Splitting players by ability: pros and cons

Grouping players by either mixed or similar ability is a method used by coaches to organise their sessions.

But who they will be interacting with needs careful consideration in your planning.

STRENGTHS OF GROUPING BY SIMILAR ABILITY

1. Increased competition: With similar ability, players must put more effort in to stand out.
2. Increased confidence: Players are closer to their comfort zone; they won’t feel disheartened by significant differences in ability.
3. Safety: Strong, hard tacklers training together can reduce the chance of injuries. Lower-ability players may suffer if they’re not experienced at being tackled as hard.

Possible scenarios

• Some players have been missing tackles in recent matches and are low on confidence – group by similar ability during your tackling activity so your players can experience tackling success.
• Some of your higher-ability players are enjoying a lot of success, finding lots of space and not being challenged – group by similar ability so they are playing with and against consistently higher-ability players.
• A player with a high communication level seems ahead of everyone else and gets frustrated when they feel others aren’t keeping up. Having part of training where they play with players of a similar ability will give them time where they are less frustrated and they may enjoy training more.
• You want to challenge the leadership and communication of your high ability players – split by ability and introduce a new tactic or move to the high ability players before going to mixed-ability and challenging the high ability players to pass on what they have learned.

STRENGTHS OF GROUPING BY MIXED ABILITY

1. Role models: Players experience training with team-mates who are better than they are. They see the difference in ability which can drive an effort to improve. They also may hear more detailed communication they can use in future playing time.
2. Increased success: A lower-ability player being passed to by a player very good at passing will have more success at catching. Equally, the disheartening feeling of passing to someone who doesn’t catch can be reduced by the lower-ability player passing to a higher-ability player, who could be more likely to catch the ball.
3. Learning opportunity: Players can be exposed to new tactics or strategies – other players may have found different methods to succeed against players of a similar ability.
4. Equality: Players know when they are grouped by ability, which can negatively affect their confidence. Mixing abilities reduces this. Lower-ability players also have the chance to show they are better than they are thought to be.

Possible scenarios

• You have got a player or two who are dominating training and may be over-confident – get them to train with an older age group for part of the session to show them another level of ability, which may help them to focus when back with your group (ensure RFU regulations are followed).
• A lower-ability player is lacking confidence, keeps dropping catches and not passing accurately – playing them with your higher-ability players can mean they are receiving more accurate passes, which are easier for them to catch, and players who are better at catching can secure a less accurate pass.
• You want to challenge your higher-ability players to lead other players and give your lower-ability players a challenge playing against players better than them.

You may already be doing all this without realising, or you may consciously be using one but not the other.

There are more strengths and weaknesses for each and most will depend on your team’s context. There are many factors that can affect the success of both methods.

I would recommend you use both methods in a careful and considered fashion. Any practice can use either method and it is down to you as to what to use and when.