Try this game to work on players' support
This game is new to me. It was developed during a chat between myself and two players from the women's team I coach. I love it and full credit goes to them for this game.
A few weeks ago at training, the team were playing a game which meant they all had individual rules in defence. We then ran an activity that meant players had different rules in attack. Each person had something different to do when they had the ball and they had been touch-tackled.
After the team finished the game and went for a water break, two players stood back. I spoke to them about how they found the game. One was observing the session and the other has just participated in the activity.
I mentioned that I liked one particular rule in the defensive game: every 2 touch-tackles made by that player, they swapped teams.
The players I spoke to agreed and we discussed setting up a game where that was the sole rule. The player who had observed said that it would help people in support. I mentioned that it would be chaos with people swapping but who doesn’t love a bit of chaos!
Last week we tried the game for the first time. Here’s how you might want to run it and my reflections for the next time I include it in a session:
Play a game of touch. If the ball carrier gets touched, they stop and pass the ball to a teammate.
Every time a player makes their 2nd touch tackle, they swap teams.
Players aim to swap instantly and become part of the attacking team.
If a team ends up with 2-3 players then I let them try to earn some more players. I also reset the game occasionally and players returned to their original teams before the activity resumed.
The game forced players who had swapped to think about where to stand to be in a good attacking position.
Halfway through the game I paused the activity and asked players where they could move to in order to help the ball carrier.
I challenged the players to be of instant help when they switched teams.
I also changed the rule partway through the game. Players now swapped teams after they made 3 touch tackles. This made it harder for players and to place more of an emphasis on the players that switched.
In future sessions, I might also introduce a rule where players have to leave the playing area, run round the side and enter the attacking side from the back grid. This means they would become a member of the attacking team from a position of deep support.
There is also a game variation that I want to trial, where only a handful of players each time can switch.
There is a lot of potential within this game and I feel we’ve only scratched the surface.
For me, it’s a great example of sharing the creative process of coaching with a team. This game rule started because I shared some reflective thoughts with players and they came up with this idea and recognised how it would benefit the team.
When I progressed the game and reflected at the end, I shared my thoughts with the team and they gave me feedback.
A coach’s creative process (reflection, practice design etc) is not removed from the players but a shared way of doing.