Asked to coach underage rugby. Need advice!

acurno

Hi all,
I've been asked to help out with the rugby training in my school teaching the under 14's ( first years. ) Most of them will be complete beginners and what I'm looking for is some tips, techniques, excercises and drills I can do with them.
I'm a rugby supporter and follower, but like a lot of people (I'd imagine!), the rules and regulations I sometimes struggle to follow.

Anyway, the training won't be full on, I'm more into giving some enjoyment into the sessions than a literal interpretation of how the game should be played. Having said that, I do want to organise some challenge matches with other schools so I do want to give them the best training that I can muster.

If anyone can point me in the right direction, I'm googling as much as I can but it's mostly professional training, it would be greatly appreciated.

Daragh86

I used to coach under 14's myself for 3 - 4 years, you'll have your hands full! I unfortunately can't point you in the right direction for any websites with hints and tips but would advice to somehow attend a level 1 coaching course with the IRFU. I did this in my second season of coaching and found it extremely helpful eventhough I had about ten years playing experience behind me - playing and coaching and two completely different tasks.

I found with the kids (at certain levels) that you have to constantly keep them entertained. I did a lot of "fun" games with them that incorporated a lot of basic rugby skills. One of the favourites was "king of the ring" - basically wrestling in a circle of cones but bringing in basic tackling technique like body positioning, leg drive, etc. Of course they just saw it as wrestling but I'm sure the message got through. Plenty of games such as that to keep them entertained.

PM me if you want to discuss further. Your a brave man, best of luck!

JustinDee

You'd be looking to sign up to a Foundation Coaching Course.
Only Level 2 courses and above are run by the IRFU itself. Any level below is run by the branches.

Here are the main contact nrs for the branches (I don't know your location)

Connacht - 091-561568
Leinster - 01-2693224
Munster - 021-4323563 (Cork) / 061-490194 (Limerick)
Ulster - 028 90 493222

Hope this is of help to you.

If coaching underaged players, a vetting system is also required to be adhered to. When discussing with the branch, give details of who you intend to coach. They'll advise on what to do. Painless but necessary paperwork.

profitius

I'm not a coach but I was young and played lots of sports so I have experiance. I'd make everything fun. Teach them the proper technique and let them get on with it.

Make sure everybody gets involved. If theres alot of players there divide them into more teams and have more matches so everybody can touch the ball alot.

Also tell them to have a rugby ball at home and practise with somebody. Any sort of game involving the ball will improve their skills.

Even boring things like passing the ball can become fun if they challenge themselves to see how far they can pass it etc.

CIARAN_BOYLE

Never coached kids rugby but I have done a few things that put me in regular contact with young kids. (12-13 Year Olds) I also did a bit of cross country coaching when I was involved in Athletics so I can give you some advice.

Fitness and Strength exercises are crucial in any sports team at a young age.

Focus on the basic skills rather than complex laws.

IRFU seems to have a decent section on player development, try checking it out.

http://www.irishrugby.ie/468_833.php

[Jackass]

Just to give my 2 cents, this is what I would do, and you can take from it whatever you think sounds right for your situation.

For that age group you want to focus on basic skills and fitness.

The key is not to push the kids too hard and remember that it's more important that they are enjoying playing the sport rather than drilling them into submission.

The key areas to focus on are basic drills and fitness exercises. First thing to teach is the importance of the warm up and warm down in any sort of fitness training. Explain that in any sport, at any level, this is key to maintaining fitness and avoiding injury and that general fitness is part of a healthy lifestyle. (after all, they're still in school, so it's no harm to give a light health education as part of enjoying the sport).

Begin each session with all the kids around you in a big circle, depending on the amount of kids and the number of available coaches, you can split the kids into seperate circles if there are too many that the message loses focus and have a pre-planned stretching regime ready for the start and finish of each session. Kids are restless, try not to drag it out, and try and vary it from week to week. Basic leg stretches warm up and warm down stretches that you'll find easily online and finish up with some slow jogging, one or two laps of the pitch.

Try and limit this to a small portion of the overall training session, as it's on preperation to train. Maybe 10 minutes for every hour the kids will be out training. Same for warm down.

Once that's done, do some basic drills. Do a row of cones (again, depending on the amount of kids depends on how many rows, an opposite row of cones the a good distance away to allow drills to take place in between, have the kids line up behind the cones...

Some drills...

Before each drill, possibly during warm up, explain to the kids what happens in each drill and what the point of it is. For example:

First kid runs to the middle of the distance between cones and places the ball whilst running, the next kid from the opposite side meets him in the middle, picking up the placed ball whilst running and pop passes it to the next kid in line at the opposite side of the cones and this is repeated. You can kriss cross in sections to make kids aware of surroundings etc. whilst doing this.

This is to develop basic ball handling skills and to learn picking, placing and passing.

Another drill is to line the kids out in lines of 10 or so the width of the field. Have them jog from the goal line to the 22 pop passing along the line until they reach the 22 where the next line of kids going the other way begins. This is to be able to learn to use the width of the ball, passing and catching and to maintain the logic of always passing sideways / backwards.

In detail, explain the art of tackling. and simulate with a fellow coach or a kid how to tackle in front of the whole group. Explain that the tackle is always to be low, around the legs, and explain to always wrap your head around to the side, lead with your shoulder, wrap your arms around legs and squeeze. Always always be sure that it is fully understood what body position to be in and how dangerous tackling can be if not done correctly. Be sure a lot of time is spent on this explaining it.

Then have a drill of kids, again kris crossing from cones, meeting in the middle, one carrying the ball and one tackling. Tell the kids carrying the ball the object is to learn how to take a tackle and to set up the ball. Have the kid tackling meet in the middle, get low, lead with shoulder, have head to the side, and squeeze. Have kid with the ball to learn to turn his body, fall facing backwards, and once on ground, to extend his arms out placing the ball as far back as possible and to place the ball and then use his arms to cover his head until the play has moved away.

Each kid then moves to the oppisite side and is in the que to perform the other task than just performed (tackler becomes carrier etc).

as each skill is developed, move the drills into more detail and more skills.

Teach a side step manouver. Have each kid run a length of about 4 spaced out cones, side stepping each one to apposing sides before meeting a kid at the opposite end and pop passing, and then that kid begins the same process going the other way.

Expand the tackler and carrier drill to involve more kids. Carrier runs out to meet tackler, but 2 kids behind carrier follow out. Teach them that first player to the ball has the responsability of protecting it. Teach them to step over tackled player clearing out, unnaposed at first, and teach them to push incoming players back.

In theroy, first to breakdown shouldn't pick up ball, but a kids instinct is to do this, so a good skill to teach is to protect the ball, and explain that the reason is that once the ball is protected, the assigned player coming in (the scrum half) has the time and space to pass the ball wide without being tackled again.

These lessons are to be spaced out over the length of a season though, and don't rush into the more detailed drills too quickly. Make sure the basics are learnt and fully understood before moving onto anything more in depth.

Always have a match for the second half of the session (because this is where the most enjoyment for the kids is, and develops the love of the game).

The first few sessions should be tag only. Once tagged. The player goes to ground, places the ball back, next two players step over "tackled" player (don't teach them to appose the ruck yet) and thrid player in picks and passes.

Also teach them spacial awareness and to remain out wide. Praise the players who do things right, i.e. pass the ball instead of always running it. They will want the coaches appoval, so it's your key to teaching them how to do it right, by not praising the guy who does it all by himself, even if he does it very well, but praise the player who does the theroy right, as it's a team sport, and it's to be taught that passing the ball and moving it into space is the point.

From these games, over the first few sessions, take notes on splitting the group into forwards and backs. Later in the season you can vary drills and teachings into who plays where. Start getting a team in mind and later in the season start teaching the roll of each position and the skillset required, and if you can, organise a match against another school or if you have enough kids, a full match in training.

Remember to do a lap warm down after each session and brief stretching before going in to get changed.

Basic point is to keep it extremely simple at first. Law interpritations etc. will come naturally at a much later point in the season / next season.

And don't worry too much about the quality of the players, as a youth coach, the main thing to do is instill a love for the game and give the kids a sport they enjoy and don't be hard on guys who aren't good, just encourage the guys who aren't interested.

Best of luck with it, and if you get in touch with the IRFU, I'm sure they will be able to send you out a basic schools training programme (basic, but much better than mine! ) and also the school should pay for you to take a coaching course. Declan Kidney started this way, so enjoy it, and who knows, you may find a nack for it down the line.

If you only take two things from this ramble then it should be safety and enjoyment are key. Nothing else really matters.

JustinDee

When you've sorted out the required Child Welfare obligations, there is a section coming up fairly soon on our website (www.irishrugby.ie) to accompany a new programme being implemented.

I'll link when its up.

razorblunt

For the love of God teach them how to tackle properly!
Start with having the tackler on his knees and the ball carrier at walking pace!

Then teach them to pass off both hands if you can do that you'll be the next Irish coach

acurno

Thanks a million for all the advice and tips I'll definitely be using some of those. Found some brilliant things on some Australian and English websites so I'll incorporate as much as I can into the sessions. It's all trial and error anyway, just an extension of real teaching!
I'm 100% of the opinion that for the first few months it's all about having fun, the importance of fitness, and basic ball handling. If I go in to heavy on the rules I'll probably scare a few away.
Feeling a lot more confident in taking them now than I was 24hours ago when I was asked!

boredatwork82

Hey,
I coach underage rugby. It is a massive commitment. Hail rain or snow you have to be out there on time and ready to go. There could be 30 young lads down there, and parents will not be impressed if they bring their kid down and there is no training etc. It is not just go down and play games.
If you do not have the ability and the technical know how to teach kids the basics of safe rucking & tackling & how to pass properly you will set the kids back years in their development.

I have taken over teams before whose previous coachs did not have the technical know how despite the effort and enthusiasm. It took 2 seasons to strip away all the bad habits and replace them with proper ones.

While it is brilliant to volunteer, and god knows every club and school could do with the, you may be best suited to be an assistant coach for a a season or two.

If you are adament that you wish to persue this role it may be worth looking to see if there are any unemployed players from your local senior or adult team that would be able to help you out.

You should really get up to speed with all the rules. It is really frustrating for young players to do what they are told, for the ref to still penalise them. It makes them think the coach doesn't have a clue.

If you do continue you need to set out discipline from the start. Been out on time, been authorative etc, but still been a guy these kids look up too, You are cool, you are a grown they want to listen too. You are a responsible adult outlet for these kids who is not a teacher/parent. You will not realise the potential massive impact you will have on these guys lives and attitudes. hopefully positive, but there is also a negative traits they can pick up.
Make sure you have your whistle, watch and grids/drills set up and ready to go before they come down.
Access to a phone for ringing ambulance/help etc. and know the number of a doctor etc.
Also a clipboard to compile a list of the kids names and parents and their own phone numbers. Invaluable really, the season after trying to get them out and to pass onto the next coach etc, and when guys are drifting out you have the details to try and rope them back in.


With all that sorted I would start with a bassic passing drill, this depends on the amount of balls you have. Ideally it would be 1 ball per pair, but thats hard to fund.

Ideally to get the basic passing motion 2 guys stand side by side about 3m apart and just pass. do loads of variations on the pass, behind the back, one handed, over head etc. This is all second nature to kiwis, but Irish kids are thought only pass with 2 hands.

If you don't have loads of footballs just do it in groups of 4 up and down a grid.

Then do a load of condtioning work, wheelbarrow races, piggy back races, crab races, wrestling (loads of different paired wrestlings), as well as mentioned king of teh ring etc one on one in the ring, army crawling etc. and your core exercises thrown in here to give them a breather, although they'll be really tough at the start. But massively important for every action on the rugby pitch.

Then play a load of games off-side touch, aussie rules, stuck in the mud with a football, bulldog etc. tip when the defender who makes the tip has to run back through a gate to become live in the game. Makes it easier to score and gives a little more space.

Maybe take a break in between games and do some basic tackling practice starting on the knees, and the old knee hip shoulder fall (also concentrating on ball security and worjking to place the ball back your side etc.)

You will not be able to do contact for a week or two until you have them all wearing gumshields, then you can pick it up a notch or two.
Also to save you time you should also request that every player bring a bottle of water - 2 reasons, Saves you time to get grids balls etc ready, and also helps educate them a little bit about the importance of been hydrated.

KISS - keep it simple stupid. Don't try having loads of calls and set piece moves etc, just let them talk and communicate and play what they see. Don't condition them into doing whatyou think is right, condition them from seeing whats in front of them, and making a decision. Its not gonna look liek Henieken cup, but it'll really pay off later in the development. Asking them why they did something, or what they would do in a certain scenario will make them start thinking and playing smarter.

Most importantly, You should push to get your foundation course done.

Anyways enjoy it, it is brilliant craic, and kids are the funniest wittiest people you will ever meet, and you'll hear some of the funniest jokes/stories ever from them!

Daragh86

boredatwork82 wrote: »

Ideally to get the basic passing motion 2 guys stand side by side about 3m apart and just pass. do loads of variations on the pass, behind the back, one handed, over head etc. This is all second nature to kiwis, but Irish kids are thought only pass with 2 hands.

Sorry to pick on one point out of an otherwise very useful post but not in a million years - not even if it just for the purpose of handling skills, getting used to the ball, etc. would I ever teach a kid to pass over head. It is a sure way to land yourself with broken ribs. I'd never encourage one handed either unless it's within a contact situation. If you want to teach a kid to pass behind their back set up a switch drill and focus on them turning their upper bodies towards the reciever and not leave themselves open for more broken ribs trying to pass the ball across their body.

boredatwork82

They are all skills that really pay off. Ball handling skills, most class trys will involve a little touch, or flick or behind the back or one handed pass out the back door.

The switch might not be on if the space is there. A switch is really only used when you are running out of space, or when you are cutting against the grain to slice a drift defence.

two on one, ball carrier runs at the inside shoulder of the defender, this hard line keeps the defender from drifting and then as he is running towards the inside his bother is facing the wrong way.
A behind the back pass to the outside guy.. pure class as he runs in for trys.
Same scenario, smart defender closes off the outside channel and forces the ball carrier infield, he is aware the cover defence will come along and get him, the ball carrier throws a loopy pass, the fact that the pass started going inside, held the cover defence and kept them honest, the defender stayed tight but outside the ball carrier to prevent a pass,
The outside guy runs onto the big loopy pass, and scores a try, they look class.

There is no right and wrong way to play rugby, there is only poor decisions.

If a guy did a switch killed the space ruck, boring slow ball and there was loads of space its the wrong decision. I believe all ball handling skills are important. Never run a warp around when there is space on the outside allows the defence to drift while the attack goes sideways

bamboozle

we had a brilliant underage coach at Clontarf who looked after us at U14 & U16, all his training involved ball handling skills, the 2 main things he focussed on was 1- have your feet in the correct position when your moving, ie if the scrum half is passing from left to right, everyone starts with their right foot forward - this prevents drifting, 2 - we werent allowed do spin passes, kids will all be obsessed with doing spin passes, we were trained in all drills to have your hands out to receive the ball and in 1 movement pass out to the man outside

wouldnt be too worried about fitness, all kids should be fit enough at that stage

boredatwork82

Banboozle,
Agree whole heartedly about spin passing, but there is a time and a place for that too! Its still a key skill but not as important as some people think.

As for fitness, kids nowadays are not fit and strong enough. They don't climb trees and walls and mess and beat the living daylights out of each other for fun.
And with rugby becoming more popular and more kids playing rugby as teh no. 1 sport, I have found that young rugby players are becoming less fit. they aren't all playing Gaelic football anymore or in the same quantity, so they don't have that basic unbeleivable base fitness level that football gives them. Whilst not rugby specific it is a brilliant base.

Parents don't let their kids cycle everywhere, roads are to busy etc etc, all these little things along with computers and tv have made the youth of today far weaker and unfitter than young lads 15 years ago.

15 years ago all kids would have been able to do push ups. You take an u-14 group now they will struggle to do 5. This an observation from spending my time down in my club and coaching all ages.

Daragh86

boredatwork82 wrote: »

They are all skills that really pay off. Ball handling skills, most class trys will involve a little touch, or flick or behind the back or one handed pass out the back door.

The switch might not be on if the space is there. A switch is really only used when you are running out of space, or when you are cutting against the grain to slice a drift defence.

two on one, ball carrier runs at the inside shoulder of the defender, this hard line keeps the defender from drifting and then as he is running towards the inside his bother is facing the wrong way.
A behind the back pass to the outside guy.. pure class as he runs in for trys.
Same scenario, smart defender closes off the outside channel and forces the ball carrier infield, he is aware the cover defence will come along and get him, the ball carrier throws a loopy pass, the fact that the pass started going inside, held the cover defence and kept them honest, the defender stayed tight but outside the ball carrier to prevent a pass,
The outside guy runs onto the big loopy pass, and scores a try, they look class.

I'd like to see you explain this to a group of 13/14 year olds. A lot of handling skills can be thought but what you explain above comes natural to some players - it can't be thought, you can only plant the seed. I've never seen a drill set up for a flip pass out the back door that travels more than 1m or a pass behind the back again above 1m...doesn't happen. If the right situation arises it will come natural to some blokes to throw the kind of pass you talk about but I'm afraid this kind of thing will only confuse the best of 13/14 year olds and more than likely end up in a considerable amount of spilt ball.

boredatwork82 wrote: »

There is no right and wrong way to play rugby, there is only poor decisions.

There is a right and wrong way to coach though.

boredatwork82

Kids should try all sorts of magical stuff, that a lot of the time doesn't come off. Kids have to aware have we as coachs have to let them know that beating your man what everway you have, through skills, moves, x factor etc is all good.
I have seen all the moves work, and I have won many leagues and cups with underage teams that have all gone onto be highly succesful after they have moved on.
I was told by a provincial development coach that you can't throw to to tail at that level.

I got the kids to hit the tail every time. With no lifting lineouts are a lottery. I can acheive a clean lineout win percentage on my own throw of over 80% without any tall guys in my team. And yes these are kids at teh same as the op's kids.

Whilst you have to work with the standard you've got and within reason, never rule out anything. Challenge them when you get the basics right, some groups develop quicker and some groups don't. Then you adjust your training.

A few years back one of the kids i coached at under 14 level was after watching BOD's magic pass to himself, remember that.
The kid reckoned he could pull it off, except he'd score a try , not get bundled into touch like BOD. That kid asked permission he he say teh oppourtunity could he try the move. He should never have had to ask me, if he saw that as a way to help him beat his man he should have done it anyway. He did, it didn't work out, I asked him why, he said he did it too close to the defender, those kids started reading and reacting the game and developed into one of the most skillful teams our club has ever had.

Is it a correct way to teach a kid to play, probably not, is it worth to give the kids confidence to try new stuff, oh yes.....high tempo off the cuff rugby is brilliant

Daragh86

boredatwork82 wrote: »

I was told by a provincial development coach that you can't throw to to tail at that level.

Not an extremely big ask and this is something that can be coached at this level, time and resources are the only restrictions.

boredatwork82 wrote: »

With no lifting lineouts are a lottery. I can acheive a clean lineout win percentage on my own throw of over 80% without any tall guys in my team.

Can I suggest that you may be looking too much into this? A little mental stimulation for a good bunch of lads can get a bunch of lads jumping higher than another bunch, I wouldn't go strolling up to the stage for the trophy just yet...:D

boredatwork82 wrote: »

A few years back one of the kids i coached at under 14 level was after watching BOD's magic pass to himself, remember that.
The kid reckoned he could pull it off, except he'd score a try

Is it a drill you can get across in training?

I'm all for this kind of stuff but in practice it is very difficult if not impossible to teach a kid to read a game and play what's in front of them. You can present them with the situation but you can't put the skill in their head for them, the good ones figure it out for themselves and the others that don't, they don't make it so far.

boredatwork82 wrote: »

Is it a correct way to teach a kid to play, probably not, is it worth to give the kids confidence to try new stuff, oh yes.....high tempo off the cuff rugby is brilliant

You can teach a kid to pass off both hands, kick a ball, ruck, tackle, etc but you can't teach them to be BOD - some of them will discover this for themselves.

Some players have natural talent, some don't. Natural talent and ability can't be coached, only encouraged. I've never come across a drill of "do this and you can play like BOD".

All I'm trying to say is coaches need to coach actual drills. And these drills need to be put into a game situation, preferably in training. Unless these drills are brought to a game situation come game day they'll be left at training.

boredatwork82

Daragh86 wrote: »

Not an extremely big ask and this is something that can be coached at this level, time and resources are the only restrictions.



Can I suggest that you may be looking too much into this? A little mental stimulation for a good bunch of lads can get a bunch of lads jumping higher than another bunch, I wouldn't go strolling up to the stage for the trophy just yet...:D


I have the trophies!:) I also had a team that had no one within a foot of the opposition second rows, in any match!
I have the knowledge that I finish the season with my squads in better shape and with way more numbers than started. I have the satisfaction of knowing when I walk down the street in 10 years time, those guys will remember me in a positive light, and most importantly those kids memories of rugby under my guidance, will be enjoyable and positive - whether those guys have gone on to play for Ireland,their province or just their J4/5 team, or just avid supporters. leaving with an positive image of the game. But then the other side, if a guy has aspirations to be a pro, I also have to set him up to be that good and give him every oppourtunity to do that.

daveharnett

acurno wrote: »

I'm a rugby supporter and follower, but like a lot of people (I'd imagine!), the rules and regulations I sometimes struggle to follow.

For starters, I'd recommend this. It doesn't cover the elvs, but it's infinitely more readable than the official version.

Don't stress about it though - even if you know everything backwards, there's no way that you'll be able to teach it all in one season. There are veteran Ireland internationals who have no idea of the laws of the game

You will also find that refs at this level (as often as not, these will be 'associate refs' aka coaches) will be pretty relaxed about the technical stuff, and don't mind doing a little on-field coaching (within reason). Provided everything is fair and safe,the refs will try to keep away from the whistle.

These are the most common problems I see around this age group. Pretty much everything else can be managed on the pitch, but these are too involved to explain properly during a match. If you can teach this much of the law, you'll be doing well:

• The concepts of 'the gate' and 'the back foot'.
• The basic signals:scrum, fk, penalty.
• Ruck=Hands off.
• Penalty/fk/mark=Get back 10.
• Correct position and binding in the scrum.
• A general idea of offside in open play (we'll let them know when they need to wait/retreat)

acurno wrote: »

I'm more into giving some enjoyment into the sessions than a literal interpretation of how the game should be played.

Spot on imo. All the tactics/technique in the world doesn't matter - at U14, whichever team has more big/aggressive players will end up winning. What matters is that players are thinking, communicating, backing each other up, trying things, and having a laugh. Encourage this ethic and they'll be well set.

il gatto

Don't turn up dressed as Gary Glitter or shower with them:D Or make them run through the pain barrier and make them do 50 press ups when they collapse. Parents don't appove of any of the above.
Apart from that sage advice, relax. It should be good fun. Nobody is going to come down hard on you or your team for not having a textbook definition for the laws. And encourage them to chuck it around a bit. We need to make handling skills more natural. The future starts here. No pressure then:rolleyes:

boredatwork82

acurno wrote: »

Hi all,
I've been asked to help out with the rugby training in my school teaching the under 14's ( first years. ) Most of them will be complete beginners and what I'm looking for is some tips, techniques, excercises and drills I can do with them.
I'm a rugby supporter and follower, but like a lot of people (I'd imagine!), the rules and regulations I sometimes struggle to follow.

Anyway, the training won't be full on, I'm more into giving some enjoyment into the sessions than a literal interpretation of how the game should be played. Having said that, I do want to organise some challenge matches with other schools so I do want to give them the best training that I can muster.

If anyone can point me in the right direction, I'm googling as much as I can but it's mostly professional training, it would be greatly appreciated.

Hey OP, Did you go training yet? How did ya get on? Did you catch the buzz?
After a weekend of dramatics with our Senior team, I was ever so glad to get back to coaching the underage teams. Its there that rugby is still all about playing the game and enjoying it. It really is refreshing to coach kids.

acurno

Starting tomorrow so fingers crossed!

Ah it'll be fine. We're only actually training at lunch so we'll be lucky if I get half an hour out of them what with getting changed and eating and the like!

Got one of the senior players giving me a hand as well as the Junior coach for the first session. There'll either be ten kids out or half the year so it'll go one way or the other!

Thanks for all the tips, I'll definitely be incorporating as much as I can and will keep you posted on the progress.

JustinDee

Don't forget to talk to your club about the child welfare obligations that must be adhered to.

boredatwork82

Hey Acurno.
Hope you got on ok.
I was just doing some googling myself, for some new ideas - keep the guys on their toes.
I came across this manual which could be a great use to you.
http://www.rugbycoach.com/documents/junior_coach_manual.pdf

Check it out it has a good few mini games, and drills perfect for u 14's.

JustinDee

We launched our Play Rugby programme aimed at beginners level/kids.
See here: http://www.irishrugby.ie/playmdtv/

Daragh86

Oh and forgot to say to keep a record of what you did in training each day. Good to look back on sometimes. Also it is helpful for planning out a session and sticking to what was planned instead of getting side tracked.

Have fun!

acurno

Great link I'll be checking that out. That training manual is brilliant as well I'll be printing that out for the next session.
First training went pretty well, had about 12 kids out but am expecting at least 16 next week. I was a bit rusty, but had the kids active pretty much all the time so they were having fun.
Good idea on keeping a diary too. There's a fitness workshop in Connacht rugby in a couple of weeks which I might pop over to. Will be good to meet with other coaches as well.