Rugby Coach Weekly

Send us Fan MailDan Cottrell speaks to awarding winning coaches Dan Lycett and Ross Williams about their approach to coaching. Dan is head of PE and Sport and Ross is head of Athletic Development at St David's College, in North Wales. They've won the Independent Schools Association award for outstanding sport (small school) and been nominated for the Independent Schools Association award for innovation, recognising their provision during lockdown.We chat about how they have introduced a more ecological approach to their coaching, allowing their players to find meaning and have a more self-determined approach.In a wide-ranging discussion, here are some of the key topics we covered:How do you make fantastic athletes, even with a very diverse group of playersWhat is meant by finding meaning and why it is so importantHow do you frontload trainingWhat is a rich environment and how does this lead to self-determinationWhat are the challenges of setting up this type of curriculumHow long does it take to develop this sort of approachUsing "bingo" to challenge players helping players to reflect Fitting gamification and scaffolding into a sessionWhat does an ecological approach mean LINKShttps://www.stephenrollnick.com for more on Motivational Interviewing To find out more about this podcast and many others, go to Rugby Coach WeeklyTo find out more about our Partner Club offerCLICK HEREAlso, tap into the library of 4,000 pages of activities, advice, tactics and tips to help you become the best rugby coach you can be!

Send us Fan MailDan speaks to RFU national panel referee Adam Wookey about age grade tackle height changes, ball carrier height laws plus the new 50:22 and drop outs instead of 5m scrums being trialled at international rugby.They discuss:How to referee the tackle heightWhat does the ball carrier height into contact meanWhat do both look like Why a community referee has one shot, so best ways to deal with thatHow to referee this area sympathetically but firmlyWhat are the new laws around the 50:22 kick and how referee thatWhat are the new laws around the ball being held up over the lineHow both might allow the game to work more effectivelyLinks to the LawsFrom The Rugby Paper on 50:22 and 5m scrumsFrom the RFU on tackle height and the ball carrier dip experimentTo find out more about this podcast and many others, go to Rugby Coach WeeklyTo find out more about our Partner Club offerCLICK HEREAlso, tap into the library of 4,000 pages of activities, advice, tactics and tips to help you become the best rugby coach you can be!

Send us Fan MailDan speaks to Bristol Bears defence coach, Omar Mouneimne.Omar has coached with the Springbok 7s, the Sharks and Stomers Super Rugby teams, the Italian national team, Stade Francais, Edinburgh, Worcester Warriors as well as plenty of consultancy work.He set up his coaching website, Whistle-2-Whistle during lockdown, which provides lots of defence coaching resources, plus support and growth leadership for coaches.In the podcast Omar and Dan cover these topics:What do you look for when you first arrive at a new clubHow do change weak tacklers into great tacklersHow do you energise players to become better defendersWhat are the key techniques good defenders needWhy do you NOT coach low tackles for young players when the start their tackle journeyWhat system do you use at the ruckHow do you change players into skilful defenders who make better decisionsWhy shouldn't use tackle tubes and ruck shieldsHow do you balance contact time in training with keeping fresh for games To find out more about this podcast and many others, go to Rugby Coach WeeklyTo find out more about our Partner Club offerCLICK HEREAlso, tap into the library of 4,000 pages of activities, advice, tactics and tips to help you become the best rugby coach you can be!

Send us Fan MailDan speaks to coaches Mike Pope and Rhys Williams about how they've used what they've learned from reading Doug Lemov's book: A Coach's Guide to Teaching.Here are some of Doug's thoughts after listening to the podcast (more notes on the Rugby Coach Weekly website):Until it comes unprompted when we aren’t reminded to think about it, we probably haven’t learned it.“Interleaving is always with something you’ve already talked about.” Hugely important clarification for coaches that I hadn’t thought to make… though I will now.Here are the key areas Dan, Rhys and Mike discussed:Rhys's six week plans: how they work in the context of what he took from the bookUsing feedback more effectively: examples, scenarios and maintaining flow in the session. Plus shortening the feedback loopHow interleaving makes learning stickHow the Forgetting Curve works for rugby playersTough feedback which creates pressureDesirable difficulty in trainingRhys is a youth rugby coach, plus works with Saracens DPP.Mike is a school's head of rugby , senior mens coach, plus a lead coach with Bath DPP. To find out more about this podcast and many others, go to Rugby Coach WeeklyTo find out more about our Partner Club offerCLICK HEREAlso, tap into the library of 4,000 pages of activities, advice, tactics and tips to help you become the best rugby coach you can be!

Send us Fan MailHost Phil Llewellyn with guests review some of the many great podcasts, books, articles and webinars from the last week. This week's guests:Ian Hollingworth, Andy Stevens and Nick Wilkinson all of whom are preparing for the Rugby Advanced Coaching Award.  The team discuss their thoughts and preparation for the up coming England RACA course and this is the first in a four-part series which will follow them across the next 12 months. SUGGESTED CONTENT/WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED Understanding Organisational Cultures in Elite Sport - Dr Niels Feddersen (Pt1) - Meaningful Sport SeriesCreate great conversation – The Coaching LabThe Magic Academy with Doug LemovCoach A Long Social – Wimbledon – UK SportEuro 2020: how football managers and coaches control the narrativeNeuroscientists Have Discovered a Phenomenon That They Can’t ExplainDare to speak your mind and together we flourish Simon DeDeo on How Explanations Work and Why They Sometimes Fail Taking the Next Step: Ways Forward for Coaching ScienceUnderstanding Unconscious BiasIs It Time To Introduce Emotional Intelligence Into Sports Coaching?Talking Performance Episode 51 with Special Guest Ed CoughlanThe Rogue Monkey Podcast with Richard CheethamTo find out more about this podcast and many others, go to Rugby Coach WeeklyTo find out more about our Partner Club offerCLICK HEREAlso, tap into the library of 4,000 pages of activities, advice, tactics and tips to help you become the best rugby coach you can be!

Send us Fan MailNick Scott is director of rugby at Rugby Colorno. He previously spent 20 years helping to build a world respected coaching department at England Rugby, with 9 years as National Coach Development Manager.We chatted about:Why Nick isn't a reflective coachWhen not to use questionsSpeaking a different language in a different countryBuilding better relationships with people, not just playersChanging perceptions for players based on their previous coaching experiencesInterpreting what fun meansHow to plan your sessionsPlaying full contact at U6sHow much should we concentrate on "all-court" skillsets for every playerWhat Nick's daughter's "rat under the sofa" taught him about the coaching process To find out more about this podcast and many others, go to Rugby Coach WeeklyTo find out more about our Partner Club offerCLICK HEREAlso, tap into the library of 4,000 pages of activities, advice, tactics and tips to help you become the best rugby coach you can be!

Send us Fan MailHost Phil Llewellyn with guests review some of the many great podcasts, books, articles and webinars from the last week. This week's guests:Cody Royle, former Head Coach for Canada Men's AFL, author and coach mentor, Doug Lemov, author and educator and Darren Lewis, former performance analyst and founder of Codex Analysis.  The team pick out the key takeaways from each piece of great content and discuss how it can be applied to coaching. This week's content:Chris Petersen reflects on the busyness, the imbalance, and the ‘out of control’ recruiting grind of college football – The AthleticLessons in Practise from the Seattle Seahawks - Doug Lemov's Field Notes Swarms, X-Teams, and Routine vs. Critical Communications – Mission Critical Team Institute Teamcast SUGGESTED CONTENT/WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED The Tough Stuff – Cody Royle Why Don't Students Like School - Daniel Willingham Motivated Teaching – Peps MccreaBelonging: The Ancient Code of Togetherness – Owen EastwoodCalling Bullshit: The Art of Scepticism in a Data-Driven World – Carl BergstromTo find out more about this podcast and many others, go to Rugby Coach WeeklyTo find out more about our Partner Club offerCLICK HEREAlso, tap into the library of 4,000 pages of activities, advice, tactics and tips to help you become the best rugby coach you can be!

Send us Fan MailBird and LJ talk to Aileen Richards, who was the first women on the board of directors of Welsh Rugby Union.Here are the questions posed to Aileen:Growing up what were thoughts on a career - did any female role models influence you on your journey?Why rugby?What is the most memorable event in your career?How did you progress to the role of senior exec at Mars? What life experiences provided you with the skills to do this role? You’ve been a Welsh rugby fan for over 50 years do you think there are any lessons to learn from the men’s game at community, club and International level? From your experience of working in Mars a global company. In terms of brand what do you think needs to happen for women’s rugby to secure more financial backing and access mainstream media?What was it like being the first woman on the board of the WRU? How did it happen?  Where do you feel your influence has created the greatest change in Welsh rugby? What would be your advice to any female with a passion for rugby, who wants to support and make rugby a game for everyone about how to get involved at a strategic level in the game? What qualities/skills would they need?You’ve just become chair of the new cricket team Welsh Fire. Can you tell us a bit more about this role and set up? What can rugby learn from other sports such a cricketWhat one tip you would give to a young person looking to succeed? What is your next big goal that you would like to achieve?Aileen Richards is a non-executive Director of WRU. She was a senior Executive with Mars Incorporated until 2015. As executive vice president of Mars, she was responsible for the Human Resources strategy for the company's 85,000 employees and she also led Mars Global Services (Mars IT, Mars Financial Services and Mars Associate Services). In her 30 years with Mars, she also held senior international roles in Procurement and Manufacturing and lived in Washington DC and Brussels. She is currently an independent non-executive director on several boards, including Mars Nederland, Jacob Douwe Egberts, Pret A Manger and Welsh National Opera. She was also the first woman on the board of directors of the Welsh Rugby Union and chairs the Board of the new Cricket Team Welsh Fire. She  has been a Welsh rugby fan for over 50 years, has travelled to many World Cups. Married with two children, all of whom played rugby.To find out more about this podcast and many others, go to Rugby Coach WeeklyTo find out more about our Partner Club offerCLICK HEREAlso, tap into the library of 4,000 pages of activities, advice, tactics and tips to help you become the best rugby coach you can be!

Send us Fan MailHost Phil Llewellyn with guests review some of the many great podcasts, books, articles and webinars from the last week. This week's guests:Caz Morgan, Senior Analyst with England Rugby, Dan Cooper, Senior Analyst with Bath Rugby and Jack Lawrenson, Senior Analyst with Welsh Rugby Union Women's national team The team pick out the key takeaways from each piece of great content and discuss how it can be applied to coaching. This week's content:Jane Ludlow – Striking the right balance between innovation, empowerment and the fundamentals- State of Play Series Learning Styles & the Importance of Critical Self-Reflection - Tesia Marshik – TedX  James Smith – Not A Life Coach – James Smith SUGGESTED CONTENT/WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSEDSteve Kerr and Pete Carroll with Brene Brown - The Flying Coach PodcastThe Culture Code – Daniel Coyle Outliers – Malcolm GladwellDeep Work – Cal Newport“Learning by Design”: What Sports Coaches can Learn from Video Game DesignsUsing Challenge Cards to Put the Athlete at the Centre of Their LearningTo find out more about this podcast and many others, go to Rugby Coach WeeklyTo find out more about our Partner Club offerCLICK HEREAlso, tap into the library of 4,000 pages of activities, advice, tactics and tips to help you become the best rugby coach you can be!

Send us Fan MailFor this episode I’m joined by two coaches I hold in high regard for the information they share and the positive outlook they portray as coaches.Adam Gillings is U12’s Coach at Bracknell RFC, Kids First Mentor but primarily, dad to his two kids.Rhys Davies is now a Coach Developer with the RFU after stints at London Irish and the Honourable Artillery Company.The conversation revolved around a following a player-centred approach especially after such a lay off during lockdown and how to incorporate some session design elements that don’t always spring to mind.The excellent London Irish Session Design Toolbox gives some great ideas and my guests talk about the Tactical Warfare and Meta-Cognition elements, and how block practice still has its place.You can find information on the London Irish Session Design Toolbox here.We also talked about adaptive games following Rhys’ excellent recent article for Rugby Coach Weekly. You can find his article on Fiji Touch here.To find out more about this podcast and many others, go to Rugby Coach WeeklyTo find out more about our Partner Club offerCLICK HEREAlso, tap into the library of 4,000 pages of activities, advice, tactics and tips to help you become the best rugby coach you can be!