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LOGINNine lives
Quick-thinking skills plus pressure often equals inaccurate execution. Use these drills to see if your players can complete the job, even if it doesn’t look pretty.
WHY USE IT
Encourage your players not to just go through the motions. Demand high standards.
set up
Cones, ruck pads, balls.
HOW TO PLAY
ACTIVITY: Each player starts with nine lives. Set up three skills stations (see illustration).
Driving: a player has to drive the ruck pad-holder back 5m.
Footwork: a player has to pick up the ball, run through the offset cones and place the ball down at the end.
Passing: a player has to pick up the ball, pass it to the middle player, run past them, receiving a pop pass as they do and then puts the ball down.
Each player repeats this six times (up and back three times). A spotter docks a life for each mistake, such as:
Driving: not completing 5m.
Footwork: doesn’t go through cones, doesn’t place ball down.
Handling: drops ball, does not place ball down (drops it).
Rotate players so they’ve done each exercise twice. See how many lives they have at the end.
GAME SITUATION: Split into four groups. Put two groups in the box and play full contact for one minute. After that time, the losing group goes off. If it’s a draw, the group that has just come on stays on. There is a maximum rest of two minutes for each group.
COACHING POINTS
- Focus on the skill and keep the quality outcomes high.
- Be accurate. Don’t cut corners.
- Each player starts at one end of their cone corridor
- Each corridor has a different task to perform six times in all
Related Files
- Driving: the player goes into the box and drives the player back 5m
- Footwork: the player picks up the ball, runs through the offset cones and places the ball down at the end
- Handling: the player picks up and pops the ball to the standing player
- Each action must be completed accurately or a life is lost
- Lose lives for...
> Driving: does not complete drive for 5m
> Footwork: does not go through cones, does not place ball down (drops it)
> Handling: drops ball, does not place ball down (drops it)
Dan Cottrell
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