Handling Skills

[O'Rothlain]

From The Desk of Coach Rowlan
Saturday, 10 November 2007
"Handling Skills"

Today's question comes from our friend RC:
<blockquote>"I'm always looking to improve my handling skills - as a back i feel it's something i have to work on - can you give me some good tips i can use to get better with the ball in hand?"
</blockquote>Good question, RC. I had a school assignment when I was a young lad that involved taking an egg and carrying it for a week as if it were my child. The only way I could ensure that my egg (or child, as my mad teacher would have stated) didn't break was to keep it with me at all times.
This is my first bit of advice, if you want to be a better ball handler, keep a rugby ball in your hands at all times. I know we all have jobs or school or social activities where carrying your rugby football would be innapropriate, but there is a load of time you can do this whilst at home or during your leisure time. Simply keep a ball with you while watching the television, while walking around your home, or while going on a jog or walk. If you can get away with it, keep one at your desk at work. If you toss the ball to yourself, bounce it off of the floor, and pop kick it to yourself in your free time, these things will become second nature to you. Becoming a good rugby player doesn't happen over night, and neither will great handling skills. Keeping the ball with you at all times will make it second nature for you to look after the ball and be aware of where it is.
If you belong to a gym or have access to one regularly, or if you do your running at a track, try running with a medicine ball in your hands. This will build your strength and grip, and make carrying a rugby ball seem easy.
It's a simple idea, but the more time you spend with a ball, the better you will handle it.

 

[chinwaggler]

Rothlain, unusual advice but sounds good

Erm, I think, if you are talking about running with the ball, then the best thing to do would be practice. Some things just improve this way. Practice running with it in training, ask your coach to do some handling drills. If you're on your own, just practice running with the ball in hand, whilst pretending to hand off or side step etc.

I've improved a little just by running and pretending I have a ball in hand.

 

[Canuck-Backrow]

Rothlain, unusual advice but sounds good

Erm, I think, if you are talking about running with the ball, then the best thing to do would be practice. Some things just improve this way. Practice running with it in training, ask your coach to do some handling drills. If you're on your own, just practice running with the ball in hand, whilst pretending to hand off or side step etc.

I've improved a little just by running and pretending I have a ball in hand.
[/b]

Solid advice....you can also try passing it off the wall and catching it again, depending on the surface it can be pretty unpredictable!

Oh, and don't attempt this if you've got dry-wall

 

[Caledfwlch]

Why is that?

 

[Canuck-Backrow]

Why is that?
[/b]

lol cause the ball will make a nice big dent in it

 

[Caledfwlch]

But the walls in my house are dry.

 

[Canuck-Backrow]

But the walls in my house are dry.
[/b]

Lol? I hope you're joking

But in case you aren't: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drywall

Very fragile stuff!

 

[Canadian_Rugby_Guy]

you could try some work with tennis balls as well. Take said tennis ball and bounce it off a wall using your right and left hand alternating. You can also switch between catching the ball with two hands or one hand make it harder by standing farther away and needing to throw it harder, or stand close and throw it hard, trying to catch it before it touches the floor.

 

[Caledfwlch]

<div class='quotemain'>
But the walls in my house are dry.
[/b]

Lol? I hope you're joking

But in case you aren't: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drywall

Very fragile stuff! [/b][/quote]



OOPS! Haha I took drywall to mean that the wall literally is dry and has no water on it . My walls are solid brick and concrete, so the only thing i have to worry about it the marks the balls leave on the walls.

 

[thrustfulemu]

This sounds all right in theory but running at full pace and trying to make a catch from a hospital pass is a bit different, I usually get together with my friends and work on oour skills as a group, but different things will work for different people so there is no reason this shouldnt work

 

[chinwaggler]

Passing/Catching whilst running is a lot harder than being static.

Idea: hang a hoop or stand one or let your friend hold it or whatever, run with a ball and try to pass through it.

When catching the ball, try to recieve it with your hands in the best suited position, rather than just grabbing it. Like.. if it is flat, have one hand slightly higher than the other, and if it is vertical, catch mainly with one hand. Whatever it's doing, keep your eye on it and ignore any opposition around you. Better to catch it, take a hit and recycle it, than to knock it on.

 

[goranski]

me and my roomie in college had this drill where would practice insane catches by catching around obstacles - trees, near walls in the gym - plus we used to kick and throw dive catches onto a gymnastics mattress that was set up on a basketball court... there was a small trampoline nearby which we would jump off - we did this for a couple nights after that they put up signs barring anyone from using the gymnasts' equipment

we also just played alot of kickback which is probably the best thing to do with a partner

 

[nam97]

Catching a basic pass should come natural to most, but the one thing I would work on is improving my reactions. A good game to play is with a partner and whilst on your knees about 8 meters from each other throw a hacky sack real fast and at random difficult positions to each other (i.e. to his left, right, in front and above his head). But it has to be fast and spontaneous.

This is a great way to improve on reacting to where a pass is gonna go and improves your hand-eye coordination also. And when you get real pro like me, just throw the sack to and fro whilst your lying on the couch with a beer. It's training and relaxing at the same time so improves your awareness EVEN MORE!!!

This works way better than simply running with a Rugby ball and passing, 'cos anyone can do that.

 

[Grimm5]

At home my rugby ball rarely leaves my hands unless absolutely necessary; it drives my family crazy hearing me toss it to myself constantly. The only problem is I can never resist giving it a little drop kick every once in a while, which results in broken things, picture frames mostly. My mom is going to kill me one of these days.