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RE: Better Passing for u12-16

DanC — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 09:36:56 GMT

Hitch

I agree with the "to" the player, but for a crash ball, I emphasise at the player, normally his back shoulder and firmly.

If you are feeling very player centred, then this is an excellent opportunity to use questions to draw out this skill.

RE: Better Passing for u12-16

hitch — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 18:40:49 GMT

Hi Dan,

I emphasise passing for the player rather than at the player. I also agree with you that the running up and down the pitch method of coaching handling has no significant place compared with practice under pressure and perhaps most importantly under duress (when tired). We are adding handling sessions after our fitness work to improve this crucial aspect of the game.

RE: Better Passing for u12-16

John Bourke — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 17:06:30 GMT

Dan - with regrads the U16s handling skills I think it is vital that the grip is practised over and over. What I do is to get them to raise their hands to eye level in preparation of receipt of the ball. The hands must stay raised even in their run after the scrum half has distributed. I also encourage active grip pressure once the ball hits the hands as if they were trying to burst a balloon! Even if the release is going to be very quick the grip must be in place. This is even more relevant in wet conditions. This is a tedious aspect to training but a very worthwhile one nonetheless. How many tries in a season are lost due to the bad catch - not the bad pass!!.

Regards,

John Bourke

Newcastlewest U16 Coach

RE: Better Passing for u12-16

steve johnson — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 12:58:46 GMT

In my younger days, I think I adhered (too) rigidly to the vertical (Barry Honan)/half moon pass, then one evening I watched Gregor Townsend training at Northampton, and his action completely threw me. He caught the ball in front of the body, and hardly moved his arms at all when delivering the ball. It was all wrists. I asked Ian MacGeeghan about the catch and pass after the session, and he said that the reduced movement sped up the delivery of the ball considerably.

Took it back to my youngsters, and we quickly found those who could and those who couldn't. So, we adapted, all had their hands up to catch the ball at waist/chest height, and the ball was delivered, sometimes in a horizontal plane, and sometimes in a (classical) vertical "Barry Honan" plane. As long as the pass was successful, I accepted both ways.

RE: Better Passing for u12-16

cjp — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 20:54:52 GMT

An alternative to a downward loop is to push the hands along the line of the waistband directly at the target.

You are right about the head moving first. An Australian coach I met last year advocated turning the head before all else. In a quick pass down the line a player would catch, adjust grip to the correct grip (vital that this become instinctive upon receipt of the ball), snap the head towards the target etc. This enables early location of the target. Pass is made off the foot furthest from the target, hips and shoulders turned to target.

This pre-season we have done some work on simple drawing the defender and making the pass. Setting up a 4 on 3 in a 20+m blindside situation - 1st 3 players draw and pass to put last man over in the corner. This requires the ball carrier to get close to the defender to fix him but deliver a pulled back pass to the next player who must be deep enough to have time to repeat the process. Some players who are unused to turning their bodies when passing have really struggled to deliver the necessary pass. It is surprising just how deep the receiver needs to be.

RE: Better Passing for u12-16

Ferret — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 14:46:26 GMT

... I agree, it's difficult to describe in words but I think what you are looking for is a kind of "half-moon" downward swing of the ball as it crosses in front of the body, coming back up to the same height as it is released. This way the ball should move right-to-left (or vice versa) in the same plane and any variation would be more up-and-down.

The hips need to swivel ideally slightly ahead of the hands so the passer can get a good view of the receiver before the ball leaves his hands.

The danger of course is that he might start to turn his head to look for the receiver before he has caught the ball, thus taking his eye off it at a crucial moment, still no-one said it was easy.

Haven't encountered any Samoans yet, will let you know if I see any...!:)

RE: Better Passing for u12-16

cjp — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 14:19:10 GMT

For me when considering any technique it is well to start from first principles. What is a pass? An answer is the safe transference of the ball from one team mate to another. The bottom line is that the pass needs to get to where it is intended. Any technique needs to deliver this fundamnetal requirement. It must be accurate and, importantly, repeatable especially under pressure. The technique must be able to withstand pressures and stresses put on the player be they fatigiue, opposition pressure, mental pressure etc.

A technique that is awkward, unnatural or that does easily deliver consistent accuracy should be discounted as it is more likely to fail when pressured. For me, any technique that cramps the arms and restricts their natural movement would fall into that category. So techniques where the ball is held high and passed from a high position look iffy to me. Will the required deft and carefully weighted wrist flick be so deft and carefully wieghted when you can see a 100Kg Samoan centre about to put your lights out? I think not.

Physics also plays a part. Passers are human, they will not always be spot on accurate especially when under pressure. So the technique must recognise this variability. Can this error be accommodated? Barry Honan eloquently argues in favour of passing techniques where the swing of ball and arms (such as it is) is in the vertical plane. Errors will be up and down rather than in front or behind the receiver as would be the case with a more horizontal arm swing. This is just a physical fact. A high pass or a low pass, although not ideal, is catchable in a way that a ball in front or behind is not (unless you have an 'S' on your chest and a cape on your shoulders!).

Sounds obvious, but the technique must be such as to afford the passer a good view of the receiver. Not sure a "no look' pass is really the way forward for general use. The passer must be able to turn his upper body sufficently to see the receiver, especially a deep running receiver.

Considerations such as where the player runs after delivering the pass and that sort of thing are secondary to pass accuracy/completion.

RE: Better Passing for u12-16

Ferret — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 14:11:40 GMT

Even more basic, but always worth repeating...with my guys I try to emphasize the need to reach out for the pass ... this enables the pass straight through, with the wrists. If it is caught too far back into the body, they have to 'reverse' it before they can pass it on.

I then point out that a second saved like this on each pass can mean three or four seconds at the end of the line, and with our winger, a three second start might as well be three days... they're not going to catch him!

Tim

RE: Better Passing for u12-16

didds — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 13:22:32 GMT

... for the push pass, keeping the inside elbow (the elbow on the side that the direction of the pass is to be) tucked against the body should help keep the plane of the ball upright (makes it easier to catch), and also keeps the plane of the arm movement reasonably level (less chance of the ball heading to the floor or above the head)

didds

Better Passing for u12-16

DanC — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:19:16 GMT

I am currently working with the cream of the crop with the Young Osprey boys for next year's under 16s. I thought it would interesting to share some ideas that I am looking at and see what others say. The ideas are definitely for all standards by the way!

Here are some basics:

1. Grip: emphasise splayed fingers and fingers only to catch.

I have been doing this for the last six weeks, relentlessly. Ball manipulation is improving (slowly) but surely.

2. Natural arcs: get the ball above hip height

A flat pass and an easier pass to catch is a pass that moves along the same plane. If you can encourage your players to hold and pass the ball above hip height, the elbows will bend, the wrists will cock and the pass will fly better.

Don't get too hung up on exact angles and of course players will have different arm/body lengths, drooping shoulders etc. But it will help them keep upright, balanced and follow through to the target.

Look forward to seeing what else coaches throw in....