Rugby: what is a team talk

We have open this thread to continue the discussion on Player Empowerment started in the Coaches Hot Tip in this month's newsletter. If you missed it, here it is again. There is no doubt that if you want your team to be successful, you need the players to make decisions on the pitch for themselves. We know that if a team is used to getting the answers to problems on the field from the coach, it will mean that they will hesitate and look to the touchline before commiting to an action and that, of course, will be far too late! The coach can still influence things but once the game has started it is a fairly minimal influence, during the game it must be the players who react to situations as they happen and make decisions immediatley. Therefore, it is essential to have leaders in the team who feel confident about making decisons in the heat of the battle. They need to know that even a wrong call is better than no call. They should feel that their coach will support them in making a call and, if it was not necesarily the best decision, will help them make a better one next time without being too critical. Ideally, the leaders and decision makers will be at key positions in the team where they can communicate with other players as well as influencing play themselves. Key positions are Numbers%3A 2; 4/5; 8; 9; 10 and 15. This is often referred to as "The Spine or Backbone" of the team. This is not to say that a good captain and leader can't be in another position but if they are, for instance an 11 or 14, they will need good co leaders in the key positions to communicate their decisions during a game. To develop this spine to operate as leaders, the coach should involve these players in discussions about how the team are playing - making them feel some ownership and responsibility for the teams performance. They could also be involved in unit practises, for instance the 2 and 8 could Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 occasionaly lead part of a line out practice, once the coach has agreed with them what the practice needs to achieve. The coach is not giving the players complete control but rather, allowing them to be involved in the process of team development. Obviously, the age and ability of your team can affect how far along this path you can go but, even with players as young as Under 8's, I have found that delegating some responsibility is a really effective way to build a cohesive and well functioning team! Let me know your thoughts on this type player empowerment. Good luck Simon

My team is having trouble going past the ball when rucking. We are working on body heights and hitting past the ball but any suggested drills would be a great help.

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Some of my U9s players, who are experiencing contact for their first season, are showing reticence in tackling - how do you coach or get through the fear factor/element?

My young intermediate squad has some tough forthcoming league fixtures against sides they we are unlikely to beat. I expect I will focus the team talk on processes rather than outcome.Is there any merit in explaining that winning is unlikely and that we should look at other successes such as tackles made, limiting the number of tries etc?

I have just started helping our head coach with under12's team. He wants to retire and has put me forward to be head coach next season. I am a little worried on how i should aproach training with the boys, going to a full 15 a side team on a full pitch. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

hi I help coach a under nines team where the bulk of the team are constantly trying to run through tackle after tackle.when we talk to them they all understand about off loading the ball to avoid the seven tackle turnover, but as soon as on the pitch try line fever sets in.any ideas to encourage passing of the ball

Hows it going. Im a backs and skills coach in Scotland Our kicks from hand during a game always seems to go straight to an opposition player. Looking for a drill that helps kick for space and getting their heads upCheers

I need ideas for fun team building activities and any fun games to help towards team building. Has anyone got any ideas on what to do? Anything to spice up rugby training sessions in the dark, cold winter nights.

Hello, My name is Jonna Berry, we just started a women's team in Ames, IA. We just finished our first season with 9 players, we combined teams with another women's team to play in matches this fall. We are having difficulties recruiting members from the community. We have posted fliers around Ames and other towns. Any other suggestions? Any suggestions as to how to get people to take this team seriously? Thank you for your time.

I am a coach with an under 10 rugby side. Last season the team found it hard to stay in their positions (acting like a swarm of bees). Can anyone suggest how i can get them to stay in positions, particulary our backs.

I have started an under 10s team up, and I would say about 8 from the 13 children I have , did not play rugby until about 6 months ago. Of these players, there seems to be a lot of potential, as we are scoring tries against teams, that very rarely concede tries.the problem I got with them, is that we are very poor at organising our selves in defense when the opposition has the ball, which does result in us conceding quite a few tries. We have some very good tacklers in the team. Can anyone offer some ideas on how I can get them to organise themselves? Thanks . Chris.

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What is the easiest defence system to use? I have a team of 18 year olds who know very little about the game but are very fit and enthusiastic and I need a simple defence system to use.

My team is having trouble going past the ball when rucking. We are working on body heights and hitting past the ball but any suggested drills would be a great help.

Our H.S. boys are flat at the beginning of the game and seem to take 10 minutes to start playing efficiently. We have tried various pregame warmups to correct this but to no avail. I look forward to your suggestions as to the best way to correct this issue.