| YOUR POSITION ½ Back | Key relationship 1 1st 5/8 | Key relationship 2 No.8 | Key relationship 3 Wings- blindside | Key relationship 4 All forwards |
| What can I do to help him? | Good service Take pressure off him by kicking and running Responding well to his calls. Be aware of his needs for the type of delivery needed for running or kicking. Communicate well on defence. | Keep him informed of options at scrum. Communicate constantly with him. Tell him what I’m doing on defence.Make sure he knows the backline intentions. | Respond well to his calls. Give him voice when ball kicked to him. Have a good calling system so that I can let him know if we are coming his way-passing,running,or kicking and what type. Communicate on defence | Give them direction on attack and defence. Specifics of what and where they should be and what to do. Be clear as to what is happening next. |
| What can he do to help me? | Make passing the ball easier under pressure by his position. Make clear accurate calls. Share the load. Vary his game to keep opp’n guessing. Communicate well on defence. | Respond accurately to my calls. Take pressure off if scrum is under pressure. Be decisive and accurate esp when running or passing. | Tell me where his opposite is- up,back wide,narrow. Let me know nos on blind-attack & def. Respond to calls esp blind attack,defence and counter attack. Help read attking opts on blindside. | Communicate clearly their needs React to my direction Be accurate with possession |
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Role of a Half Back
This is an interesting breakdown which explains the relationship a Halfback (Scrum Half) has with other key positions in the team.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
The art of Tyre Flipping
Not all of us have access to world class gyms to build strength into our condition trainings at practise and so it is important to make the best of what equipment you have got!
We were lucky enough to get a pile of old tractor tyres which by the way hold some substantial weight! With our first training of the year and nearing the end of an hour and a half of Ball skills and conditioning. We put players out in groups of 3 to have a tyre flipping race! Boys loved it, was hard work but outcomes were great!
Don't be afraid to work with what ever equipment you have access to, no matter how basic or high tech!
Here is some footage of the tyre flipping in action:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtzA4xBH8sw
We were lucky enough to get a pile of old tractor tyres which by the way hold some substantial weight! With our first training of the year and nearing the end of an hour and a half of Ball skills and conditioning. We put players out in groups of 3 to have a tyre flipping race! Boys loved it, was hard work but outcomes were great!
Don't be afraid to work with what ever equipment you have access to, no matter how basic or high tech!
Here is some footage of the tyre flipping in action:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtzA4xBH8sw
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Ivan Cleary Insights
I attended a seminar this week put on by New Zealand Rugby League this week with 4 guest speakers as below sharing their coaching knowledge and insights from Vodafone Warriors Coach Ivan Cleary!
Ivan Cleary -
On Mental Toughness -
Regardless of circumstance you can get the job done
On Young players being introduced to NRL from under 20's and knowing when they are ready -
Young players tend to have a huge gap between their best and worst performances, when they have reduced that gap between best and worst, they are ready
When things aren't going to plan during your season -
You must break things down to perspective and context
When things are going bad, you find out if you have the right people around you
Things are never as good as you think or as bad as you think
You have to focus and get better at things that win games and train that way, no matter how much repetition is involved.
Ivan Cleary - Head Coach of the Vodafone Warriors
Here's some quotes that I found interesting:Ivan Cleary -
On Mental Toughness -
Regardless of circumstance you can get the job done
On Young players being introduced to NRL from under 20's and knowing when they are ready -
Young players tend to have a huge gap between their best and worst performances, when they have reduced that gap between best and worst, they are ready
When things aren't going to plan during your season -
You must break things down to perspective and context
When things are going bad, you find out if you have the right people around you
Things are never as good as you think or as bad as you think
You have to focus and get better at things that win games and train that way, no matter how much repetition is involved.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Team Culture, don't under estimate it!
Coming to the end of our representative campaign, I reflect on what we have achieved to date, what we have implemented, focus at trainings, player base and coming into our last game what has been the key to our development and success? Culture! I have been involved with teams over the past few years with examples of great team Culture and extremely poor team culture. I have put together some thoughts on what elements create a quality team culture. Obviously every team has very different profiles, personalities and make ups that make it entirely unique so these thoughts are based around my own experiences.
Key factors to creating a quality team culture
Spine
- Create a "Spine"or leadership group. I see the "spine of the team being positional and creating leaders in these positions provides stability, direction and if developed right can have a major impact on how the game is played.
Spine Example:
Hooker
Lock
Number 8
Half Back
First 5
Fullback
This may alter where your 7 is a part of the spine rather than 8 or Centre may be in the mix rather than 15.
The Captain I would choose would always be in the "Spine"and he then has a number of players that he can look to for support, advice or confidence if required. The "Spine" become a key part of our trainings around setting high standards, intensity, discipline and execution. Pre match I always spend 10 mins with the "spine"as a group discussing conditions, opposition, game day tactics and some key goals to achieve on field.
Organisation
Players find it easy to give strong levels of commitment to a very organised campaign, where trainings lack direction, flow, variation, focus and have a fun element players, without this players can drift with their levels of commitment.
Put yourself in the players shoes, you turn up to training to see all drills laid out, coaches/Managers ready for action vs Turning up and coaches no where to be seen. Keeping to time frames is also critical, if you say you will start at 6.30, start at 6.30!!
Players Voice
In teams I coach I value the players voice and opinions, questions without we would be coaching a team of robots! I always make time for questions, thoughts and make time to spend 1 on 1 time with players where required. If the voices don't have an avenue to communicate you will only get issues and players feeling under valued! I also try to push our players to think creatively in how to solve problems.
Discipline - 3 Tortures
I was introduced to a concept a little while back by another coach where he led an internal discipline program run largely by the players and since then I have implemented and found the players responded really well to this!
Basically there is 3 levels of tortures:
1. Tell a Joke to the team - if no one laughs go to Torture 2
2. Sing a song - If No one sings the chorus go to torture 3
3. Team Duties (Cleaning changing sheds, picking up gear after training etc)
Basically if some one is 5 mins late to training for the first time the team may ask them to say a joke. Effectively this is a warning from the team that they don't find it acceptable and you have been given a warning.
For some of the players standing in front of 30 people singing a song on their own is not an easy measure....
Although I introduced the team to it, they have bought into it and take ownership of discipline. Recently coming to the end of our season they have added that players on Torture 2 have to sing and dance adding a new level...
Guest Speakers
We have been very lucky this season to bring in guests speakers from the likes of Ex All Blacks Jeff Wilson and Mark Mayerholfer to Super 14 and ITM Cup Players. The focus is to get the guests discuss things around training ethic, commitment, sacrifices, goal setting, challenges etc so the players get a feel for what steps are required to achieve things at the highest levels.
I will speak with the guests prior and talk about some of the goals and themes we are trying to achieve as a team and having these guests add their voice to further enforce things like work rate, standards etc makes our job as coaches easier!
Players also respond very well to different voices coming in and creates an exciting environment!
Self Analysis
Over the past 2 years I have developed most match review forms where players look at their game from a technical execution basis post match. Often you find a player can lose confidence about the "1 missed tackle"scenario and dwell on this losing confidence and motivation. Generating this form as meant that players need to think more around the entire game and there execution and then work to developing specific goals for the upcoming game. Also it gives them an opportunity to discuss team performance etc and get their perspective across.
Largely I find the more players use it the more honest they become with their own analysis and the more focused they become for achieving their goals!
Here are examples of the form I have developed :
Step 1 - Technical Analysis:
Step 2 - Comments on own Performance and Team Performance:
Step 3 - Set Goals for Next Match
As a coach I always make a point of acknowledging the players efforts in and around this and try to help as much as possible with them to achieve these goals. It is also very important to provide "pats on backs"when their individual goals are achieved!
Team Vision and Mission
Drive a session before your season starts with the team coming up with a united Vision and Mission, I then split them into groups: Tight 5, Loosiesmins to go and that was the last chance to achieve their vision and mission.
Here is an example of what our team came up with this year:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OD44MqPiXr4
I then created it into a short Video with some action footage with key stuff related to the group:
The ownership is then on the leaders within the "spine"to get the team to live and breathe that vision. I often hear our front row saying "Ruthless"before the ball goes in or our back 3 calling "Hammer"when they counter attack!
Enjoyment
When a team enjoys coming to training, enjoys the style of Rugby the team plays, enjoys the company of their team mates, nothing is better!!! When things try to derail your progress as a team it makes it near impossible and ultimately gets the best out of all involved!!
Little Things can play a large bearing!
I asked our team after our first competition to come up with a team song that would stay with us throughout our season! the team chose "Lean on Me"which you can now hear at full noise in the changing sheds after any of our games! Here is the team singing it to our hosts on an away trip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Z5VihpbMvo
These sorts of little things add up and create great team Culture!!
To sum it up for me: Choose Good People, Create Good Team Culture and focus on continual development and improvement and great things will happen!!
Don't underestimate the bearing it has in your teams success because with Bad Team Culture it can make a season a very long one!!
Vince Lombardi
Key factors to creating a quality team culture
Spine
- Create a "Spine"or leadership group. I see the "spine of the team being positional and creating leaders in these positions provides stability, direction and if developed right can have a major impact on how the game is played.
Spine Example:
Hooker
Lock
Number 8
Half Back
First 5
Fullback
This may alter where your 7 is a part of the spine rather than 8 or Centre may be in the mix rather than 15.
The Captain I would choose would always be in the "Spine"and he then has a number of players that he can look to for support, advice or confidence if required. The "Spine" become a key part of our trainings around setting high standards, intensity, discipline and execution. Pre match I always spend 10 mins with the "spine"as a group discussing conditions, opposition, game day tactics and some key goals to achieve on field.
Organisation
Players find it easy to give strong levels of commitment to a very organised campaign, where trainings lack direction, flow, variation, focus and have a fun element players, without this players can drift with their levels of commitment.
Put yourself in the players shoes, you turn up to training to see all drills laid out, coaches/Managers ready for action vs Turning up and coaches no where to be seen. Keeping to time frames is also critical, if you say you will start at 6.30, start at 6.30!!
Players Voice
In teams I coach I value the players voice and opinions, questions without we would be coaching a team of robots! I always make time for questions, thoughts and make time to spend 1 on 1 time with players where required. If the voices don't have an avenue to communicate you will only get issues and players feeling under valued! I also try to push our players to think creatively in how to solve problems.
Discipline - 3 Tortures
I was introduced to a concept a little while back by another coach where he led an internal discipline program run largely by the players and since then I have implemented and found the players responded really well to this!
Basically there is 3 levels of tortures:
1. Tell a Joke to the team - if no one laughs go to Torture 2
2. Sing a song - If No one sings the chorus go to torture 3
3. Team Duties (Cleaning changing sheds, picking up gear after training etc)
Basically if some one is 5 mins late to training for the first time the team may ask them to say a joke. Effectively this is a warning from the team that they don't find it acceptable and you have been given a warning.
For some of the players standing in front of 30 people singing a song on their own is not an easy measure....
Although I introduced the team to it, they have bought into it and take ownership of discipline. Recently coming to the end of our season they have added that players on Torture 2 have to sing and dance adding a new level...
Guest Speakers
We have been very lucky this season to bring in guests speakers from the likes of Ex All Blacks Jeff Wilson and Mark Mayerholfer to Super 14 and ITM Cup Players. The focus is to get the guests discuss things around training ethic, commitment, sacrifices, goal setting, challenges etc so the players get a feel for what steps are required to achieve things at the highest levels.
I will speak with the guests prior and talk about some of the goals and themes we are trying to achieve as a team and having these guests add their voice to further enforce things like work rate, standards etc makes our job as coaches easier!
Players also respond very well to different voices coming in and creates an exciting environment!
Self Analysis
Over the past 2 years I have developed most match review forms where players look at their game from a technical execution basis post match. Often you find a player can lose confidence about the "1 missed tackle"scenario and dwell on this losing confidence and motivation. Generating this form as meant that players need to think more around the entire game and there execution and then work to developing specific goals for the upcoming game. Also it gives them an opportunity to discuss team performance etc and get their perspective across.
Largely I find the more players use it the more honest they become with their own analysis and the more focused they become for achieving their goals!
Here are examples of the form I have developed :
Step 1 - Technical Analysis:
Step 2 - Comments on own Performance and Team Performance:
Step 3 - Set Goals for Next Match
As a coach I always make a point of acknowledging the players efforts in and around this and try to help as much as possible with them to achieve these goals. It is also very important to provide "pats on backs"when their individual goals are achieved!
Team Vision and Mission
Drive a session before your season starts with the team coming up with a united Vision and Mission, I then split them into groups: Tight 5, Loosiesmins to go and that was the last chance to achieve their vision and mission.
Here is an example of what our team came up with this year:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OD44MqPiXr4
I then created it into a short Video with some action footage with key stuff related to the group:
The ownership is then on the leaders within the "spine"to get the team to live and breathe that vision. I often hear our front row saying "Ruthless"before the ball goes in or our back 3 calling "Hammer"when they counter attack!
Enjoyment
When a team enjoys coming to training, enjoys the style of Rugby the team plays, enjoys the company of their team mates, nothing is better!!! When things try to derail your progress as a team it makes it near impossible and ultimately gets the best out of all involved!!
Little Things can play a large bearing!
I asked our team after our first competition to come up with a team song that would stay with us throughout our season! the team chose "Lean on Me"which you can now hear at full noise in the changing sheds after any of our games! Here is the team singing it to our hosts on an away trip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Z5VihpbMvo
These sorts of little things add up and create great team Culture!!
To sum it up for me: Choose Good People, Create Good Team Culture and focus on continual development and improvement and great things will happen!!
Don't underestimate the bearing it has in your teams success because with Bad Team Culture it can make a season a very long one!!
Coaches who can outline plays on a black board are a dime a dozen. The ones who win get inside their player and motivate.
Vince Lombardi
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Hold your cards close to your cheast!
Graham Henry had some of his set piece strike moves broadcasted to the world thanks to some photographer that through ethics out the window....
With technology heading forward at a rate of knots even at school or club level it is very easy to video tape a game and know the oppositions tactics (generally at this level most teams might have 1 or 2 patterns of play).
Important thing is I think at Club and school level that you don't get too sidetracked with the oppositions strengths and panic. A team I'm assistant coach of has a semi this weekend and our head coach is in a panic as the opposition has a strong and experienced tight 5 and we are missing a few key starting props due to injury etc. The stress of their strength is getting on top of him to a point where he is forgetting that although they have a strong and experienced tight 5 they are unfit and play a 1 dimensional style of Rugby with pick and go's and runners off 9. We have an outstanding backline and a far more mobile forward pack, this to me negates their tight 5 and just means we need to focus on our strengths and be confident as far as a team profile we have a better one than the opposition!
I'm sure Graham Henry is deep down a little ticked off with his tactics being exposed but if he focused on this and didn't move on and adapt he wouldn't be doing his job as coach of the All Blacks! My point being - Hold your cards close to your cheast but if your cards are telegraphed to the opposition don't dwell on it, adapt and move on!
With technology heading forward at a rate of knots even at school or club level it is very easy to video tape a game and know the oppositions tactics (generally at this level most teams might have 1 or 2 patterns of play).
Important thing is I think at Club and school level that you don't get too sidetracked with the oppositions strengths and panic. A team I'm assistant coach of has a semi this weekend and our head coach is in a panic as the opposition has a strong and experienced tight 5 and we are missing a few key starting props due to injury etc. The stress of their strength is getting on top of him to a point where he is forgetting that although they have a strong and experienced tight 5 they are unfit and play a 1 dimensional style of Rugby with pick and go's and runners off 9. We have an outstanding backline and a far more mobile forward pack, this to me negates their tight 5 and just means we need to focus on our strengths and be confident as far as a team profile we have a better one than the opposition!
I'm sure Graham Henry is deep down a little ticked off with his tactics being exposed but if he focused on this and didn't move on and adapt he wouldn't be doing his job as coach of the All Blacks! My point being - Hold your cards close to your cheast but if your cards are telegraphed to the opposition don't dwell on it, adapt and move on!
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Offloads
Offloading in the tackle
Think back over the past season at how many times your team or an opposition team has made a great break through a player dominating the contact and having the ability to offload the ball to a supporting player. In NZ this is something that comes to players naturally and you will often see a midfielder dominate a tackler and have the ability to free arms and offload a pass. Maybe this is because league has such an influence in NZ and Australia and players are pulling some of the favourable plays they see from the NRL. Some coaches find this sort of play to be to “higher risk” and will not allow players to play this style of rugby.
However if you look at it from another perspective if you can develop this skill and work on the running lines of your support players maybe the reward will well and truly outweigh the risk. Recently I have brought a focus into our trainings around use of a fend and ball transfer with an add on of the offload in contact. The players really enjoyed it and elements were translated into how we played the game on the Saturday following. The keys I see to developing this as a weapon in your teams repertoire are:
Ball Carrier
Footwork in lead up to contact and ability to create and attack a weak shoulder.
Dominating the contact and keeping Feet alive in contact
Ball carried away from the tackler so players have the ability to free arms to pass the ball
Support Player
Eyes on ball carrier and identify if he is attacking defensive player on the inside or outside shoulder
Making a decision which channel to support in (inside or outside)
Head towards the ball carrier late to give defensive player little time to slide and cover the space
Communicate to ball carrier about where he is eg: short ball etc
Receive ball accelerate into space
There is a number of mini unit drills that can be done to develop this within your players but each step creates an individual skill execution and needs to be developed in an ongoing process to get the best result, as they say “Rome wasn’t built in a day”!
My thoughts are develop quality offload opportunities, develop quality support lines and communication you will end up with greater opportunities to score more points and ultimately win more games!
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
TUBS
A couple of years ago another coach introduced me to a concept that struck a chord with my own Philosophies on Rugby and simplified what for me our game is all about!
T.U.B.S
Them - The opposition
Us - Our Team
Ball - Gold!
Space - attack this area
So if we apply it to how it fits into a game plan scenario: Ball is turned over through a tight head at scrum time, loose pass is thrown from number 8 who runs the open side coming off the back of the scrum to 9 who see's in the mean time the opposition backline has come up defensively (Them), he then looks to see where we have opportunity to attack with our players (Us and Space), see's space down teh blind throws a pass to fullback who attacks space with the ball and scores!!!!
TUBS - Get your players using this as a decision making tool on the field and you will see great things!!!!
Here is a short video from a club team I coach applying TUBS to how we attack:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzC3YpGcIOs
T.U.B.S
Them - The opposition
Us - Our Team
Ball - Gold!
Space - attack this area
So if we apply it to how it fits into a game plan scenario: Ball is turned over through a tight head at scrum time, loose pass is thrown from number 8 who runs the open side coming off the back of the scrum to 9 who see's in the mean time the opposition backline has come up defensively (Them), he then looks to see where we have opportunity to attack with our players (Us and Space), see's space down teh blind throws a pass to fullback who attacks space with the ball and scores!!!!
TUBS - Get your players using this as a decision making tool on the field and you will see great things!!!!
Here is a short video from a club team I coach applying TUBS to how we attack:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzC3YpGcIOs
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