvigorate your coaching
By Dan Cottrell
Legendary ex-Wallabies coach Bob Dwyer once said: "You can't win without good players, but you can definitely lose with good players. Good coaches don't lose with good players." Here are some ways to refresh your coaching, with some tried and tested methods to reinvigorate your sessions.
Coach with the team
Let the team help make coaching decisions. Don't dictate, facilitate – make the players the centre of their development by asking for their opinions.
A team meeting with pen and a blank piece of paper can be just as valuable as hitting bags. You can learn from what they have to say. However, you must have the final word.
Maintain authority, but ready to concede
Be organised but be flexible – failure to prepare is preparing to fail. However, a rigid plan may not be as productive as a flexible session.
A great practice does not need to tick all the coaching boxes, in fact it only needs to tick one – development. Other parts of the session may well be sidelined until next time.
The simple lesson is to have an extension plan if you need it – but a bail out plan if the session goes wrong.
Enhance your own style
Be yourself as a coach and then use the styles of those you admire to enhance this state – though there are some common factors amongst the best coaches, there are also a wide variety of styles of delivery.
At conferences, or on TV, the best seem to be at ease with themselves and with the material. Their style in person is not far from their day-to-day style of communication.
Their language and actions are carefully considered selections of previous influences. Clive Woodward, for instance, used to refer back constantly to Jim Greenwood. Top tips for reinvigoration
Praise the little things lots – A player who gets the little things right all the time can make as much difference as the player who makes one significant change to the game.
So, plenty of praise for a good body position in contact, a ball in front of the passer, a good scrummage.
Build the "little by little" players up – They are the ones who you can rely on each week to get things right.
Go back to defence – The most difficult part of the game is using the ball. You need to ruck, maul, pass, kick and run from depth. Defence is easier.
If your side is struggling to make much headway with their attack, try going back to defence. It is simpler to set targets (number of tackles a match), have prizes for the best tackle and it is more likely that all the players can share in this success.
You can then build confidence and belief.
In games, it is amazing how sides will wilt in the face of an excellent defensive side.
Cue cards – Think deeply about what you are going to say in practices and then put it on card. Then refer to them in the session to keep your coaching momentum going.
Theme for the week – Outline a theme at the beginning of each week with the team. For example, quick ruck ball or fast hands. At the end of the practice return to the theme and ask if it has been achieved.
Indulge yourself and look the part – If you are very lucky your club will provide a training top – go one better and buy yourself a quality waterproof.
You deserve it.
Learn from junior coaches – Watching other coaches is immensely instructive. Sometimes, we concentrate on listening only to the top coaches when actually there is so much to learn from even the rawest material.
Seeing a youth session at a club as a spectator is highly recommended, if only for half an hour to understand what can be achieved. Often the youth coach is learning as they are going along, but are bringing fresh perspectives you can use in your own sessions, youth or senior.
This article is reproduced from the International Rugby Technical Journal.
Only available by subscription from Better Rugby Coaching, click here to read more on the Journal, to subscribe and to download the latest 3 issues today.
* Reader's choice *
"One of the tools I most appreciate"
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The International Rugby Technical Journal (formerly Rugby Coach) is one of the tools I most appreciate to consult in my investigations.
I like the actual and simple way that all the matters are presented.
Tomaz Morais, Head Coach of Portugal Rugby, described by the IRB as an "outstanding" coach |
Click here to read more on the Journal, to subscribe and to download the three most recent issues today.
* The Huddle *
Team of champions, but not a champion team
Here's a question posed by "cak2950" on The Huddle, my online forum for rugby coaches:
I co-coach a not so committed U18 team down under. This age group has many disadvantages as I found out throughout this season.
The clubs we are competing with are local schools and representative age group teams. Unfortunately, my team has 12 school and state representatives, and these players will attend this training instead.
We have averaged about 5 devoted players at club training throughout the year. So many times we have scraped up a side and gone through lineout and backline moves, 30 minutes before the game.
The team has many talented individuals and we have managed to win 75% of our games this year. This weekend we will struggle for players again, but this time its the major semi-final.
We will play the top side for a position in the final, they have pace out wide and always find holes in these positions regardless of how many defensive drills, reminding players of watching the switch, etc...
Apart from the attendance this year, my main gripe is the attitude of my representative players "I'm better than you cause I represent so and so", which really pains me to hear!
Does anyone have inspirational sayings that I can pass on during a motivational talk! What can I say to my rep players, instead of "Pull your head out of your a**!"?
Click here to read the post and to leave your own comments.
* Motivation for the match *
Motivating the team for match day
By Peter Tann, a rugby coach and sport psychologist
Peter Tann specialises in the mental approach to the game. In this article, he looks at some of the problems of preparing your team psychologically for a match.
Ask the players
First and foremost, talk to the players. Do they share your views? Ask them to complete a questionnaire about their reasons for playing rugby, how they prepare for a match and what (if any) motivational techniques they use or work for them. Then, discuss possible routines that the players can follow in preparing for a match.
Questions players could ask themselves in preparing a pre-match routine
- How much preparation do I like/need, when and why?
- What do I like/dislike about events the week/day before the game?
- Which of these events are under/beyond my control?
- What about events on the day, at the ground before kick-off?
- Does an organised routine for the warm-up already exist?
- What kind of things/events can make me feel confident or anxious before a game?
- Do certain mental training techniques work better for me than others?
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The insights gained from their answers will help guide you in motivating your players. For example, someone who is playing for largely social reasons is less likely to respond to "blood, sweat and tears" type exhortations.
The routine at the ground
Players shouldn't leave all their mental preparation until they arrive at the club or ground. Once at the ground, they should follow a set routine.
A lot of match day anxiety is caused by concentrating on factors beyond your control. Having a set routine encourages players to focus on those factors they have greater control over and this in turn helps in motivating them to go out and perform.
Discuss this with your players first. If they have been involved in formulating the routine they are far more likely to come up with one that suits them.
Motivating individually
Spend more time motivating players as individuals. Keep the collective team talk short and to the point, emphasising a few key collective points.
Individual discussions will raise awareness of the different motivational needs and techniques of the different players – sensitivity to others is not always at the front of every player's mind!
Be flexible – different situations and different players will require different approaches. Sometimes all that will be required is a quiet word or reminder here and there, at others a more forceful statement of intent is required.
Getting players to focus on their own performance is a key part of motivating them on match day.
Your team comes first
Don't dwell on past matches, performances, errors or the opposition. Concentrate on your team and the players, giving them both specific individual and collective tasks to focus on.
As Bob Dwyer used to say, "Concentrate on performing to the best of your ability. The points will take care of themselves".
Some of the less scrupulous American football coaches have been known to loosen the screws on the hinges of the changing-room door on match day so they can burst through at half time to fire up the team.
Other US basketball coaches have handed out what they told their players were special secret NASA performance enhancing pills at the break, when actually they were just sugar sweets. They worked – but only once! |
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What really matters
Avoid the blood and thunder win at all costs approach if possible. Rugby is not a matter of life-or-death and the focus should firmly be on enjoyment.
Yes, winning is important but as I remind my senior players, if that was all that mattered I would arrange all our fixtures against the local junior teams.
You can play badly and win, or brilliantly and lose.
After the game
Don't forget to talk to your players after the match. A well-chosen comment here can pay rich dividends in terms of motivating a player in the future.
Knowing that they did a particular skill well last week gives them something to both build upon and strive for this week.
This article is reproduced from the International Rugby Technical Journal.
Only available by subscription from Better Rugby Coaching, click here to read more on the Journal, to subscribe and to download the latest 3 issues today.
* Jargon busting *
Player centred approach, n
A coaching method that allows players to take control of their own training and learning. The coach acts as a guide, setting the framework, but not dictating.
Supporters of this approach say the benefits include greater motivation, better learning and innovation, meeting the needs of the team rather than those of the coach.
Critics point to too much player power leading to a potential lack of direction and the difficulties in translating a coach's vision through the players.
See also "Coach centred approach", covered in the next issue.
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