Rugby Coach Weekly

Send us a textMark Saltmarsh, who is Head of Education and Age Grade Rugby at the RFU, tells us how the "Half a game" rule (HGR) has worked so far, and what have been the challenges.Mark gives an honest assessment of the current roll-out, with plenty of practical ways to make it work for all clubs.We covered:The principles behind the ruleWhy have a rule when good coaches should be doing this alreadySome of the main issues that have caused problems: cup games, keen players becoming demotivatedThe role of sanctions How conversations before games make it easier to implementHow HGR is being integrated into courses.For more resources on HGR go to the RFU website. Click here.To find out more about this podcast and many others, go to Rugby Coach Weekly To find out more about our Partner Club offer CLICK HEREAlso, tap into the library of 4,000 pages of activities, advice, tactics and tips to help you become the best rugby coach you can be!

Send us a textMark Bennett MBE, a leading coach and coach developer, explains how he helps coaches to help players to think for themselves. He has very powerful methods to work across all levels of the game, to suit the player in front of you.In this podcast, we explored these areas:What is meant by a coachable playerHow to make players think for themselvesWhat tools to use, with players and with coachesThe rule of three - how it is for you, not for themWhat to set as targets so there are intrinsicHow to work with mixed ability groupsCreating Ninjas in your coaching worldMark is a former British Commando and senior instructor with the Army Physical Training Corps. He has had over 30 years of practice and research into developing his coaching and learning consultancy, Performance Development Systems (PDS).He currently works as a consultant, coach trainer and mentor with various professional and national sport organizations, teams and universities around the world, as well as schools and community sports.For more information and to contact him to see if he can help you, visit:www.pdscoaching.comTo find out more about this podcast and many others, go to Rugby Coach Weekly To find out more about our Partner Club offer CLICK HEREAlso, tap into the library of 4,000 pages of activities, advice, tactics and tips to help you become the best rugby coach you can be!

Send us a textGeraint Davies, who coaches level 5 men's club rugby and school teams from under 11 upwards, also publishes some of the best video analysis of top professional games on YouTube. He is currently just completing his level 4 coaching award.In the podcast, Geraint explains...The benefits you and your teams get from reviewing video footage from top class games.How you translate what you see in the footage into training design.How you can vary your feedback on the footage to suit different age groups.Different ways to introduce a new technique or tactic.The right focus on when you are watching back videos.How can we watch our games in real time.You can visit his YouTube channelOr contact him via TwitterTo find out more about this podcast and many others, go to Rugby Coach Weekly To find out more about our Partner Club offer CLICK HEREAlso, tap into the library of 4,000 pages of activities, advice, tactics and tips to help you become the best rugby coach you can be!

Send us a textDoug Lemov, author of Teach Like a Champion and world-renowned educational speaker, shows us how we can use simple and effective techniques on the practice ground. He has worked with sports organisations as well as his crucial work in the classroom context to create better learning outcomes.He's studied thousands of hours footage and observed teachers and coaches in wide range of situations. His work is a reflection of the best practice at work.In this podcast, we discuss:Why the classroom and sports field share so much common groundWhy most weekly planning goes wrongHow to mix up your training programme to create deeper learningHow to correct mistakes effectively and quicklyUsing "Cold calling" for engagement and your own checkpointsUsing "Turn and talk" to improve communication skillsUsing "Wait time" to help feedbackHow to avoid "rounding up" poor answersTo find out more about Teach Like a Champion, go to https://teachlikeachampion.comAlso, his sports bloghttps://teachlikeachampion.com/category/blog/coaching-and-practice/To find out more about this podcast and many others, go to Rugby Coach Weekly To find out more about our Partner Club offer CLICK HEREAlso, tap into the library of 4,000 pages of activities, advice, tactics and tips to help you become the best rugby coach you can be!

Send us a textWilbur Kraak, a senior lecturer and rugby researcher at Department of Sport Science, Stellenbosch University, South Africa, has recently published his findings on the effects of a skills specific coaching education programme on the skill level of mini-rugby players.Working with Jacques Basson, their conclusions shed further light on what good practice design looks like and what we should be encouraging coaches to focus on.In this podcast, I ask Wilbur aboutThe background to the researchHow they split the coaches and teams into a control group and experimental groupWhat skills were they measuring and how?How they upskilled the coaches of the experimental group and how they reacted to thisWhat skills programme did they follow and how would they improve on thatWhat is meant by the fundamentals in movement skills and game skills?Which skills really improved, more than expectedconfirm or change views on what practice design looks likeEffect of a skills specific coaching education programme on the skill level of mini-rugby players | Basson | South African Journal for Research in Sport, Physical Education and Recreation https://ajol.info/index.php/sajrs/article/view/191634To find out more about this podcast and many others, go to Rugby Coach Weekly To find out more about our Partner Club offer CLICK HEREAlso, tap into the library of 4,000 pages of activities, advice, tactics and tips to help you become the best rugby coach you can be!

Send us a textCraig Gunn and I tackle some of the more difficult parts of coaching, especially with younger players.First, we talk about how a coach can help a player who's frustrated that their team mates don't try hard in every training session. This often happens as players reach their teens.Second, Gunny has been inspired by his recent visit to St David's College, in Llandudno (wait for him to try to pronounce that!).We discuss how important it is to differentiate in training, what's practical to do and how you might do it with your team.As usual, Gunny provides us with a range of evidence-based solutions which he's either used or seen work in practice.For more on Gunny and the great work he does go to:craiggunn.orgOr visit him on Twitter@c_gunny73To find out more about this podcast and many others, go to Rugby Coach Weekly To find out more about our Partner Club offer CLICK HEREAlso, tap into the library of 4,000 pages of activities, advice, tactics and tips to help you become the best rugby coach you can be!

Send us a textAn insight into Wasps Ladies Director of Rugby, Giselle Mather’s coaching journey and her top tips and advice for coaching rugby.Giselle played for England, winning the 1994 World Cup. She then went onto coach England women's development teams, before working with London Irish Academy and Teddington mens, with great success.She is a trailblazer in women's coaching and the first holder of a Level 4 coaching badge.She talks aboutWhat she learned from the journeyHow she is herself and authentic is the way she deals with coachingHow she persuaded doubting men of her ability to coach"If you can it, you can be it""The revolution is on its way!"To find out more about this podcast and many others, go to Rugby Coach Weekly To find out more about our Partner Club offer CLICK HEREAlso, tap into the library of 4,000 pages of activities, advice, tactics and tips to help you become the best rugby coach you can be!

Send us a textJamie Taylor, former head of academy at Leicester Tigers and now working with English Institute of Sport, challenges us to be better as coaches.In this podcast, we discuss the following areas:How to manage the complexity of coaching Your coaching approach must suit the developmental needs of the playersHow former players can make great coachesDifferent language and outcomes for different playersWhat are the best ways we can intervene into coaching situationsThe importance of using delayed feedbackWhy "drills" (not his word!) can play an important role in skill developmentHow a tackle pad is still valid for contact work, but in the right contextHe challenges himself, says we need to challenge ourselves and always make coaching interventions for a specific reason, not just because we've seen someone else do it.To find out more about this podcast and many others, go to Rugby Coach Weekly To find out more about our Partner Club offer CLICK HEREAlso, tap into the library of 4,000 pages of activities, advice, tactics and tips to help you become the best rugby coach you can be!

Send us a textDale Sidebottom is a leading motivational instructor and coach educator who works across sport and business. He has inspired plenty of other coach educators to create better environments to maximise learning.In this bumper podcast he shares his methods and some of the best ways to make a real difference in coaching.How to make ice breakers really engageFirst steps to creating the right cultureHow do work with those who don't want to engageWhere we go wrong with games, and how to make them better Introductory level gamification - how to help the novice coach make sense of the powerTo find out more go tohttps://fitnessgameszone.comWhen you check out to get 50% off the membership use the code word ‘ENERGETIC’ https://energetic.educationhttps://www.jugar.lifeTo find out more about this podcast and many others, go to Rugby Coach Weekly To find out more about our Partner Club offer CLICK HEREAlso, tap into the library of 4,000 pages of activities, advice, tactics and tips to help you become the best rugby coach you can be!

Send us a textSam Jarman works with coaches and athletes across a number of sports, including golf, rugby, football and cricket.In this deep-thinking, revealing and practical podcast, we discuss...How our thoughts create our experienceIs what happened in the past a reliable guide to the future?What to say (and not to say) to players before a big gameEvaluating the evidence around performance – Can a thought really affect the flight of the ball?Misconceptions around confidence Nerves; understanding where they come fromEvaluating and interpreting performanceSam Jarman golfSports PrinciplesTo find out more about this podcast and many others, go to Rugby Coach Weekly To find out more about our Partner Club offer CLICK HEREAlso, tap into the library of 4,000 pages of activities, advice, tactics and tips to help you become the best rugby coach you can be!