Think about the layout of your pitch
How you set up your pitch can impact your session
I often think about the layout of the pitch for sessions. When planning a session, I’ll often draw very quick sketches of how each area will look.
When setting up the pitch, I aim to use different coloured cones. These help me and the players. There’s a range of different reasons why changing the colour of the cones can aid the effectiveness of your session.
As well as making your session run smoothly and giving you options to change the game rules, it can also make your pitch layout look appealing. It can help generate some excitement for training. A sea of white cones can also look confusing.
Change the cones, make the session run smoother
Using different coloured cones can also help players and myself get orientated on the pitch. To help myself get players into activities quicker, I’ll make the trylines of the playing area different colours.
This is useful for the players if they’re new to rugby, new to the activity or the game is multidirectional. It also means I can get the game started quicker. I can refer players to a starting tryline by stating a colour line or tell players which line they’re scoring on.
For example:
I’ll make the trylines red and the touchlines yellow. I can also make one team’s tryline red, one team’s tryline yellow and make the touchlines white. I also can make each tryline and touchline a different colour.
It depends on the aim of the session, but using different coloured cones for trylines makes it clearer for players.
If I’ve got multiple playing areas (for example some smaller skill games and larger game zone areas). I’ll make the areas different colours. This helps me and the players move between the different areas.
For example:
If players have gone for a drink break, I’ll them ask them to meet me in the red playing area. If I’m splitting players up for certain activities, I can ask some of the group to go to the red square and the others to go to the yellow.
The combination of visual and verbal guides can help players and make it easier for you when there’s a large group of people. It makes the session flow, so you can focus on coaching rather than directing people to areas of the pitch.
The quicker you can get people to their zones, the easier you can start activities (which is crucial in cold weather). It also gives players extra time to connect with you and their teammates (which is important for recruitment and retention)
Change the cones, change the game
I may use different coloured lines to allow me to put in different rules. I might use this approach to mark the pitch into different coloured zones. This allows me to change the rules in each zone:
For example:
Red zone - players must go to the ground and present after they’ve been touch-tackled.
Blue zone - players have 2 touch rules (the ball carrier can keep going after the 1st touch-tackle but cannot score, after the second touch-tackle they must stop and pass)
Yellow zone - players must offload after the touch-tackle
Things to consider
If the pitches have been freshly marked, I aim to avoid using white cones. The lines on the pitch and the white cones can often get confusing.
Be aware of colour blindness. It’s more prevalent in men than women. Red-green colour blindness is most common, but there are other types. If a player on your team is colour blind, consider which colour cones you’re using.
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