Talking of coaches

In the last few weeks I talked about the various phases of rugby coaching and development. These included Coaching, Fitness and Motivation. I ended up with the statement “What is needed is a coach for strategy helped by experts of each aspect of the game. Talk to you later.”

It is necessary to understand that the coach will have his own philosophy on coaching - how he coaches and why he coaches. From the stand point of expectations very often what you look for in a coach is a fountain of knowledge. Yet, you forget whether that knowledge is of value, not to him or her but, to the players. Being effective as coaches will be determined by how that knowledge is utilized to assist the development of players. What does he know and how does he get it across. Ask your self before: "What does he know about the game"? Does he know how to get the players to play? At least do you monitor the coach you select against these milestones?

One cannot expect every coach to be alike. There will be differences. What is required is to ask whether it is one coach who has to do every thing. Alternatively a coach at strategy level who will be assisted by experts. This is something that has to be answered before you proceed to decide the coach you want. This is important at school level where there is no formal background or certification that is available. Yet you fix somebody to do the job. Sometimes it may be that the guy selected is a believer of the one third principle or in circumstances leans towards this principle.

So what makes a good Rugby Coach? He should be able to gain Player Respect. That he does by selecting players for their talent and capability. That is the most important and the only principle. It should not be one of the three.

A rugby coach explaining some points to youngsters

The coach should have good understanding of the game and build a relationship with players. A coach can be friendly, but they should not be friends with the players which lead to familiarity. This is where you need to be careful in selecting a coach for the young, where familiarity at times leads to abuse.
A coach needs to make decisions without bias, and the relationship a player or his parents has with the coach should not affect the player-coach relationship. That is where you have to avoid people who practice the second of the three principles. That is how deep the parents pocket is and how much they are willing to spend. The coach must be somebody who gets teams to play to their strength.

The coach should be working on strategy capable of being put into operation by determining the strengths and weaknesses of players. This will involve the organization and execution of skills during a game in response to recurrent situations. Any choice of strategy has a relationship to selection and selection policy. Where you select best players available and decide and select players to implement. Selection should be based on strengths or “star quality". You often see players picked to do a job and then dropped because they were unable to do other things. Letting them know what they are in the side to do and then creating the platform for them to do it. In that policy there can be no place for the third of the one third principles. That is how Mama looks and how willing they are.

Having resolved a selection policy the basic playing strategy can only evolve once players are aware of the basic principles of playing the game. The basic principles are to go Forward, Support, Continuity, Pressure, and Communication. That is an important breakdown and who does what has to be decided. Then you move to developing a Team Strategy .The coach must work towards of realization of what the team needs to achieve.

Next of importance is development of Decision Making. That is to make sure that players understand the strategy and have the ability to perform the skills required to implement it. They must be given opportunities to recognize their tactical options. Not look at the coach who barks instructions from the bench. An imaginative coach should be able to present at relevant game situations and allow players to explore the various options. The player has to encourage selecting in a flash the appropriate option to take maximum advantage of the situation. This is more than doing set moves and leading from the side line.

The coach should be able to figure out which players to select, and what exactly makes a player good. Some players select themselves, overflowing with talent and skill. So what are the key skills to look for when selecting a team? The different skills needed for each slot must be understood. Prop - Hooker - Lock - Loose Forward - Half Back / Scrum Half - Fly Half / First Five - Centers - Wings - Full Back they all have a role and the requirements are different. In the modern game players in all positions need to have a good understanding of the break down, and how to gain, or retain possession of the ball.

Thus the choice of selecting and continuing with a coach has many aspects to be looked at and each phase needs different people. The coach is more a CEO type and can get the best out of others and the team if he is a coach in the true sense and not a director of moves.

Vimal Perera is a former Rugby Referee, coach and Accredited Referees Evaluator IRB