1RugbyCoachBlog.com » General

Core Training For Rugby

Neil — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 11:58:15 +0000

So Why Do We Need To Train Our Core?

I have to say that I played for several years as a professional rugby league player before I was taught the importance of training my core.

Core stability is the coordinated effort of the deep muscles of the trunk, pelvis, hips, abdominal muscles and small muscles along the spinal column. These muscles contract together to create force used to hold the spinal column in alignment.

The reason we need to exercise these muscles is to build core strength which supports the spine and provides stability.

Core stability is essential for proper form and mechanics while performing rugby skills.

It is even more important for injury prevention, especially during an intense 80 min rugby match.

I recently spoke to Mike Ferrandino who’s the fitness conditioner for Leeds University Gryphon’s which includes both the rugby league and rugby union teams, about the importance of core exercises.

Here’s a short video with Mike showing some core exercises for the modern rugby player.

Click here to view the embedded video.

There are more core exercises in the download section at www.1RugbyCoach.com

Until next time

Neil
www.1RugbyCoach.com

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Coaching the Offload

Neil — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 11:12:03 +0000

One of the students at Leeds University Rugby League recently asked me how he could improve his offload and was there any exercises he could practice…

For you as a coach, the easiest and one of the most effective ways to teach your players ‘Offloading’ is the Hit & Spin Technique, which is actually poorly named because you actually Spin and then Hit. To teach this technique:

a. Have a player with a shield standing 5 metres in away from the play the ball, in the ‘A’ defenders position (one off the ruck);

b. Have a runner come through and take a pass off the dummy half and run straight at the ‘A’ defender;

- Just before the runner gets to the defender he starts to spin, and here is the critical part:
- If he is on the LEFT side of the ruck he will carry the ball in two hands and lead (or hit) with his LEFT shoulder;
- If on the RIGHT side he will lead with his RIGHT shoulder;
- This will ensure that he is able to deliver the pass correctly to his support.
- The dummy half scoots out from the play the ball and while running behind the ball runner, he takes the offload.
- The dummy half then becomes the next ball runner and the drill continues;

c. When coaching offloads, you should also teach the correct ball carry:

- Many players these days are carrying the ball for the spin pass. Get them out of this habit
and get them back to holding the ball in the middle, with fingers spread underneath and
thumbs on top.
- To demonstrate the effectiveness of this ball carry, have a player turn his back to you and
you bear hug him, but holding his arms ‘above’ the elbow, he can now flick his wrists and pass the ball 5 metres with a wrist flick.

There are plenty of other ways of offloading, passing under the arm pits, passing around a defender, the one handed back flick, but most of these are high skill sets. The hit and spin is relatively simple and can easily be taught, you can then build it into a pattern or a play such as the dummy half scooting and dummying to an inside runner, then passing to a straight runner who hits and spins and picks up the dummy half on the loop who fires the pass out to his backline.

Enjoy Your Rugby

Neil
www.1RugbyCoach.com

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Rugby Coaching Defence Fitness Drill

admin — Thu, 06 May 2010 13:14:31 +0000

Over the past few weeks I’ve been getting quite a few questions about defence and more specifically fitness defence drills so I thought I’d share with you a short video that I shot while I was over in Australia with one of the top fitness conditioners in the business, Paul Hamson.

Paul is one of the worlds top rugby fitness conditioners who also happens to be a level 3 Rugby League coach.

He is the senior presenter for the Australian RugbyLeague & NSWRL level 1,2 & 3 courses and has worked with some of the best Rugby League and Rugby Union clubs in the world and I’m priviliged to share some of his coaching tips with you today.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Enjoy Your Rugby

Neil Harmon

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Great Free Rugby Training Resource

Neil — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 12:18:59 +0000

Things are beggining to settle down a bit now after the launch of http://www.1RugbyCoach.com and I just wanted to give you a quick heads up with what’s new in the world of rugby training.

I’ve recently come across a great free rugby resource called http://www.fast4football.com/ and think it’s an excellent site with some of the top professional Australian rugby league players sharing training tips.

Andrew Johns, arguably Rugby league’s greatest halfback of all time and named half back of the century and currently a coaching consultant to the games elite, gives his time and services to fast4football. His video content has had thousands of viewers on fast4football.com viewing his interviews and training drills for free.

Other players sharing tips on the site include; Andrew Ryan Nathan Hindmarsh and Brett Hodgson.

Anyway I hope your coaching is going to plan and enjoy this free resource.

Neil
www.1RugbyCoach.com

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rugby drills for juniors

Free 1 Year Membership Winners

admin — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 23:51:25 +0000

First of all, a big thank you to everyone who left a comment on the previous post and to everyone who emailed me separately explaining why they should have a free club membership. There was over 60 people from all over the world who entered even though 30+ emailed instead of leaving a blog post! Anyway seeing as I’m in the Christmas spirit I’m not going to penalise them and everyones comments were taken into consideration:-)

I think the one massive plus point to come out of this blog post was the huge number of amateur coaches across the globe that care for the future of both rugby league and rugby union through their selfless coaching efforts.

With that said, due to the number of coaches from different countries, I’ve decided to award one club the full years membership for all their coaches PLUS give one club per country a membership for 5 coaches and give everyone else a free month just because it’s Christmas:-)

The winner for a full years membership for all their coaches is Quintin Abrie from South Africa who’s part of a non-profit coaching agency that coaches rugby players, advantage or disadvantage, young or old, amateur or professional. Quote “If they want to play rugby we’ll coach them. We like to go and present coaching clinics @ Child Care Centers, and in the rural communities.”

So congratulations to Quintin and I’ll be in touch with the lucky winners from all the other countries and to everyone that either left a comment or emailed me regarding the free membership.

Enjoy your rugby

Neil Harmon

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Free 12 Month Membership For A Whole Amateur Club!

admin — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 07:28:45 +0000

Yes you read that correctly and no I’ve not been on the whiskey!

Let me explain…….

My blog post before the launch caused a bit of a stir among the amateur rugby coaching fraternity regarding the price of my new membership site http://1RugbyCoach.com and I received quite a few negative as well as positive comments.

One of the comments was left by a guy named Paul, who suggested that I make the site available to a whole club for the same price. Well thanks to Paul, I received a ton of email agreeing with him and asking if this was possible.

Now bearing in mind some amateur clubs have over 20 coaches with most having about 10. Lets take the lower figure 10 x £14.95/month which equals £149.50 (which could be double for some of the bigger clubs). Now times that by 12 = £1796.40 for the year!

Which amateur clubs could afford that kind of money…..not many right!

So I’m going to give away a full 12 month membership to 1 amateur rugby club no matter if they have 5, 10, 15, or 20+ coaches.

This means all the coaches in your club can have access to all the videos, articles and downloads on the 1RugbyCoach.com membership site as well as gaining access to our support forums where you’ll be sharing ideas and techniques with rugby coaches from across the globe!

Here’s the rules:- You must post a comment at the bottom of this blog stating

Your name, your amateur club and which country you play in (so we can see your real:-)
Why your club deserves the free 12 month membership

Comments will close at noon GMT Sat 5th Dec 2009 which gives you just under a week to get your comments in.

I will announce the winning amateur club on Mon 7th Dec 2009 and should have the memberships available by Wed/Thur (9th/10th Dec)

So with over £1700 worth of memberships available, what are you waiting for….?

Happy Days!

Neil

http://www.1RugbyCoach.com

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Pre, During & Post Match Nutrition

Neil — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:56:36 +0000

Nutrition has come more and more to the fore in the era of professional rugby. These days, most big teams and all the international ones have at least one nutritionist to look after their players. But eating right isn’t just for international stars!

Having the right nutritional program can help to boost your match-day performance and give you that vital edge. Eating properly is just like any other part of training – designed to get the best out of your body when the time comes. Equally, it is important to look after your body’s needs during and after the match, to make sure you do not suffer any permanent damage.

In the run up to the match, it is vital to pre-load your body with carbohydrates, found in foods like pasta, wholegrain bread and porridge (these forms of carbohydrate are best, as they provide slow release energy).

These foods are crucial for that “explosive” power so desired in the modern game. Taper down your exercise routine as you come up to the match in line with loading your body with carbohydrates. On the day itself, try and have a full, decent meal four or five hours before the game, that consists of protein and carbohydrates – this can be as little as a sandwich with some lean meat or tuna in it, for those who do not feel much like eating before a match, or some pasta with tomato sauce. If you like, have a small snack some two hours before the game – after that, liquids only!

More long-term, you should remember to include reasonable amounts of protein in your diet to encourage muscle growth and repair. Try to eat five or six small meals a day, rather than three big ones. This keeps your body permanently supplied with energy, rather than overloading your system a few times a day.

Fatty foods should generally be avoided, although there are certain good fats that your body needs, particularly to grow muscle. You will find these especially in oily fish, as well as nuts, seeds and certain vegetables. Avoid alcohol before and immediately after a match – it can dehydrate you and cause real damage when combined with the exhaustion of a game.

During the match, it is most important to keep hydrated. For these purposes, an isotonic drink such as Lucozade Sport is the best way to go, as they can rehydrate quicker than water and give a quick energy boost.

Drinking one before the match and at half time can keep you at the top of your game. Avoid eating solid food during the match! Combined with the pressure you are putting your body under, it is likely to upset your stomach and cause you discomfort.

After the match, your energy levels will have been massively depleted and in need of quick refilling. Try taking sugary foods and plenty of water – this will help your body to recover quickly. Then it’s time to help your muscles heal. You should eat fruit, vegetables and protein in your post-match meal to recover and prevent any permanent damage.

Possibly the most important thing to remember about nutrition is to eat what your body is comfortable with. Try out any new foods during training time to make sure it won’t affect you for the worse on match day. Good luck, and good eating!

Neil
www.1RugbyCoach.com

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Defence – How Do You Coach Communication?

Neil — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 21:31:59 +0000

Over the past few weeks, I’ve received several questions regarding how to coach communication in your defensive line? Some were concerned about only part of their defence talking while others were more interested in having an effective slide.

Both of these are to be addressed if you wish to have an effective defensive structure. Firstly I’d just like to point out that if you’re implimenting a slide defence, it should only be utilised when you’re out-numbered or stretched and you’re having to over work at reducing the threat.

A couple of coaching points to try are;

1. In your training sessions, try to split your defence into 3 groups, left, right and middle. So your left side wing, centre, second row, half, same for the right with the loose floating and the middle consists of your front row.

2. When performing defence drills, play them against each other with penalties for the losing groups.

3. Point out that every defender only has to talk to the guy next to them

4. Once the ball goes past a defender it’s his job to increase their talk. i.e. the talk always comes from the inside when a slide defence is in operation.

5. Stop the session if the line is breached and ask the players who was at fault and how could it have been averted.

Usually after a couple of errors the players become more aware and switch on to their particular role in the slide defence.

The other advantage of working in their groups in training is they gain more of a bond and it becomes quite competitive between the groups as to who’s performing the best i.e. where are the tries being scored?

For a more in depth view on defence drills plus video go to;

http://www.1RugbyCoach.com

Neil Harmon

http://www.1RugbyCoach.com

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Concern#3

admin — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 13:51:47 +0000

Concern#3 “So What’s It Going To Cost Me?”

I’ve been getting tons of questions from coaches wanting more details about the upcoming launch and the 3rd most asked question is “What’s this going to cost?”

Now I’m still working on the final website bonuses but would like to address your “price” concerns up front. (I can tell you that you definitely won’t need to take out a 2nd mortgage:-) )

Bur before I get specifically into price, let me warn you that this information is positively NOT for everyone.

It is FOR YOU if you are already doing some coaching in one way or another. If that’s the case, then I can promise you, “This information which I’m going to share with you WILL be responsible for every one of your team improving his/her Core Rugby Skills and hey, even improve yourself as a rugby coach.

It’s an absolute no-brainer and shoe-in (unless you have a ‘know it all’, ‘seen it all’ attitude.) Or you like to whine and complain. In that case, please, please, please do us both a favour and save everyone a huge headache by allowing somebody else to take your spot and profit from this information. (You should probably stop reading right nowJ)

It is also FOR YOU if you are a complete newbie but very very serious about improving as a rugby coach.

This is a golden opportunity to be provided with a true shortcut and road map from multiple sources who have a huge amount of experience in rugby coaching.

So back to the original question and what kind of price tag should I put on this information?

Frankly this is going to be one of the biggest bargains you’re going to get form me.

I recently attended a 2 day elite coaching seminar in Australia which cost me £177 and that’s not including airfare, hotel, food etc and one colleague argued that I should charge at least twice this amount for a “12 month subscription”.

I seriously considered this £29.50/month (£354/year) but in the end I decided against that.

I wanted to put this into the hands of as many serious amateur coaches WITHOUT price being a barrier so I’m thinking of charging £14.75/month (£177/year) which works out at less than a couple of beers after each game.

At this price it should put it into the reach of anyone who really needs and wants it.

Now none of this is set in stone yet so don’t hold me to it.

I’m not 100% sure about the price, or that I’ll increase it, however, since I’ve had so many people asking me about the price I wanted to pull back the curtain a bit and give you a glimpse into what I’m thinking. If you’d like to voice your opinion, please post a comment below and stay tuned for more updates.

Speak soon

Neil

http://1RugbyCoach.com

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Concern#2

admin — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 09:30:30 +0000

This update covers the Concern#2 about our 1RugbyCoach membership site. We’ve already addressed the #1 concern here;

http://1rugbycoachblog.com/concern1

Concern#2: With the amount of info that’s going to be shared will I have to be a level 4 rugby coach to understand and implement it?

Background: When we released the “Spy Photo” or sneak preview of the site lots of people were stunned by the amount of info and I got all kind of emails from people worried that if these are the drills that the pro’s are using they wouldn’t be able to implement the drills or understand the templates. Lots of folks thought you’d need to be a pro coach to understand it.

Answer: While the concern is understandable, this is clearly one of those “NO Worries” situations. This site is easy to get around and the drills are all video’d so you can watch them as many times as you like.

They are easy to grasp and have an audio explanation to go with the video.

YES, there will end up being a lot of drills (new drills added every 2/3 weeks)

YES, there will be a lot of material – however it is EXTREMELY understandable.

I’ll give you an example;

Craig was my assisstant at Leeds University last season and over the summer he got the chance to coach an amateur side in Leeds.

In his words, Craig was dreading going it alone and thought he wouldn’t be able to handle a full side on his own but after going through the videos and drills on 1RugbyCoach.com, Craig stated;

“I was completely surprised at how easy and well the sessions went and more importantly how the guys loved the drills and many commented that they’d never been shown some of the correct technique before!”

This led to Craig being asked to be the head coach for Bradford University Student RL and he can’t wait to get started.

And here’s the kicker, Craig only used less than a quarter of the stuff on the site and he didn’t have the 4 week skills program, Brian Noble video or the Clive Griffiths interview for reference!!

The 1RugbyCoach.com membership site will be available on Tues 20th Oct 2009.

If you havn’t already, join our 1RugbyCoach announcement list by clicking one of the links below. If you already have one or all these bonuses then relax as you’re already on the list and will be kept in the loop:-)

http://1rugbycoach.com/new_video.html

http://1rugbycoach.com/4weekskillsprogram.html

http://www.1rugbycoach.com/clive_interview.html

And don’t worry, we will respect your privacy and won’t share your email address with anyone for any reason.

Enjoy your rugby

Neil

http://1RugbyCoach.com

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