Under 11’s
Tips of the Week
A growing library which will be added to each week throughout the season
Tip of the Week (18th Sept) - Technique for catching a high ball:
· Claim it by calling out your name loudly – “Rob’s ball”.
· Make sure you get right underneath it.
· Keep your eyes on the ball until it is in your hands.
· Keep your arms up at head height. Fingers pointing up.
· Try to face side-on to the direction of play – that way, if you drop it, the ball has a better chance of going backwards.
Tip of the Week (22nd Sept) – Timing your run
As a support player, you must time your run carefully if you are going to have the maximum impact. If you’re too early, you will overrun or maybe force a forward pass; if you’re too late the ball carrier will be isolated. You might need to slow down slightly to maintain depth. When you can see what is happening in front of you, you can then make your decision and accelerate onto a pass or into a ruck or maul.
Tip of the Week (28th Sept) - What Is Allowed at a Ruck?
A ruck is formed where at least one player from each side is bound over the ball which is on the ground. Until there is some binding and the ruck is formed, you can use your hands - the referee will generally tell you when the ruck is formed but don’t count on it.
Once players have bound on, everyone else must let go of the ball. If they have picked it up before someone binds on them, then it is maul.
In the ruck make sure that you:
· Stay on your feet.
· Don’t put your hands on the ball.
· Don’t enter the ruck from the side.
· Remain behind the hindmost feet (ask a parent if you’re not sure what that means) if you are not bound on.
If you are fairly new to the game, remembering these four points will help you to avoid accidentally giving away a penalty. If in any doubt, ask a coach.
Tip of the Week (7th Oct) - Front on Tackling
• Remember that the contact point should be your shoulder, not your arm. The shoulder is key as this is where your power comes from. Making contact with the shoulder, is more forceful and will stop you making a weak arm only tackle that can result in you getting hurt. You must still rap your arms around the player, not doing so is illegal and dangerous.
• Watch the shorts of the player with the ball. This means not only are your eyes focused on the target, you will also be watching the hips which are the first point of movement if he tries a sidestep and you are less likely to be fooled by a dummy pass.
Tip of the Week (14th Oct) – Holding Ruck Bags (may not be very interesting I know, but very important)
Holding ruck bags poorly can cause unnecessary injury – Don’t put your arms through the straps (this can result in a broken arm) and don’t hold the bags loosely with your wrists (similar reason).
Grab the straps firmly in your hands. Stand square to the runners, with one hip forward. Stand with your feet apart to give yourself better balance. Pull the bag tightly into your hip. Make sure the hitting area of the bag is low. Lean slightly forward.
Tip of the Week (21st Oct) - Name names in defence
When you are defending in broken play (that is, when it’s not at a set piece) it is sometimes the case that players need to realign to cover areas of weakness, for instance where the opposition has an overload of players on the blindside.
Shouts like “cover the blindside” will often pass over the heads of even the players closest to you– they might be looking ahead and concentrating on the narrow tunnel in front of them. A name is more effective because it has a more powerful pull on the player. So use players’ names. For instance “Rob, cover the blindside”.
P.S. This tip only works if you are talking to each other regularly on the pitch – which you must do!
Tip of the Week (27th Oct) – Play the Space in front of you
If the opposition is grouped (in rucks and mauls) pass the ball wide.
If the opposition is spread out, run at the gaps and commit tacklers – that will create space.
If the opposition is flat, consider kicking to space (especially near your own try line).
If the opposition is some distance away, run straight and commit them before passing.
Lastly, if there is no one in front of you, keep running.
Tip of the Week (2nd Nov) - Create a Gap through Sidestepping
Aim: To convince the defender you are going one way, in order for him to commit in that direction. When he commits, change direction and go through the gap.
1. Run at speed at your opponent. Don’t walk up to them as this makes it easy for the defender to recover.
2. Pick a point close to the defender to step off. Remember, if he doesn’t commit, just go through the gap.
3. When he commits, explode off your standing foot and power in the opposite direction.
4. If you have done these 3 things successfully, his tackle will be weak and you can power past him. You don’t need to go through untouched, just make sure you do enough.
Tip of the Week (9th Nov) - Three starting positions for winger
· Wide and deep. This would normally be used if the attacking team kicks a lot or if the attacking team is deep inside their half.
· Wide and flat. Covering an opposition winger you know is much quicker. As our winger, you must not give him options on the outside. Call for your midfield to slide and cover across, to fill the gap between them and the winger.
· Flat and close. If you are much quicker than your opponent on the wing. Ifnyou're flat and close, you can also “blitz up” in defence.
Tip of the Week (16th Nov) – Benefits of having a steep back line in attack
● There is more time for the back line to pass the ball wide.
● If we want to attack with the openside winger or outside the outside centre, then a deeper fly half is more useful.
● It’s easier to pass off the wrong hand (e.g. passing left for right handed players). Or a fly half can turn themselves around to throw spin passes.
● It can create more doglegs in the defence (one defender in front of the defensive line leaving a gap). This is because defenders have further to travel and might not come up at the same speed.
● The Fly half can more easily see what’s in front and maybe change the move.
Tip of the Week (23rd Nov) – Confidence
Confidence comes not from always being right but from not fearing to be wrong.
In other words, it’s better to make a wrong decision on the pitch, than no decision at all. The best way to learn is through our mistakes so don’t be afraid to go for it.
Tip of the Week (2nd Dec)– Keep Warm at Training
It’s wet and it’s cold at the moment and you know that it’s going to get colder. It is vital that you keep warm at training if you are going to get the full benefit of your skilful coaches.
While many of you wear fingerless rugby mitts, which are great, they don’t keep the cold and wet out much – in fact, they seem to make things worse. At training in particular, think about investing in some full fingered gloves - Under Armour Cold Gear gloves work well as do neoprene diving gloves which have good grip and are warm. It’s not a fashion parade and if you’re going to enjoy training, you must be warm.
Tip of the Week (8th Dec) – The Upload Offload
When we do it well, offloading in the tackle provides fantastic continuity of attacking play. One of the simpler offloads is where the tackled player passes from the ground. While most of the responsibility lies with the ball carrier, support runners also have a big responsibility in timing their run. This “upload” offload is not always possible and works best when the ball carrier has been tackled low, around the legs. It is also really important that the area is not flooded with supporting defenders who might otherwise intercept the ball.
· When the ball carrier is tackled, he should twist his body and get on his back.
· Once on his back, he pops the ball upwards (like a soft, basketball chest-pass) for the support runner.
· The ball popped up should be FOR the support runner, not AT the support runner. This means the support runner is running ON to the ball, not IN to the ball.
· If there are lots of defenders around, then the ball carrier should hold onto the ball, and twist himself further to place the ball away from the opposition.
Tip of the Week (15th Dec) – Keep Warm at Training
It’s wet and it’s cold at the moment and you know that it’s going to get colder. It is vital that you keep warm at training if you are going to get the full benefit of your skilful coaches.
While many of you wear fingerless rugby mitts, which are great, they don’t keep the cold and wet out much – in fact, they seem to make things worse. At training in particular, think about investing in some full fingered gloves - Under Armour Cold Gear gloves work well as do neoprene diving gloves which have good grip and are warm. It’s not a fashion parade and if you’re going to enjoy training, you must be warm.
Quote of the Week (31st Dec) - Replaces tip of the week this week
Overheard from the Davenies coach at Twickenham after a great scything run by Dylan Morris-Jones – “Every time we tried to tackle him, Morris went one way, Jones went the other and all we were left with was the hyphen.”
Tip of the Week (4th Jan) – Switch or Scissors
I think we all know how to do a switch, but to execute it successfully; we really need to draw in the opposition. Try remembering these simple rules:
· Draw the opponent by running at their outside shoulder
· Keep the defender interested by showing and then hiding the ball
· Receiver: start wider; run late and expect the ball
· Ball carrier: put the ball into the space in front of the receiver
Tip of the Week (14th Jan) – Be under control in the tackle
Make sure you’re under control as you come in to make the tackle. We can sometimes have a couple of bad habits which we need to try and kick.
1) Keep your eyes open as long as possible prior to actual contact. It is natural to close them, but try to keep them open.
2) Watch your body position. It is also natural to be leaning too far forward when coming into the tackle. This makes you unbalanced and more likely to lose control if immediate contact is not made. A good to try to follow is to keep your shoulders behind your knees for as long as possible before contact. That will ensure that you are better balanced.
Tip of the week (28th Jan) - Throwing a dummy to create a gap
Aim: To convince the defender you are going to pass the ball, in order to create a gap to go through and score
1. Run straightish at your defender
2. Communicate with the player outside you to make the defender believe that you are going to pass the ball
3. Wait until you are close to the defender. If you do it miles away he will have time to readjust
4. Make a convincing pass movement. Look where you are passing it, go through the movement, and when the defender commits, keep hold of the ball.
5. Power through the small gap using your momentum and get the ball down
Tip of the Week - (5th Feb)
“It's not whether you win or lose, it's how you play the game”
Tip of the Week (12th Feb) Kicking
Out of defence within your own 22 (17 in our case) do you always need to kick for touch? It could be better to kick the ball up the field near to the touchline. With only a winger to gather the ball it may be possible to close them down and turnover the ball. They might even run into touch and we can then avoid an opposition lineout.
A box kick, a short kick over the defence, is very effective in this situation. Also, remember attacking sides least expect you to attack when you are in your own 22, so have a go.
A good tip for chip and chase: drop the ball from the middle of your body, and kick it on its point. By dropping the ball and not throwing it up you do not break your stride. By kicking it on the end means it will rise higher, quicker, and if it bounces it will bounce forward or backwards rather than sideways.
Tip of the Week (19th Feb) Positions for receiving at kick off (courtesy of Jeff)
Notes: Watch opposition & react accordingly
One Call & Support
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FWD FWD FWD
CENTRE
FWD FWD
CENTRE
SH WING
WING FLY HALF
FULL BACK
Tip of the Week (26th Feb) Loops
Dont loop until you have passed the ball
First receiver - move towards pass
First receiver - pass the ball into the space for the looper to run on to it
Third receiver - hold your run longer than normal
Tip of the Week (5th Mar) Tackling the Big Guys
1) Positive attitude
Attitude and confidence are really important if you are going to put in a strong and safe tackle.
2) One v two
Dont just leave it to someone else. Overload the defence where two small defenders tackle one big attacker. Working together should give you more confidence and more determination. Also, you wont want to let your team mate down.
3) Stop him early
Catch the big guy before he can start gaining momentum. Rush defences work well as the defenders race up to the big guy to tackle him as he gets the ball.
Dont forget, the bigger they are, the harder they fall.
Tip of the Week (9th Mar) Band of Steel in the Tackle
Try not to tackle by purely grabbing the opposition. Your fingers are just not strong enough. You must get in close and wrap your arms around the runner. Dont forget, tackling is combination of heart and technique. If you have great technique, but are timid about closing in on your opponent you will not succeed. If you have the heart of a lion, but cannot get those arms around the opposing runner, again you will not succeed.
Tip of the Week (18th Mar) - Using the touch line
In defence, the touch line is often described as an extra defender. If the opposition takes the ball into touch, it is your lineout ball. Clever wingers will invite their opponent to attack close to the touch line by showing them a little more space, with the view of then tackling them into touch. So, if you are playing on the wing, think about giving up a little space instead of coming forward into the tackle. You will then find it easier to shadow your opponent towards the touch line.