A new club needs a training plan for beginners

[PainDealer]

Hello!

We are a new club based in Kotka, Finland. The action started this June and all but 3 of us are completely new to the game so there's a bit of a problem getting things to work. We have no coach (unsurprisingly considering the country we're talking about here) so there's no one to make a plan for us to get from A to B and so on. At the moment the guys who are running the show seem to be getting at things in a bit of a hurry and we tend to advance from one thing to another too quickly. Finding suitable drills for beginners wasn't that hard but as I (or anyone else) have no coaching experience I have no idea how to make a good training plan for a longer period of time.

So far we've been concentrating on rucking and occasionally tried some lineouts. Passing is a bit off and it seems that not enough attention is paid to it.

Any ideas about what we should do and in what order would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Bataz]

Try and get hold of a DVD called: COACHING CORE TECHNICAL SKILLS FOR HIGH PERFORMANCE: Training to Compete. It was made by the RFU and you might find a copy on amazon or ebay. Included with the dvd are training plans you can download and print off from the dvd when you put it in a pc.

 

[TNT88]

Is this it? http://www.communityrugbyshop.com/p-576-communityrugbyshopcom-coaching-core-technical-skills-for-high-performance-training-to-compete.aspx


Maybe you guys should ask a coach from a club near you to give you some tips on writing up a training program for new players?

If ball handling is a problem, start playing small games of touch rugby before and at the end of training. Passing practice OK, but it doesn't teach players how to run onto the ball and catch it. (btw, a small game is about 5 on 5).

 

[Bataz]

Yes that's the DVD I meant.

 

[PainDealer]

Thanks for the replies!

I'll keep that DVD in mind. The problem with asking a nearby coach is that there quite isn't any. There are around 10 clubs in the whole country so the sources are a bit limited. Playing touch was the first thing that crossed my mind when thinking of how to get the idea of basic positioning to the guys but that's as far as I got.

 

[TNT88]

Start with touch, and then get more advanced from there on. So once you guys have learned the basics of running, incorporate rucks into your touch game. (you get touched, go down and a ruck forms). This will help the forwards understand the importance of getting to the breakdown quick, because if they don't, they lose possession.

Also, it is better to play two handed touch instead of one handed touch.

Once they get good at these small games. Start teaching tactics. ie: 3 forward hit ups, and then spread the ball wide. Kick chases/grubber kicks.

 

[Sam91]

Sounds like it's best that you start with ball handling drills and passing drills. Rugby passing is usually the spiral pass which is particularly hard to do straight up if you've never touched a rugby ball before, so i'd suggest the best method of passing for beginners is more of a rugby league pass, i.e holding the ball with two hands on the end and making it go end over end, this pass if just as effective as long as you make it nice and flat and not loopy. Once you have worked on ball handling and passing then perhaps incorporate it into a rugby touch game and just learning the laws like going through the gate and what not. Learning to tackle is probably the most important part of rugby and knowing the laws around tacking, i.e no high tackles, rolling away, no lifting above the horizontal as well as suitable defensive patterns.. Line outs and scrums are probably best learnt after everyone is comfortable with ball handling and passing. If you want some more in depth advice let me know and i'd be happy to give you some

 

[big ginger 8]

If you want a more advanced form of tip use Fiji Tip defenders must use 2 hands when the attacker is tipped once he can keep going if tipped a second time it's a turnover. When a try is scored the other team run it from the try line. It's used to improve support lines and off-loading.

 

[PainDealer]

Another thing is to convince the guys that playing touch is actually useful. If I was in charge of things it might go well but unfortunately I'm not. The one being the "drill sergeant" has no experience just like the rest of the guys. The sessions always tend to steer towards rucking and no one pays attention on positioning for example. Also everyone seems to be digging into the ruck so there's no one left for the d-line. Any suitable drills to get the "thinking" right for the guys?

 

[big ginger 8]

Tell them rucks usually won't last more than 20 seconds and there's no point putting more than 4 in a ruck. Though of course there are exceptions to every rule. Tell them rugby is about soring trys and you can't do that if all you're able to do is ruck you'll hang on to it but do **** all with it.

 

[Sam91]

Make sure you split up forwards and backs at a training session unless you need to do a team run or something, then the forwards can do ruck work and the backs can practice backline combinations. Like big ginger 8 said, rucks last hardly any time, so tell them that there is no need to commit to it unless there is a chance you can win the ball. Backs shouldn't really be involved in a ruck unless they were the tackler the tackled or they are the closest person to the ruck, other than that they should be nowhere near it. One of the simplest methods for a basic defence pattern is to just get them to pick out their man and don't move inside them and slide with them in defence. Have you sorted out any positions yet?

 

[TNT88]

If the problem is over-commuting to the rucks. Next time you play, allocate 5-6 players on each team to do all the rucking. No one else is allowed to enter a ruck, they must stay out in defence. Soon they will realize rucks can be defended easily by 2 or 3 guys.

 

[Charles]

Check out http://www.coachingtoolbox.co.nz/

Plenty of drills, exercises etc...

 

[PainDealer]

Thanks Sam and TNT

I'll try to figure out something based on your suggestions. We don't have a full team yet and positions haven't been completely thought through. We have some definite backs and some definite forwards and a couple of guys haven't found their "calling" yet. The idea of splitting up the team at training sessions is something that's already crossed my mind but currently it's not an option as we usually have a strength of 10 (give or take 3) men present.

 

[Bataz]

Who is the most experienced bloke in your set up and what does his experience involve?

 

[big ginger 8]

Only ten players have you tried advertising going round to different places there is really very little you can do with that amount.

 

[PainDealer]

Who is the most experienced bloke in your set up and what does his experience involve?

That was me until last Wednesday when a prop who moved here from another city joined us. He's been playing for six or seven years and has some U21 caps. I might still have the best general understanding of the game by constantly watching matches. I don't have much experience on the field tho since when I started playing I had a long drive to practice in another city and couldn't afford going there frequently.

Only ten players have you tried advertising going round to different places there is really very little you can do with that amount.

We are just getting our recruiting campaign underway. I've made a simple flyer and I've pinned one on my college's sports bulletin board. Next Saturday a local newspaper will publish a page sized story about us. Hopefully that'll get us a couple of new guys.

 

[Easdon]

The best place to start is the basics - keep it simple until everyone is up to speed with the game. Stuff like rucks and lineouts are important parts of the game but definitely not the be all and end all. If you can, try to get the boys to spend a lot of time on passing and tackling, really focusing on technique. There're loads of drills you'll be able to find online that will help you all to improve and also get fitter and faster. When people start getting confident working with the ball in hand and defending then you can start to break into positions and get more complex but keep it basic just now!! Touch rugby is definitely one of the best things for building this confidence - it puts people under pressure but in the sort of environment where you can learn from your mistakes and figure out your own style.

If the guys don't have a great understanding of the game then try and get everyone together and watch stuff on youtube - game footage, coaching tips, strength and conditioning videos, everything rugby you can find! You mentioned your college - how about a computer room or something there? The most important part of rugby is getting together and enjoying yourselves so the more you do together the more you'll bond as a team. Keep it up and I hope you guys enjoy your rugby!

 

[Rhyer]

Another thing is to convince the guys that playing touch is actually useful. If I was in charge of things it might go well but unfortunately I'm not. The one being the "drill sergeant" has no experience just like the rest of the guys. The sessions always tend to steer towards rucking and no one pays attention on positioning for example. Also everyone seems to be digging into the ruck so there's no one left for the d-line. Any suitable drills to get the "thinking" right for the guys?

One method we usually do, which might be a bit advanced, is to set up a small pitch with about 15 metres across and 10 metres deep. The focus is on forward play as it's a small pitch and developing skills in the ruck which every player needs not just backs. Basically you just play a game of rugby on that and try to keep it as tight as possible using the ol' pillar and post structure of the rucks which is needed in tight games when defending from your goal line and every player needs to do it.

Maybe you can just tell them that any rugby team that isn't **** plays touch, All Blacks do it all the time, we did it in the French U20 squad before games, we do it at my club and every team I know does it. It's incredibly crucial to develop the basic skills of touch such as; communication, positioning, familiarity, passing, handling, defence, decision making, quick ball and the most important thing for low level players is determining positions.