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Supreme Being
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Last Login: 08/12/2009 18:08:23
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As I am sure you all know, the ability of a player to keep his (or her) eyes open while tackling is very important. Indeed coaches in gridiron and RL stress its importance. How else can the tackler see to parry the fend, react to attempted offloads, pin the arms of the ball carrier etc.
Does anyone have any techniques that they use for teaching this skill? All I have come across so far is from gridiron where they put helmets on and the coach whacks players on the helmet to see if they blink! Players can also play a version of stare-out whilst clashing helmets etc. Close observation by the coach of players hitting bags and tackling sleds is also used. (This is a bit easier for them as the sleds don't collapse like a bag and they often have their bags suspended in overhead frames on runners etc)
Keeping eyes open in contact would clearly be useful for attackers too.
Chris
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Forum Newbie
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Last Login: 08/08/2007 11:50:41
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| A difficult one and I don't have an answer but, hitting the kids round the head, helmet or not, may not be in line with the club's Child Protection Policy!
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Supreme Being
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Helmets may work, but I think you'd probably be back to square one once the helmets came off. I think patience and practise are the only effective ways to coach this, with constant reminders to your players.
Toby Curthoys
Publisher, Better Rugby Coaching www.betterrugbycoaching.com
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Junior Member
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| I have been considering this subject for a while as it is important for all players in many aspects of the game. What you have to remember is that shutting the eyes is an autonomic reaction ( subconscious decision) by the body to a contact situation for prevention of injury to the eyes., similar to the body tensing before contact. This means you have to teach players to keep their eyes open in contact situations, &, as with anything you teach/learn, some players will be better at it than others. With any teaching process you start small & build as competence/skill grows. One I have tried is to get players to tackle a tackle bag, but stay on their feet & then get them to put the bag on a cone 1m behind the bag. This means they have a contact situation, but have to look for the cone to place the bag on, so trying to encourage them to keep their eyes open. You can also have 3 or 4 cones of different colours & call which colour you want the bag on (this makes players think more). If started slowly you can see how players improve. It also a good one for players to watch their peers to stop cheating & have a bit of fun whilst learning a new skill. This can then be progressed in any number of ways.
Ruck, Ruck, & Ruck again.
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Supreme Being
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What an excellent idea Tight 5 - not only does it encourage the players to keep their eyes open but also reinforces good tackling technique - the idea of which being for the tackler's feet to stay on the ground while the ball carrier's feet leave the ground.
As you say it could be progressed in many ways - I will need to think of ways of encouraging the player to keep eyes open pre-and post contact. Fend parrying drills would be one way pre-contact. Ball stripping could be another.
Chris
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Junior Member
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You passed over the "helmets" idea too quickly. I cover this topics extensively in www.ironrugby.com
I know of no other way than this to practice the keeping of the eyes open. Basically you just keep bashing the kid in the face until he learns that closing your eyes simply does not solve it.
Every team should have a few sets of helmets and pads for defense training. How else do you train at impact intensity?
Here is a tip on the eye thing. You can ussually pick it up in the gym. If the kid is closing his eyes on his bench press, changes are he is clsoing them in the tackle. Get him to stare into the pain on Bench press and you are the first step in the right direction.
Philip Copeman
www.ironrugby.com
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Supreme Being
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Hi Philip,
Good to hear from you. I would love to have a set of helmets and pads if budgets allowed. Sadly the average club is not all that well off. The pads are not so bad but the helmets are really dear. If you know of any second hand kit suppliers (pref. in the UK) let me know! I would also like one of those frame things with the bag on a rail so it slides across - not sure what they are called. My wish list is bigger than my budget!
In the absence of that bag-on-a-rail thing I read recently of the following drill (from Steve Johnson):
3 players, 1 heavy bag. Players line up 5m apart (could be more) bag in the middle. Player 1 advances towards the bag, breaks down into the "hitting position" and delivers a firm, upwards hit picking up the bag. Player 1 carries the bag, using short choppy steps towards player 2 and throws it at him in the vertical position.
Player 2, already in the hitting position, delivers a strong upwards hit to the bag and, grasping it firmly carries it and throws it at player 3 who awaits in the hitting position.
The bag should stay in the vertical position throughout the drill. Continue for as long as the players show good form, not longer. As players become more practiced at the drill more motion can be introduced with receiving players advancing towards the carrier, breaking down into the hitting position, feet pummelling the ground to receive/hit the bag.
With such a drill we can work on:
- Eyes open tackling (hard to catch the thing eyes closed or then carry it blind!)
- Breaking down into the hitting position
- The "hitting position" (see ironrugby for a very good illustration and explanation of this)
- Power step (this is effectively a front on "drive tackle" so a same shoulder power step would be approriate)
- The upwards motion and leg drive required to tackle properly
- The head position (sliding to the side as normal - and incidentally as recommended by Coach Tom Bass for front on tackles - Gridiron and RU/RL differ on head position for side on tackles), contact point on shoulder ("head tight to the contact") and arm wrap (gridirion style slamming inside of elbows in first - or otherwise as preferred)
- Controlling the contact/tackle
All in a more dynamic situation than that afforded by a static bag on the ground. Clearly, each aspect will need to have been worked on separately in a more static situation before one can move to a drill like this bringing them all together. But I am looking forward to trying this!
Have a look at this link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gz0_An6RH5k&NR=1 - not only is it a bit of fun, but it is useful to observe how the players making the really big hits do use their legs effectively and time their hits well. Note the head positions and also the phenominal ball retention in contact. When Ruben Wiki (Raiders - green shirts) hits Adrain Lam, this is only moments after Lam received the ball. Ditto Humono's hit on that unfortunate Bulldog! That Rabbitohs prop (no 11) sure makes an impact! I know some of these savage RL hits look a bit high for delicate RU sensibilities however no lasting damage was done. Chest high hits are the norm in both NRL and Superleague and does not lead to serious injury.
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Forum Newbie
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My 2 cents...
Using visual aids, such as color coded equipment can also be used.
So try to employ a situation where he is performing a tackle (bag or player) and getting the coach to signal something at that moment.
Example: The player runs in, executes his tackle, and as the player makes contact the coach raises a hand. One the player is back on his feet he has to call which hand was raised by the coach.
To make it harder to guess, use color coded cards and he has to call the color. If his eyes are closed, he wont be getting it right.
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Forum Newbie
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Thats ok for juniors over the legal age for wieght training but for players under the age of 16.
M.L.Barry
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Junior Member
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Sorry its taken me so long to get back to you, but I want offer a solution here that does not use the helmets as I mentioned on www.ironrugby.com (Helmets is still my recommended way).
Rico Hattingh is a friend of mine in Cape Town, South Africa. He is the Heavyweight Mixed Martial Arts Cage fighting champion of SA and has had numerous fights in the US and UK, so take him seriously. He got this technique from Mike Bernado - also Cape Town, ex world champion kick boxer.
This is how you get a fighter to keep his eyes open in contact:
Back the fighter up against a wall, back foot on the wall and head about 6 inches from the wall. There is no way he can step backward or move his head backward without hitting it on the wall.
The fighter holds his guard up and looks at the coach - in the eyes - through the guard. Fighter can only protect and not hit back at the coach! Now start out slow slapping him left right and straight, with a few body shots. He must maintain eye contact with you. As he starts to get it you let him have it with a really hard one. It is only in the hard one that he gets to used to looking into the pressure and staying alert.
Its also a great exercise in "not giving way". It is crucial to get rugby players to respect the gain line. Revisit the exersize periodically.
Philip Copeman
www.ironrugby.com
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