Archive for the ‘General Advice’ Category

Advice for Parents – Protective Equipment

Saturday, June 18th, 2011

In the coming months many a new parent will be taking their child to rugby for the 1st time or back for a new season.

The level of equipment available is frightening and cost equally so.

I am going to take the time to give my advice in what is essential for a new starter at rugby.

Dentist Fitted Gum Shield

You may ask why not a cheap one, the gum shield protects the mouth, teeth & head. Some of the most important parts of our body. A knock to any of these can be very uncomfortable and can put youngsters off the game. The cost will be £30 to £40, but well worth the money. Many clubs invite a local dentist in for a mass fitting session, this reduces the cost.

Good Fitting Boots

Like shoes make sure these fit. My own advice is to avoid blades and go for traditional boots either with removable studs or moulded studs. Moulded studs are good for harder pitches and artificial pitches; but longer traditional studs will be required for wet pitches in the winter

No Zips

Avoid zips on all training clothing, zips cause a hazard for others. So get tracksuit bottoms and training tops which are zip free

Personalise

If you can get initials printed on training equipment, makes your child feel special. On a practical level it will mean you can easily identify their kit and it will not be mixed up.

Body Armour

When getting this look at a vest type with pads built in, read washing label. Many are hand wash only; you don’t want to wash a very sweaty top by hand. Many body armours combine moisture wicking technology with the protection; so these may well be worthwhile considering.

Head Guards

Make sure this fits, one which is too big will fall over the eyes; too small will be uncomfortable. These will need to be cleaned regularly. My advice is avoid bright colours. Yes with a bright coloured one you will easily indentify your son; but so will the referee and the opposition.

If you are on a budget many clubs have these items in their lost property. They are also readily available on on-line bidding markets.

Donny

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Back To Basics

Thursday, May 26th, 2011

The longer I am involved in sport the more I worry about the coaching that young performers receive. Every coach is looking for a silver bullit that simply does not exist. If I had a pound for every time I have been asked for a drill on this or that, or a set move, or pattern of play then I would be a wealthy man.

The truth is young players don’t need complex drills, moves or game plans they need to understand the basic principles of the game, the most important of which is – GO FORWARD. They need to be able to execute the core skills of the – run, pass, catch, tackle and kick effectively. If they are able to do this the rest can be added at a later date. If when they get to academy age rugby they are not able to understand and do these things then they are unlikely ever to reach their full potential.

So lets look at keeping it simple, keeping it fun and working on the basics. That does not mean doing the same tackling drill week in week out as an example. You can give them the same sweet in a different wrapper. It’s down to you as a coach to set different challenges within the overall objective of improving the specific skill.

Haydn

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Tips For Managing The Teenager Years

Tuesday, May 10th, 2011

For those of you who have worked with the same players as mini players and are now working with them as teenagers you’re most likely experiencing a change in the way they relate to you. They often act as though they have no regard for anyone or anything but themselves and things that belong to them. Manners they might have had when they were younger seem to have gone out the window and back-chat is an everyday occurrence. It’s likely as well you have said to yourself more than once that you don’t like who he/she has become. It can be heart breaking especially when we reflect back at their innocence during the early years.

We know that adolescents are going through hormonal changes and much of this is normal but we still have to find a way to deal with it in a way that keeps the player/coach relationship intact. They may act like they don’t need us anymore but it’s important to remember that we are still their coach and play a vital role in their lives. The truth is they need us more than ever.

So how do we deal with the moods, the back-chat and the attitude? Don’t be fooled into thinking because it’s classic adolescent behavior you have to accept it. Remember to keep your boundaries clear. You have a right to establish guidelines and ensure they’re followed. For example you can say: “I will not tolerate the “f” word used in this team environment.” Or, if they’re being blatantly rude and disrespectful you can say: “If you continue to talk to me that way, you will not play this week.” Our teens will gain respect for us when we show respect for ourselves. Allowing rude and disrespectful behavior doesn’t demonstrate self-respect. Teenagers will try most anything once if they think they can get away with it.

Teenagers also have a right to expect respect from their coach. It’s important we remember to demonstrate courtesy when we’re around them. If we lead by example they are likely to pick up our habits. Say things like: “Thank you for remembering to put away the tackle shields, or collecting the cones, or filling the water bottles.” We need to role model the kind of behavior we expect from them.

If we do this then hopefully the teenager years will not be too traumatic.

Haydn

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Rugby Parents – Making The Difference

Tuesday, April 19th, 2011

For any young player be he or she be talented or not parental support is crucial for many, many reasons. Previous articles have dealt with many of these. I want to take the time in this article to focus on just one aspect. That aspect is “Time” itself.

I have attended three national swimming championship events recently and was struck by the absolute dedication of not just the swimmers but also the parents of young swimmers. In a normal training week the young swimmer will need to be at the pool very early in the morning for a session before school, after school its the same routine either for another pool session or a land based session. That is six days a week for most of the year.

Giving the young swimmer the opportunity to go further in the sport is not just a lifestyle choice for the youngster, but also for the parents. The entire family routine s adapted around training schedules. This sacrifice and commitment is recognised and very much supported in swimming and parents are not left isolated.

If we look at Rugby the truth is that most young players, even those on a Talent Pathway will not be putting in the time commitments of a young swimmer. I would have to ask Why not? If you look at someone like George Ford he has put the hard work in throughout his early teenage years and is starting to reep the benefits now. That has been done with total support from his parents.

I suppose what I trying to say is that you as parents reading this need to understand what is required for your son or daughter to develop in Rugby requires your time and commitment, beyond what most likely you are currently giving.

The whole purpose of “Ruckingball” is to help and support you in doing that by giving you access to the experts and opportunity to tap into their expertise.

Haydn

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Coaches and Parents Be Aware – “The Relative Age Effect”

Tuesday, March 29th, 2011

Relative Age Effect

There are a wide variety of factors, such as socioeconomic status, sex and family background, that can and do influence selection and progression in elite sport. One factor that does seem to influence high-level performance is termed the relative age effect.

What is Relative Age Effect?

Rugby - Relative Age Effect
The relative age effect describes the observation that greater numbers of performers born early in a selection year are over-represented in junior and senior elite squads compared with what might be expected based on national birth rates. It would appear that the relative age effect, certainly in some sports, crucially influences the opportunities to achieve high-level sporting performance.

Relative Age In Sport – The Evidence:

The first studies to investigate the relative age effect were carried out in Baseball and Ice Hockey. This  research clearly demonstrated a skewed distribution (and hence a relative age effect) among elite young and adult players, such that a greater proportion of players were born in the first quarter of a selection year with decreasing numbers thereafter. Based on a number of studies conducted in the early-to-mid 1990s, the relative age effect was strongly evident among junior and senior football (soccer) players.

A recent study in Junior Rugby League produced the following results:

Year Group          Q1           Q2           Q3          Q4
Under 8                 28           26            25          21
Under 9                 28           24            24          24
Under 10               31           25            23          21
Under 11               29           26            23          22
Under 12               27           26            24          23
Under 13               29 (34)    27 (29)      26 (21)   18 (16)
Under 14               33 (38)    25 (33)      24 (19)   24 (10)
Under 15               35 (40)    32 (33)      19 (18)   14 (9)

% Participation Levels

Figures in brackets relate to figures for players Talent ID’d and on the RFL Player Pathway.
Q1 – Aug to Oct
Q2 – Nov to Jan
Q3 – Feb to Apr
Q4 – May to Jul

These results show that from the very earliest age group participation levels are influenced by date of birth. This gets progressively more apparent as players get older, and once players are in the year groups of the talent pathway selection is clearly more influenced by date of birth.

It should be noted that the England Academy squad that toured Australia in 2008 had no players born in Q3 and Q4.

What to do about the ‘Relative Age Effect’ – Possible Solutions:
A number of suggestions have been made with respect to minimising the effect of relative age. These include:
• Rotating Cut-Off Dates
It has been suggested that selection years should be based on a period such as 9 months such that each year different individuals in a particular group will be age advantaged.
• Reduced Age Ranges
Age group squads based on smaller age bands (6 months rather than 12 or 24) might alleviate some of the effects of relative age.
• Establish ‘Current’ and ‘Potential’ Squads
The creation of 2 squads in a selection group rather than just one is a another suggested means of reducing the impact of relative age
• Winning is not Everything!
An adjustment of the “winning is everything focus” often evident in junior sport among performers, coaches, parents and others is probably necessary.
• Age on Date of Competition
Certainly in sports where performers compete as an individual, eligibility should probably be based on ‘age on date of competition’. Therefore during a year different performers will be age-advantaged at different periods during a year.
• Altered Competition Structures
A move away from a single national competition at one time of year to a series of important competitions spread throughout a year, where eligibility for participation is dependent on age on date of competition.

Key Question:
Can anything be done to minimise the relative age effect and so enhance the opportunities for ALL talented young performers to progress to be high level sporting performers as adults?

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Player Development – Stuart Lancaster (Part 4)

Monday, February 28th, 2011

What skills and/or knowledge should parents have, or do they need, in order to assist in a child’s development?

It’s important not to become the coach if you’re not the coach as a parent.

So, often a lot of parents will stand on the sideline and criticize the tactics, or criticize the referee, or criticize what the coach is doing, or criticize the drill. That undermines everything that I just talked about-attitude, building attitude and shaping attitude.

I mean, I’ve stood on the sideline and watched the coaches coach my daughter, and I have coached at a reasonably high-level now, but I don’t get involved. It’s not my place. If the coach comes and asks me my opinion, then I’ll give my opinion.  But I always try to be supportive and give him ideas to do better.

Lots of parents will try and criticize but the coach should be given the responsibility and respect that title deserves because to take oneself from a day job and to take on responsibility of coaching a team, or an individual as a part-time parent-coach is a big responsibility. And I often feel sorry for coaches when there are criticisms coming from the sideline.

However, having said that, I think the parent can become more skilled in their knowledge of the sport to help their son or daughter in between events.

When I say in between events, it’s not coaching a two-hour session and then seeing the coach. What should be happening in between sessions till the next session is to ask them to self-reference. If you’ve got a present knowledge of how to serve in tennis, or how to pass in rugby the ball, or how to kick a football then you can self-reference. You can ask your child, “On a scale of one to ten-ten is world class-where do you rate yourself? Well, how can we make it better?”

The players themselves have all the answers. You don’t need to be, necessarily, an expert in any field; you just need to be good at asking your questions.

Where do you feel parents really get it wrong in their approach?

The ultra-competitive parent-the parent that wants to win at all costs is in ninety- nine percent of the cases detrimental to the child’s development. You know, we learn just as much about ourselves when we lose as when we win. We all want to win. We’re all competitive. I recently worked with a watchdog sort of parent. His view was the side that won the game had the most dominant coach from the sideline. So his view was by shouting more (at the players) would get better results. The unfortunate thing was actually they won one or two games on the back of this. And he perceived that he had to shout more and more.

But, ultimately, you know, it was a self-defeating policy because the players became scared to do anything. They weren’t allowed to take risks. They were given no responsibility for their own actions. The parent that relives their dreams through their child and who didn’t quite achieve it often builds their child up to be better than they are. I think that ultimately effects their child’s development. And the ones who just want control all the time-control the training, and be a coach-you know, they are not coaches, just a parent. We’re all parents and we need to be supportive and develop well-rounded individuals because at the end of the day that’s all we have got – very, very few get to the very top. All we can do is get our child to be the best they can be.

At what point does a sports parent guide their child into areas of specialization and away from a multi-sport participation role?

I think it depends very much on the sport, really. There are some very early specialization sports like gymnastics, or swimming. So, you know, by the age of six or seven you’re pretty much going down a certain track. The majority of sports I’m involved with are late-specialization sports. The academy system in rugby has taken the games ability out of the young children.

So, we specialize almost too early in rugby and take that away from just being good game players.

So, for me, it should be about playing as many different games as possible.

It doesn’t matter if it’s sports across the board-gymnastics, swimming, tennis, rugby, cricket, football, you name it-as many as possible during their formative years up to maybe about thirteen, fourteen, fifteen. At that point, they can start to specialize down to whichever one they deem to be most enjoyable and the one they want to pursue in the future.

And I think to specialize early will limit the child’s development.

Do you have any tips for sports parents in dealing with their child’s coach?

I think that the first thing I’ll say is it’s a tough job being coach. I’ll give you a scenario, as a coach. You’ve got a group of thirty players in a team and you’ve got to put two teams out, do you pick an A team and B team-or do you pick mixed sorts of those teams?

Both are right. Both have got their merits. But, whichever way you do it there’s going to be some parent, or someone who’s upset. Inevitably all parents want their son or daughter to be successful, but unfortunately the law of sport is that it’s the most talented and most hard-working that will get to the top.

And along the way some will maybe not get picked. And for me that’s the point when the parent/coach relationship has to be really, really close and unified. Everyone doesn’t get picked at a certain point. But, you know as a child it hurts sometimes more than it does an adult.  You get more used to it, and you know you’ll get the opportunity sometimes.

And then there are key times when the parent/coach relationship has to be strong. Now, what coaches will typically tend to do is they’ll just focus on the children. So, they’ll make the decisions on how we’ll play the game. And they’ll very often not involve the parents in the reason or the rationale behind that decision. The good coaches are the coaches that will go to the parents and explain the reasons why they’re doing things and give them a reason so that when the parents speak to us they can reinforce the reason.

If the coach isn’t doing that, then the parent and athlete should have the right to go to the coach and say, in a polite and supportive way-because there’s sensitivity to talking to a coach-“You know, I understand the reasons why you made this decision and we’re very supportive of what you’re doing. Is there anything you could do to give my son or daughter the opportunity to improve? What does he need to work on in order to be better. And I’ll get him (or her) to work on that in between events.”

What qualities should parents be looking for when deciding on a coach?

I would say-and this is in no particular order-technical and tactical knowledge.

So, they need to understand whatever sport they’re coaching to a good degree.

And I think they need to have a good, broad knowledge of nutrition, physiology, psychology, teaching coaching-I’ll call it where along the horizontal axis of the team you’ve got all the breadth of the coaching from the vertical axis, which is the depth in each particular area. So, if we can, develop ‘T’ shaped coaches.

The third area, I would say is the attitude-someone who helps shape the attitude. It goes back to the self-identity, self-motivation, positive thinking.

And the forth, probably the most important is the great relationship builder-the good emotionally intelligent, emotionally stable “not going to overreact when something goes wrong.” You know, they’re not going to think we’re going to win the World Cup if we won a game.

So, an emotionally stable coach who is good at building relationships. They are probably the four things coaches should have.

Ruckingball would like to thank sportswisdom.com for permission to publish this interview

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Player Development – Stuart Lancaster (Part 1)

Wednesday, January 5th, 2011

Please could you give us some insight into your coaching background and the journey to your present position in England rugby?

My journey started out when I went to an independent school in a small town  on the West Coast in Northern England. When I left there, I completed a Sports  Science degree at Leeds University and then completed a PGC, which enabled  me to become a PE teacher, back in ’92.

For ten years I was a teacher and I really believe that teaching gave me the foundation for coaching. One of the challenges of teaching is that, as opposed  to coaching, you get people who have to be there and you have to motivate and control things to get the best out of them, even when sometimes it’s cross-  country on a wet Wednesday.

During that time, I was also a professional rugby player and I got the opportunity to go full-time, so I took that and I went full-time with some coaching on the side.  This was when I was in my late 20s.  But the catalyst that actually got me into coaching was a rugby injury. It happened in 1999 and that forced me to retire. At the same time, the Rugby Football Union sent me to Leeds, and I got the job as the academy manager.
During that time I was fortunate to get some fairly talented, young fifteen/ sixteen year olds who got into our program, who’ve ultimately now have gone onto become national players. I was working with a very gifted group of players and during that time, my desire to coach players at the highest level had begun to grow.

The senior team got relegated from the premiership at the time and the Director of Rugby left; in fact all the players left, including some of the academy players. I was given the head coach position. The challenge was to get promoted back into the Premiership. Without a team, that’s a pretty big challenge, but we achieved it and we got promoted.  That year we were in the Premiership was a massive step for us in terms of squad size and budgets. Although we remained competitive, we didn’t have enough firepower really to sustain our place in the Premiership. And it was at that point the England Rugby Union approached me to see if I was interested as Head of the Elite player development. I was interested but really didn’t want to end my coaching career.

I argued that if I became the England Saxon’s Head Coach, then that would be enough to keep my coaching developing at an international level. I now also look after 14 regional academies for England Rugby – this involves looking after and managing the academy program and developing players.

In your opinion what does it take to get to the top of your sport?

I think you’ve got to have talent. I don’t see any people at the very top of the sport that don’t have the talent. But, I also equally don’t see any players at the top of the sport who have talent and no character. So, for me, talent plus character equals elite and it’s pretty much as simple as that. The people I see who’ve been to the top have talent. They have the physical, technical, tactical and mental characteristics. And they have the character to back it up week-in and week-out, year-in, year-out. And they reach a point when they actually say, “Now is the time to go focus on my leadership skills.”

What advice would you give aspiring athletes who want to reach these levels of success in their sport?

Looking at the great leaders or the great players in their sport, try and pick out someone who most closely reflects your personal style; strengths and weaknesses. I believe as a young athlete, there’s someone at the top end of every sport that will closely resemble you as a person.

So, modeling is what I would describe it as; and I think mastering is another one; mastering the basics. So, if you master the basics of your given sport viz. the technical and tactical and balance school requirements, than ultimately you will become more self-confident in your own ability… if we talk about rugby as an example, you know, the practicing, and the executing of pass left to right, and right to left. And if you do a little bit everyday then you will grow to master the basic skills. And constant reinforcement means that consciously under pressure you will deliver at the highest level, and that gives you the mastery that then affects growth as a successful athlete.

Having coached and played with successful athletes, what do you think motivates these athletes to be the best they can be?

I’ve been involved in some teams where I feel that money has blunted the hunger of the player. And what it’s done is that it’s made it easy for them to accept the lifestyle they’ve got, which is a very lucrative lifestyle. And they’ve forgotten all that detail of what got them to that position in the first place. I still come back to the term, “the aggregation of marginal gains”, in all the areas of technical and tactical, physical and mental to make sure that they achieve the best they can be. You must be intrinsically motivated, not extrinsically, to be the best you can be.

Yes, a big paycheck is a nice bonus, but ultimately, as we all know, it’s only short-lived anyway. And you know, after your ten years of playing rugby; you finish at thirty, and you’ve got another thirty years of employment to find. Your personality and character will be a big part of that.

What does a successful coaching philosophy look like to you?

I think that a successful coaching philosophy is something that’s unique to the coach. It’s something that he owns and that he has thought about and developed. And he has solved that philosophy in a way that people have bought into it. I think there are coaches that believe they’ve got a coaching philosophy and dictate it to the people they work with and it’s not a shared ownership of the philosophy. It’s just, “It’s your philosophy and I’ll do it because you’re the boss.” There’s a big difference in that.

I believe that’s important-finding a way so that your philosophy is brought to life within the players. You should constantly look to demonstrate what it looks like. So, if you can find a clip of a game that has been played where the player showed fantastic work ethic, I’ll show that clip over because I think that’s the most important part of it.

What are the hallmarks of a great coach?

RESPECT:
Respect is the most important. Players have to respect their coach. To believe in the message-you have to believe the messenger.

GREAT LEADER:
It’s the clarity of the direction that they’re taking, so players understand where they’re going and they’re prepared to follow the lead that the coach is setting.

GREAT COMMUNICATOR:
A very effective communicator. They inspire, persuade and motivate people.

CREATE A WINNING ENVIRONMENT:
They have a shared value system so that the players and the coaches operate under the same values-honesty, integrity, and respect.

EMOTIONAL STABILITY:
How the coach handles the tough times as well as the good times.

SETS THE TONE FOR THE TEAM:
Humor, has good banter; has a good personality and good crack with the players, but maintains that distance, walks a tightrope between an effective leader, but also is someone who you can build a close relationship with.

CARE FOR THE PLAYERS:
When the player has trouble at home, or whatever. You’ll say, “Mate, just skip a session today. Go get home sorted.” There are a lot of things that players remember and I think that’s important. 

TRUSTWORTHY:
They do what they say they’re going to do. So, you say to a player, “This week I’m going to give you rest, but next week you’re going to start.” Make sure you do what you say you’re going to do.

HONESTY:
Coaches shy away from tough conversations some times and players just want the honest truth. Players can handle the truth most of the time; not all time, but the best players can handle it and all they want to know is, “What do I need to do to get into team…what do I need to do to get better?” The coach sometimes may not tell them the exact truth, because that’s just too difficult. “I’m not picking you this week, because I think that you are out of form.” I think most players can take that. Just be honest with them.

FAIRNESS:
There’s no A, B, C in importance of players because if this player is on the biggest salary, he can’t be skipping weight sessions and just do what he wants to do simply because he’s the star player. So there’s a fairness approach that the academy player gets treated the same way as the most influential person on the team.

What is the most important thing you’ve learned about succeeding as a coach on a team?

You have got to be reflective and think about how you’ve dealt with certain situations. Find space in your diary to think. If you don’t find space in your diary to think about how you can improve and develop as a coach, how you’ve dealt with certain situations, then ultimately you’ll just go along chasing your tail. So, I think actually creating that downtime is a very difficult thing to do. If you don’t find that time for you, then ultimately you’ll find yourself never growing as a coach. I think ultimately you’ll never be the best you can be.

Ruckingball would like to thank sportswisdom.com for permission to publish this interview

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Teaching Games For Understanding (Part 2)

Tuesday, August 24th, 2010

Having given you the background of “Teaching Games For Understanding” I want this week to look at the structure of the session compared to the more traditional session structure you will be familiar with from coach education courses you have attended.

Let’s first look at how you currently structure your sessions. It probably looks a little like this.

Warm Up

Skills Development

Small Sided Game

Cool Down and Debrief.

Nothing at all wrong with this structure or any variations of it. However a Teaching Games For Understanding session is something very different in its structure.

Warm up

Explanation – what are we trying to do?

Game sense game

Evaluate the activity

Feedback and adjustment

Game sense game

Progression and additional challenges

Cool down and debrief

The session is therefore totally games focused. The coach has a totally different focus in terms of role and responsibility. Part 3 will look at what this involves and how this enhances players learning.

Haydn

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