The Coaching Knife: Improve skill acquisition, with Job Fransen

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Dan Cottrell

Dan is a practising RFU Level 3 coach and coach educator. He coaches with the Bristol Bears DPP programme, is head coach of Bristol Schools U18s and the Rugby Performance coach for Bristol Grammar School.

He was head coach of Swansea Schools U15, Young Ospreys Academy, assistant coach with the Wales Women's Team for the 2010 World Cup, director of rugby for Cranleigh School, Surrey. He played for Bath, Bristol, Esher and Clifton, South West division, Gloucestershire and Surrey.

Editor's Picks

Behind the scenes with: Bath Academy

Wicked warm-ups

Being authentic, player relationships and 'why?'

Challenging players of differing abilities

Behind the scenes with: England U18s

Coaching Advice

Motivate your players during a losing streak

From setting challenges to your team, to managing parental concerns, Steph Fairbairn gives 11 top tips for keeping spirits up when ...

Don't switch out of the game

Editor Dan Cottrell adds further context to two sessions.

Simple, not simpler

Efficiency isn’t about less fun—it’s about maximizing engagement, ensuring players learn, progress, and stay motivated to improve.

Slow ball plays

Editor Dan Cottrell adds further context to two sessions.

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Challenges to see what players can achieve

Move players into game-real situations, even if technique isn’t yet perfect – test what they can do, not what they can’t. By Utah Warriors ...

Top tips for recalling your players' names

Coaching a new team? Or perhaps have two sets of twins turn up that you can’t tell apart? Here’s some great advice so you can commit their ...

Turning weaknesses back into strengths

Discussing shortcomings can be hard and counter-productive. Dan Cottrell and Mark Calverley explain how to improve players by changing your ...

Unlocking dominance and reducing misses

Defence coach Oli Bishop uses his experience with the Ealing Trailfinders and RFU Level 4 courses to give a comprehensive breakdown of the ...

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