A session plan for players newer to rugby
Andy Stevens shares his typical session plan for players who have a low playing age.
Andy Stevens is back! Andy’s current roles include: Barton Peveril Lead Coach - Men’s and Women’s U18, Bath Rugby Academy U16 PDG Lead Coach, RFU Coach Developer and Mentor and Hampshire RFU Coaching Lead
As part of his coaching, he’s delivered rugby in schools to girls that are new to the sport. This is a typical session plan that he might use.
As always, tweak these ideas to suit your coaching style and the players. You can also use these ideas for groups that have a mixture of newer and more experienced players.
Activities plan:
Netball rugby: players can’t move with the ball, they can pass in any direction. Teams aim to score on opposing trylines. Include Activate exercises within the game.
Multidirectional touch level 1: players can move with the ball, they can pass in any direction. If the ball carrier is touch-tackled, they stop and pass the ball to a teammate.
Multidirectional touch level 2: players can move with the ball, they can pass in any direction. If the ball carrier is touch-tackled, they stop and pass the ball to a teammate. Teams must complete one backwards pass before they can score.
Backwards touch and pass (optional depending on level of players): All passes must now go backwards. If the ball carrier is touch-tackled, they stop and pass the ball to a teammate.
Piggy in the middle: Split players into groups of 4. 1 player starts in middle, 3 players are surround the middle player and pass the ball between them. The middle player aims to hug the player who has the ball. This helps the player predict where the ball is going and an opportunity to teach them to get into a low and safe position for the hug.
Hugby (optional depending on level of player): Return to a larger game and add in hugby rules. The ball must be passed backwards. Defending players aim to stop the player by performing a low, safe hug. The ball carrier is not taken to ground.
Hugby lower level option: Play touch rugby rules, but restart the game with a ‘hug’ on the halfway line.
Hugby/Backwards touch level 2: Ask the teams to add a new rule each. The rule changes apply to both teams.
Questions to ask players during the session
The questions you ask will vary on the confidence of the players, but they could include:
Why have I just stopped the game? (You can use this to highlight something good that the players may have not realised what they’ve done)
What did [player name] do really well just now?
How could we have scored earlier/quicker?
How could your team score more tries? 30 seconds to discuss - don’t tell the opposition.
Why have you/I changed the rule? What has changed in the game?
Interactions you may have with players during the session
If your group has more experienced players, they can help explain, demo and lead. You can also add rules so the experienced player feels involved and valued while also making sure they don’t dominate the game.
When introducing the activities and sessions, you can structure them around principles of play. You can talk about the principles of play early on in the players’ journey.
Then you can plan and talk about your sessions using them and almost tick them off each week or couple of sessions. This can help prove to the players that they’re playing and learning rugby.
What’s next?
In the next few sessions, activities could include:
Wrestling competitions
Tackle technical activities (check out Tackle Ready and Contact Confident)
Include Hugby in training sessions, potentially adding in an option to complete the tackle after the ball carrier has been passed the ball
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