Olympics! Bring a multisports spirit to your sessions
The Olympics are here, it's a good excuse to use other sports in your sessions, however the multisports are useful all year round.
This week at training, Huddersfield RUFC women’s team had an Olympic themed training session. We combined a few sports with rugby to challenge players’ problem solving, scanning and ability to create space. The games also worked on skills like overhead throws and short kicks.
I’m a firm believer in bringing other sports into training sessions. There’s a few reasons why:
More variety. It sounds simple but variety across the weeks and months of training is key. It keeps it entertaining for players and for coaches.
Purpose. Adding different games and challenges in helps players. Is the purpose of training to get players better and perfect a particular activity, or is it to use activities to help players get better/learn/develop?
Love of sports. By bringing in other sports to training, you can help players spark a passion for more sports. PE curriculums can sometimes be restrictive, so adding in new sports can give players a different challenge and get them intrigued.
Multisports = multiskilled. Research suggests late specialisation within a sport is recommended. A variety of different sports can present players with different challenges to overcome.
To summerise: multisports are for life, not just for a themed training session.
The training session
On Tuesday, I used a range of sports to blend into the rugby session including: volleyball, netball, judo, 3v3 basketball and handball.
I loved the challenge of combined different sports with rugby to create activities that would be an appropriate level for the players, give them a test and be relevant to what we were working on.
Warm up game
Rugby-Volleyball
This warm up game is a mix of rugby and volleyball. I used rugby netball as its a good warm up for my template to adapt. I set up the playing area with a halfway line and two lines either side. (See image above)
To replicate the volleyball movements, players could only use overhead throws. This includes an opportunity for players to work on their handling, including a lineout-specific skill. Players could throw the ball in any direction.
To cross over the halfway line, players must kick to a team mate within the kicking zone. Ideally the kick starts in the kicking zone, before the halfway line to goes to a teammate on the other side of the halfway line, still in the kicking zone.
Here’s the full rules:
Players aim to score on the opposition tryline
Players can’t move with the ball
The ball must be thrown overhead
To cross the halfway line, the ball must be kicked and recieved within the kicking zone
Main game 1
Rugby - 3x3 Basketball
This game was quite simple. I was just inspired by the small court and the fast action. I split players into team of 3 or 4 and they played against each other in a mini round robin tournament of touch rugby.
Occasionally I paused the games so players could have half time chats, an important skill to practice, just like a pass or a kick.
3x3 Basketball has only one basket, but I set up a standard game of touch rugby for the players. I felt this was important as the warm up game and the 2nd main game required alot of problem solving.
Main game 2
Rugby-Handball
I created a pitch with goals (like football) using cones. I then used cones to make a scoring zone (the yellow semicircle) and placed a halfway line.
Players play touch rugby in their own half. When they cross the halfway line, they switch to a game of modified handball.
They can’t run with the ball, but can pass in any direction. The defending team is allowed to have one person in goal. The shots must be thrown or rolled in the goal. The player with the ball must be in the semicircle to shoot at goal.
I love this because it got players communicating with each other in attack and defence when the sports changed. Players had to look up and scan to see where the support was, especially when the game changed from rugby to handball.
The teams were also challenged in defence. If a team was attacking with handball (in the opposition half) but lost position, they had to work hard to get themselves onside for rugby.
Here’s the full rules:
Where the attacking team have the ball, governs what sport is being played
Players play touch rugby rules in their own half
When the attackers cross the halfway line, the sport switches to handball
The defenders must defend each sport (defend touch rugby in the attacking team’s half and handball in their own)
When playing handball, the attacking team can’t kick or move with the ball
They can pass in any direction
They must shoot at goal in the semicircle by a roll or a throw
The defending team is allowed one goalkeeper
This is a game I will be returning to again soon. The feedback from the players was great.
It created lots of situations for the players to work on their skills, including problem solving, support, transition into defence and communication.
I think it shows the benefits of bringing other sports into your sessions