|PLAYER DEVELOPMENT|CO CHING MA A


TTERS


3


3


PLA T


YERDEVELOPMENT


his phase of development is a key transition for children both in sport and life. The young players are moving from mod transition into 13-a-side.


They will also make the big move from primary to secondary education. Children in this phase begin to undergo major physical changes, which impact upon their ability to play the game.


So coach, how do we contend with these transitions and at the same time keep Rugby League enjoyable and improve the performance of our players?


We outlined in Issue 1 of Coaching Mattersthat one of the main aims of this stage is to develop fundamental sport skills.


It is recommended that children at this stage in their development participate in one or two specific Rugby League sessions of 45–75 minutes and three or four other sporting activity sessions, whether this is through another sport or the school PE curriculum. It is also important that all players are afforded equal game time.


Fundamental Sport Skills


Running, jumping, catching, kicking, throwing and striking are all fundamental sport skills.


If children are proficient in these then they should have the ability to be able to apply these across sports. From the skills listed, it is quite apparent that these sport skills are directly applicable to Rugby League.


Let’s take catching skills as an example, bearing in mind that coaches must be patient with children when they are learning new skills. Care should be taken to coach through small steps rather than expect them to perform like an adult immediately.


In the fundamentals stage, children learn to catch with both hands, then with one. They catch balls of different sizes and weights, first while standing and then moving. These skills can transfer to other sports.


In the fundamental sport skill stage, children learn to catch a rugby ball with their arms pointing towards the receiver, shoulders rotated and fingers spread.


The child eventually learns to catch the rugby ball when it is propelled in many


Core Skill Handling


Pass Catch Play-the-ball Carry Grip


Offload


different ways (eg kicked) and at varying trajectories and heights.


Technical Skills


Previously we have outlined the different areas of play that contribute towards the performance of a player. Here we focus on technical skills.


We can break down technical skills into the following categories. In the table below we can see how the core skills can be broken down to be specific for this developmental stage.


Stage-specific Application


• One-handed carry • Moving dummy-half pick up • Moving dummy-half pass • Offload (two handed, pre-line and in collision) • Pop pass • Drop-off pass • Moving ground ball retrieval (two-handed) • High ball retrieval (basket catch) • Play-the-ball (four movements)


Evasion


Sidestep Hand-off Hit and spin Bump-off


Kicking


Punt Chip Grubber Place Drop kick


• Late footwork at the line • Double step • Hand off


• Learning through exploration • Punt for accuracy and distance • Introduction to grubber and chip • Progress difficulty levels by increasing speed and reducing time and space


• All players have the opportunity to learn to kick • Restart kicks • Drop-kick • Place-kick


Tackling


Front Side


Decision making


Offence Defence


• Front block tackle • Side tackle • Approach, contact, finish • Left and right shoulder


• Draw and pass in a 3 v 2 situation • Maintain space on the outside (hold) • Support ball carrier on outside • Defensive line speed • Spacing in the defensive line


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