Help my Players Can't Tackle

Whoever said coaching is easy isn’t telling the whole story. Coaches often face problems that need a little extra help to resolve.

 

From the Ask Dan pages of Rugby Coach Weekly, Help – My Players Can’t Tackle! is a collection of real questions from real coaches, with ways of resolving them to keep players engaged and focused on training and match day.

 

This book is the culmination of three years of questions from readers of Rugby Coach Weekly and the answers I have given to them in my Ask Dan column. Over those years, I have answered a huge variety of problems using activities and advice – most importantly it contains answers to questions that coaches ask me every week from across the rugby world.

Most coaches go about their weekly business with few hiccups. Many are resourceful enough to know how to deal with the multitude of challenges that face them. 

Sometimes, the players are late, or don’t train well enough. Or, in games, they fail to execute plays or can’t seem to perform to their ability. The coach, and that’s you, considers the challenge and finds a solution. But sometimes that solution doesn’t work, nor the next one. The struggles become worse, the players less engaged and the coach feels under increasing pressure to perform.

That’s when a Rugby Coach Weekly reader sends me an email. 

 

There’s plenty of frustration. That’s because we want to do well and we want our players to grow. I’ve been coaching for over 20 years now. I was very raw when I started out. What I didn’t realise at the time was that coaching is not just about a slab of drills with a game at the end, plus some clever moves and tricks when it comes to the match.

In fact, coaching is about developing the whole player. That’s a daunting task for any new coach. It’s also pretty tough for the more seasoned coaches amongst us. The whole player includes all the supporting entourage around them. For younger players, that’s parents. I’ve changed my approach to these groups. They are a key part of a player’s growth and need to be nurtured and coached and supported, just like a player. Just as we would coach their child, our messages to the parents must be positive.

HOW THE BOOK WORKS

Looking over the Ask Dan questions in this book, you will see we have split them into three areas: 

Skills, Management and Tactics. 

 

There’s inevitably some cross over,  because they are intertwined in many ways.

The Skills section focuses on the challenges of developing skills. 

 

Mostly the questions concern a lack of skill or a lack of ability to transfer the skill from training into matches. You will see there’s a big emphasis on getting the skills into games. These games aren’t just for fun, 
though you would hope the players enjoy them. You want to replicate the sort of pressure the players will feel when they play.

Pressure should be relative. You’re not preparing for a World Cup final. Think about the age of the players and how much the match will matter to them in a year’s time. That’s my message when I’m asked by junior coaches about developing skills aimed at senior players. I will help that coach refocus on the most appropriate skills.

 

The Management section covers a range of areas, from team bonding, to recruitment and managing the team on a tournament day. One coach asked me what was best to wear! They’d never played rugby before and wanted to look the part.

Stickier questions concern playing players up a year group and helping the players to focus. Most 
of us have found the last concern a continuing problem.

Our Tactics section looks at game scenarios and how we can adjust our game plan. The questions cover both attack and defence. I’ve enjoyed answering all the questions because you can always add a personalised solution that is appropriate to the age group. It’s also good to be part of a coaching community who want to help their players grow, and not just as rugby players.

I hope you find answers to your own questions, and some thoughts for questions you should have asked, but didn’t know that you needed to

 

Clever Design

Each page follows the same simple format, with added suggested activities to help you implement the advice you have received from Dan. These activities have clear illustrations giving you the opportunity to easily visualise the movements and practices involved in each drill.

 

Contents

 

SKILLS

Help – My players can’t tackle!
How do we stop making poor ruck decisions?
We want to improve our kicking out of hand
We are struggling to complete even a simple overlap in attack
My team finds it hard to know what to do to support the ball carrier
How should I be using tackle tubes in training to improve defence?
Sharpen up decision making in pre-season
How can I develop my 8’s all-round game?
Our 9’s our best runner. How do we get him into the attack more?
What’s your best decision-making drill?
How can I get my best players to pass?
Can you suggest any defensive line speed drills for my U9 team?
Help! My team can’t seem to get quick ruck ball. What can I do?
Help us with our lineouts!
How can I stop my 10 drifting across the pitch?
How do I make my 9 and 10 noisier

 

MANAGEMENT

How can I introduce more “dog” into my players?
How can I build fire and desire in my players?
What’s the best way to run pre-season?
How can I get my players to bond as a team?
My team needs more players. What do you suggest?
How do I give an end of season performance review to my players?
What should I wear as a coach?
How can I make our club awards evening go without a hitch?
How can I get my team through a tournament?
How do I improve my players’ concentration?
Help me stop my player wasting her talent
How can I be more organised at the end of the season?
A player quit via text. Should I contact his parents?
How can I get my players to focus on the team?
When should I move players up an age group?
Can you give me ideas on how to approach my Level 2 course?
How can I get my players to demonstrate greater mental strength?
I feel that my coaching is getting stale
My players won’t think about the future!
How can I become a better skills coach?
How do I look after the team on match days more effectively?
Father and ego have given scrum half delusions of grandeur
When is a pitch too hard to play on?
Coach control – what should we be doing from the side line as coaches?

 

TACTICS

What’s the best way to defend from set pieces?
How can I get my players used to playing on a bigger pitch?
How do we improve our tactical decision making?
How can I get my players on the ball?
We struggle with the phase after a set piece
How do we deal with an overbearing coach?
How can I get my players to engage from the start of the game?
How can I bring the full back in on the narrow side after a lineout?
How can we stop getting bunched in attack?