Grunthos
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The final installment!
The Big Game!
Make sure that your manager has told everyone when, where and who we are playing and to be at the ground no less than 30 minutes before kick-off and to make sure that everyone has their gear.
This is the sole and only reason why God created SMS, e-mail, and the telephone!
Remember it is the game they play in Heaven after all!
He or she must also have up-to-date team lists and registration cards etc.
Also, it’s an idea to sometimes check on opposition team lists to make sure they don’t try to slip any ineligible players.... (See “U10 and up” for this one…)
Get the manager to keep a list of the penalties the team or individual players may inker during the game and work on correcting the problems at the next training session and try not to worry about statistics either, “Yeah, we lost the game sixty-seven to nil, but we thrashed them in the stats!”
As for the coach, be organized!
Have a couple of balls and hit shields on hand for the warm-up, full water bottles, water bottles holders, and the all-important “runners bag.”
Have a game plan if possible, look up your compositions results table and see how the opposition has been playing, what there for and against is like etc.
Get the team warmed up and focused both physically and mentally!
Get them together in a huddle, rev them up, shout the war-cry and send them into battle!
Ref = GOD!
The referee is God and his linesmen/assistant refs, minor deities!
Even if they prove to be false idols and a blasphemy to the game and all that is holy, for the length of the game they are all-bloody-mighty!
In other words, don’t argue with the man with the flag or whistle, you’re never going to win and you could well put your team at a disadvantage.
If there is a problem with the opposition's play or the ref’s judgment (or eyesight) it must be made diplomatically and politely, remember “You will catch more flies with honey than vinegar…
It is the captain’s job to liaise with the ref during the game and if necessary at halftime, it falls to him to report foul play from the opposition and to query his discissions, not the coaches. The coach may approach the ref after the game but remember to be diplomatic and courteous even though you may feel like throttling him.
Another thing to remember is to remind the parents and spectators about the code of conduct. Keep your mums and dads under control at all times as their behavior is your responsibility as well as the player's.
Remember without the whistleblower you don’t have a game! This being said, a ref can only “call it as he sees it” but, if he is missing far too many things or is obviously favoring one team over another (yes this can sometimes happen) you have every right to report the matter to the powers that be and I suggest you do so.
If you find that the team is giving too many penalties away you must look into the matter, what is going wrong? Is it a lack of communication or discipline or a lack of understanding of the rules, if the reason isn’t apparent by all means ask the ref (politely) after the game and see what he says, then act upon his advice at the next training session.
U6 to U9 games rarely if ever have a real ref officiating and the job is usually left up to the coaches and parents or any passer-by with a whistle in their pocket.
Now if you get to control the game, it’s a good idea to be very tough on your team, don’t do them any favors whatsoever!
Coaches who help their teams a little to win aren’t doing them any service at all!
You see, when they reach the U10s they will fall under the control of a real whistleblower and he won’t give them any preferential treatment at all!
That little knock-on, forward pass or bit of foul play that helped his team to victory in the U6, 7s, 8s and 9s will only draw a scrum, penalty, or send off now.
Get it…!
If you get called upon to referee a game you must talk to each team, on the occasions I have done this I have used the following,
Refereeing, Teams address.
After checking boots and mouth guards, remember no mouthguard no play.
“Good morning/afternoon gentlemen can I have your attention, please.
Ok, first up, I will not tolerate sledging or foul play of any type! Any high tackle above this point (show with your hands) or a lifting tackle that goes beyond horizontal (mime a spear tackle) will receive a penalty, if I think it’s deliberate, I’ll give you a red or yellow card and send you off!
Is that understood?”
Do we all know the May-day call?
(If not, go with uncontested scrums and tell the coach to teach his team at their next training session ASAP!)
“If you are the ball carrier, when you are tackled, place and release the ball
immediately, if you are the tackler, release the player and do your best to roll away quickly. Is this understood?”
“Who’s the Capitan? Hi (Fred/Barry/Pubert etc) I’m Mr. Grunthos,
(To the team and coach) if you have anything to say to me it goes through your skipper. Is that understood? Any questions?”
I’m going to call it as I see it gentlemen, let’s have a great game
and Ill see you out there in about --minutes.”
When talking to your assistant referees/linesmen (if you are lucky enough to have them) make sure you have a plan of action if there is a fight or pitch invasion by a retarded mum or dad. (I have seen this happen) Both linesmen should go straight to you and give you support.
It also helps if you know the rules as well…
The Runner, the keeper of the bag…
His job is simple. If a player goes down, even an opposition player, he is to get to him immediately and lend assistance!
When there is a stoppage in play he is also charged with getting as much water down as many throats as possible!
Don’t let the boys snatch the bottles from him and guzzle the lot down; a couple of squirts in the mouth is usually all that’s needed.
He can also convey messages from the coach and if you have a two-way radio this can come in very handy at times.
Clear communication from the “brains trust” on the sidelines during a break in play can pay big dividends in the long run.
Half time!
Make sure that the boys come straight to you and don’t go off to mum and dad; you don’t have time to chase them up. All water bottles should be full and brought onto the field in their carrier as well as oranges etc.
Ask the team how they think they are going and how they could solve any problems.
Tell them frankly and honestly what you think, remember our politically correct coach I mentioned earlier….
Give them another rev-up and send them back into the fray.
After the game:
After the game, talk to the assembled team and parents, try to talk to each player individually giving a pat on the back and encouragement or congratulations for a job
well done etc be honest at all times, there is nothing worse than false praise!
Encourage them to think critically about how they played as individuals and as a team, did they hog the ball, chicken out in defense etc, the player is usually his own best critic.
Be honest, call a spade a spade but don’t be too negative or over the top with praise.
If you have a Player of the week trophy, get the mums and Dads to do the judging, also some fast food companies have weekly awards for the kids that they distribute freely to the clubs.
Let’s be blunt. They're not interested in the kid's development, their only concern is brand recognition, product placement, and the food is unhealthy rubbish!
Bin them!
Avoid the fake award, the “participation certificate” etc, you know, the one that says,
Congratulations! You came 12th out of 13 in the 100 meters egg and spoon race!
Or as my sones (showing a cynicism far beyond their years) describe them as a,
”Thanks a lot for trying but-you-still-suck” award!
“Not our best work gentlemen…”
All games are won and lost on the training paddock…
It’s Ok to lose a game if the opposition was a little bit quicker or slicker or even if the ball just wanted to bounce the wrong way, it’s all ok, you learn far more from a loss than a win, remember, you can never learn to win if you can’t learn from losing.
However, if you lose because the team performed badly, because of sloppiness or silly unforced errors, giving away penalties or just making it hard for themselves with bad defense or attacking options etc, this must be attended to properly, fairly, and without fear or favor.
If the team isn’t doing well, week in week out, don’t blame the boys for not following your brilliantly laid out strategies!
Simply go back to the old “Kiss Method” drawing board and keep trying to improve on the particular weakness, move players around or try different tactics or drills, ask advice from other coaches but never, ever only blame the team for losing.
Remember you are the coach and the buck stops with you mate!!!
The next session:
After each game make notes on how you felt the team went with your co-coach, discuss strengths and weaknesses, and plan the next training session around them.
Though we strive for victory week in week out, the fact is, you learn far more from a loss than a win after all a mistake is only a mistake if you don’t learn from it.
At training, tell the team what you thought about the game and ask them their opinion as well, then get to work.
Remember, patience, the “Kiss Method” and practice makes perfect, are the keys to success.
Minis to opens, a personal perspective on coaching different age groups.
U6/U7 (Two-Handed Tag)
RIP!-PASS!-RUN!
Or “Come back, you’re going the wrong way!”
“I have a doggy and his name is Tim. He’s a boy doggy, but daddy is taking him to the doggy doctor and when he comes home he’s going to be a girl doggy!
“Why?-How?”
All said to me with much big-blue-eyed earnestness in the middle of a game…
Remember how I said that coaching mini’s and junior’s teams is like trying to herd twenty cats into a wheelbarrow.
This is where it all begins!
Ok, the big thing here is to get the kids to run straight and forward, not go all over the place and maybe even pass the ball to each other from time to time; and if you can do that, you’re doing very well.
I have found a little imagination and a lot of fun goes a long way in getting the desired results.
First tell the team that this isn’t anything like playing chasings at school where you can run backward and all over the place, it’s important to always run forwards even if it means getting tagged immediately.
Then (and this is the fun bit) tell the team to use their imaginations, and that on one side of the sideline there is a 100-foot drop into a pool of cold porridge, Bull sharks, or dogs poo etc and on the other side of the field there is a pit full of old undies, socks, stale cabbage etc, and the grosser the better, the kids love it!
If they run backward, they run straight into the arms of, “Nannastein!”
Now Nannastein is no ordinary Nanna! She has mauve hair, heavy pink lipstick, too much powder, and rouge on her cheeks and one of those big moles with hair coming out of it and a bristly chin and she hasn’t seen her beautiful boy for such a long time and needs to give him a-great-big-kiss!!!!
There is nothing more satisfying than watching a player tip-toeing away from the sideline or the chorus of “Ha-Ha, Nanna will get you!” from the team if some someone should run backward.
Try this with the younger kids, it's fun and it works!
(And of course, don’t kiss anyone or you will end up in Long bay kissing Jamal, Ice-pick and T-bone…)
RIP!-PASS!-RUN!
Passing is the big challenge; they all want to run the length of the field knocking all and sundry aside to score under the posts.
It’s an idea to ask the kids this;
“What would you rather have? You scoring 10 great tries by yourself but the team losing the game? Or, you scoring nothing, but the team wins the game?
Mostly the kids want the team to win; this is a good tactic to use on a player who hogs the ball.
On the word “Tag” the player carrying the ball turns around and presents the ball to the following player who “Rips” it from him and then “Passes” it on to another boy who then “Runs” until he too is tagged and so on.
If drilled properly the team can get quite a lot of speed and go forward happening.
You can then add an extra “Pass” and/or “Run” to the mix and if you feel the team has some real potential, “Wrap around” could be added.
So you may have something that goes “Rip, pass, run, pass, wrap-around, run, pass…” etc, etc.
Get the team to chant what they are doing so it gets ingrained.
You will end up with a little chorus of kids all chanting “Rip, pass, run” etc on the training paddock and good results should follow in their games.
To me, coaching U6 to U7 isn’t about winning; it’s about introducing the kids to the game in a safe and fun way. Always be prepared to joke and have silly fun with the team, remember at this level it is a sort of playgroup, but still a serious one and always keep in mind that you must get the basics down ready for the time they start tackling and really competing.
You should try to increase the intensity of their play a little at a time to get them ready for the big day so as it won’t be too much of a shock to the system, most boys will be champing at the bit long before then anyway.
From U8 to U9 you are preparing them for Graded football in the U10s, and that’s a different story altogether…!
Graded teams U10 and up:
Congratulations!
You are now playing for Cattle stations!
You are now playing for the soul of your ancestors!
You are now playing for the very right for you and your family to draw breath upon God’s good green Earth!
YOU MUST WIN AT ALL COSTS!!!
This is where some clubs and coaches go a little nuts with “creative recruiting”
or trying to slip in ineligible players etc because, if you can’t win by cheating, win by cheating more!
Welcome to the wonderful world of graded Rugby!
Weeeeeee! Are we having fun or what!
This is where the coach’s diplomatic skills and that of his manager will be most tested,
remember our demanding parents I mentioned earlier?
Well, they’re now demanding to know why their immature, disruptive and uncoordinated smart-ass spawn isn’t in A grade!
We all want to coach an A grade squad to glory but sometimes it just isn’t possible.
It’s vitally important to match the players you have to the team, A, B, C etc, and the team to the competition.
There’s no point in putting a C grade team in an A grade comp the weekly bashing will do no one any good at all.
However, being graded lower than you should be isn’t of much good either.
Try for balance, you want to challenge the team every week, not receive or give out a thrashing.
Avoid “Trophy Hunting” (the deliberate under-grading of your team) so they have a better shot at a premiership, it gives them a false sense of their abilities and it will give you and your club a VERY bad name for many years to come!
A case in point, one session a cretin team from the Northern suburbs of Sydney collapsed their under-strength “A” team into their “B” squad. They proceeded to rack up over 100 points in there TWO trial games then had the gall to place themselves in the D grade competition!
They then proceed to belt every other team by at least 40+ points to nil!
They were then re-graded to the C comp where they continued on their merry way winning every game, but losing all respect.
This sort of “Soft-cock” cheating and trophy hunting should be avoided at all costs if you want the respect of your peers and most importantly help the development of your players.
Also, don’t be too quick to put a team up into a higher grade unless you can be sure they can take it, remember you team will almost certainly need tougher training to handle the harder games.
You must be honest and a realist.
It’s also diplomatic to have another coach watch the team play in the pre-season trial games and help grade the players accordingly.
Of course, the final decision should always be yours, but mum and dad don’t need to know that now do they…
The Joy of Puberty!
Suddenly, all the players’ sisters who couldn’t give two hoots about their rotten brother’s stupid crappy team will suddenly start coming out off the woodwork…
It’s safe to say that when a young lad's balls drop, so does his IQ!
You know that angelic, sweet-natured, fast thinking, little halfback with the quick side step and beautiful hands; well, he’s now a great-big-galumphing prop with a rudimentary understanding of the spoken word a five o’clock shadow the complexion of a five-meats pizza and a semi-permanent erection!
It’s fair to say that talented teams that were dominant in the lower grades will find themselves being knocked around by squads that were once considered easy-beats solely because some or most of the opposition players have developed quicker than others.
Who says size doesn’t matter!
This is a difficult time for all as you will find that somewhere between the U12 and U15 age groups, roughly half your squad will be going through puberty and the other half won’t have started yet and this can really unbalance most teams.
You will sometimes have a boy or two who have been very dominant in past seasons being caught up with and surpassed by seemingly lesser players, this can be very bewildering to both the player and mum and dad.
You must (diplomatically) communicate to the team (and mum and dad) when necessary about what’s happening and why some of them might not be suitable to play in their favorite positions.
A 50Kg player who always played very well in the centers might find himself overwhelmed when lining up against 75Kg or 95Kg opponents and all that courage and finely honed technique goes out the window when physics raises its ugly head!
Ahhh yes, happy is the ex-forward that finds himself on the wing, joyfully skipping and crashing his way through smaller back lines or snuffing out their feeble attack with his satisfying, bone-crushing defense.
All because of a pair of dropped nuts and a pimple or two!
Make hay while the sun shines sport because it won’t last forever.
Be sure to use your bigger boys where and when you can, however, be aware that all that extra strength and speed usually has a trade-off in the form of general awkwardness and clumsy catch and pass, etc and loads of penalty giving, potentially game losing aggression!
Quite often they just don’t know their own strength, couple that with hormones that are telling them to “Crush-Kill-Destroy” at every ruck, mall, break-down, and tackle you can have some real disciplinary problems on your hands.
It’s also safe to say as soon as a lad (or lass) enters their teen years they are mystically endowed with all the knowledge and wisdom of the ages and YOU don’t have a bloody clue! Remember our halfback? Well, he’s now an eye-rolling, smart-assed punk as well as being King Kong on heat!
The key here is discipline, communication, and patience, that and keep practicing all the basic skills and drills and remember to tailor them to the age and size of your team, as mentioned earlier, there’s no point in training an U13 team using U10 techniques and tactics.
If you have an overabundance of smaller players then you might want to put your team in a lower grade, what was once an A graded squad might now be better off in the C competition.
You will need to concentrate more than ever on your defensive and catch-pass fast handling techniques or you won’t stand a chance against the bigger teams.
With some careful positional selection, diplomacy, and all-around cooperation (if possible) you can rein in all that rampant testosterone and turn it to your advantage.
Be patent, be honest, and try not throttling any of them.
Taking down the posts:
About August, September the goalposts begin to be taken down from around the grounds and the Cricket pitches are uncovered from their winter’s hibernation and I think wistfully to myself, “Ahhh, there goes another season…”
Rugby is more physically demanding than League and AFL and requires more grit, heart, discipline, and plain old-fashioned guts than Soccer.
*And unlike Soccer and AFL, there’s a position in a rugby team for everyone.
Short or tall, fat or thin, fast or slow there’s a spot for them all!
Rugby/League is a game of skill, commitment, and courage!
You give Rugby and League a clumsy, dopey, gangly kid at the beginning of the season, and it will present back to you a clumsy, dopey, gangly young man/woman by the end of it!
I think it’s all because you can learn a lot about yourself at the bottom of a ruck…
“Go all you good things!”
Grunthos
* A 2021 note on League: There was a time when there was a place on the Rugby League field for every shape and size, from the skinny little
whippet to the big boofy guy.
Now the game is obsessed with speed, strength, and size and best suited to players who are big, fast, and athletic, like Sonny Bill Williams etc.
This is bad for the development of the game at the grassroots level in the long run as kids who are keen and want to progress to higher levels but don't have the required athletic build and stamina to complete satisfactorily will all fall by the wayside.
Now only Rugby Union can cater to all shapes and sizes from U6 mini through to senior grade and this has a lot of appeal for kids left behind by
Soccer and Aussie rules and now, unfortunately, league.
The Big Game!
Make sure that your manager has told everyone when, where and who we are playing and to be at the ground no less than 30 minutes before kick-off and to make sure that everyone has their gear.
This is the sole and only reason why God created SMS, e-mail, and the telephone!
Remember it is the game they play in Heaven after all!
He or she must also have up-to-date team lists and registration cards etc.
Also, it’s an idea to sometimes check on opposition team lists to make sure they don’t try to slip any ineligible players.... (See “U10 and up” for this one…)
Get the manager to keep a list of the penalties the team or individual players may inker during the game and work on correcting the problems at the next training session and try not to worry about statistics either, “Yeah, we lost the game sixty-seven to nil, but we thrashed them in the stats!”
As for the coach, be organized!
Have a couple of balls and hit shields on hand for the warm-up, full water bottles, water bottles holders, and the all-important “runners bag.”
Have a game plan if possible, look up your compositions results table and see how the opposition has been playing, what there for and against is like etc.
Get the team warmed up and focused both physically and mentally!
Get them together in a huddle, rev them up, shout the war-cry and send them into battle!
Ref = GOD!
The referee is God and his linesmen/assistant refs, minor deities!
Even if they prove to be false idols and a blasphemy to the game and all that is holy, for the length of the game they are all-bloody-mighty!
In other words, don’t argue with the man with the flag or whistle, you’re never going to win and you could well put your team at a disadvantage.
If there is a problem with the opposition's play or the ref’s judgment (or eyesight) it must be made diplomatically and politely, remember “You will catch more flies with honey than vinegar…
It is the captain’s job to liaise with the ref during the game and if necessary at halftime, it falls to him to report foul play from the opposition and to query his discissions, not the coaches. The coach may approach the ref after the game but remember to be diplomatic and courteous even though you may feel like throttling him.
Another thing to remember is to remind the parents and spectators about the code of conduct. Keep your mums and dads under control at all times as their behavior is your responsibility as well as the player's.
Remember without the whistleblower you don’t have a game! This being said, a ref can only “call it as he sees it” but, if he is missing far too many things or is obviously favoring one team over another (yes this can sometimes happen) you have every right to report the matter to the powers that be and I suggest you do so.
If you find that the team is giving too many penalties away you must look into the matter, what is going wrong? Is it a lack of communication or discipline or a lack of understanding of the rules, if the reason isn’t apparent by all means ask the ref (politely) after the game and see what he says, then act upon his advice at the next training session.
U6 to U9 games rarely if ever have a real ref officiating and the job is usually left up to the coaches and parents or any passer-by with a whistle in their pocket.
Now if you get to control the game, it’s a good idea to be very tough on your team, don’t do them any favors whatsoever!
Coaches who help their teams a little to win aren’t doing them any service at all!
You see, when they reach the U10s they will fall under the control of a real whistleblower and he won’t give them any preferential treatment at all!
That little knock-on, forward pass or bit of foul play that helped his team to victory in the U6, 7s, 8s and 9s will only draw a scrum, penalty, or send off now.
Get it…!
If you get called upon to referee a game you must talk to each team, on the occasions I have done this I have used the following,
Refereeing, Teams address.
After checking boots and mouth guards, remember no mouthguard no play.
“Good morning/afternoon gentlemen can I have your attention, please.
Ok, first up, I will not tolerate sledging or foul play of any type! Any high tackle above this point (show with your hands) or a lifting tackle that goes beyond horizontal (mime a spear tackle) will receive a penalty, if I think it’s deliberate, I’ll give you a red or yellow card and send you off!
Is that understood?”
Do we all know the May-day call?
(If not, go with uncontested scrums and tell the coach to teach his team at their next training session ASAP!)
“If you are the ball carrier, when you are tackled, place and release the ball
immediately, if you are the tackler, release the player and do your best to roll away quickly. Is this understood?”
“Who’s the Capitan? Hi (Fred/Barry/Pubert etc) I’m Mr. Grunthos,
(To the team and coach) if you have anything to say to me it goes through your skipper. Is that understood? Any questions?”
I’m going to call it as I see it gentlemen, let’s have a great game
and Ill see you out there in about --minutes.”
When talking to your assistant referees/linesmen (if you are lucky enough to have them) make sure you have a plan of action if there is a fight or pitch invasion by a retarded mum or dad. (I have seen this happen) Both linesmen should go straight to you and give you support.
It also helps if you know the rules as well…
The Runner, the keeper of the bag…
His job is simple. If a player goes down, even an opposition player, he is to get to him immediately and lend assistance!
When there is a stoppage in play he is also charged with getting as much water down as many throats as possible!
Don’t let the boys snatch the bottles from him and guzzle the lot down; a couple of squirts in the mouth is usually all that’s needed.
He can also convey messages from the coach and if you have a two-way radio this can come in very handy at times.
Clear communication from the “brains trust” on the sidelines during a break in play can pay big dividends in the long run.
Half time!
Make sure that the boys come straight to you and don’t go off to mum and dad; you don’t have time to chase them up. All water bottles should be full and brought onto the field in their carrier as well as oranges etc.
Ask the team how they think they are going and how they could solve any problems.
Tell them frankly and honestly what you think, remember our politically correct coach I mentioned earlier….
Give them another rev-up and send them back into the fray.
After the game:
After the game, talk to the assembled team and parents, try to talk to each player individually giving a pat on the back and encouragement or congratulations for a job
well done etc be honest at all times, there is nothing worse than false praise!
Encourage them to think critically about how they played as individuals and as a team, did they hog the ball, chicken out in defense etc, the player is usually his own best critic.
Be honest, call a spade a spade but don’t be too negative or over the top with praise.
If you have a Player of the week trophy, get the mums and Dads to do the judging, also some fast food companies have weekly awards for the kids that they distribute freely to the clubs.
Let’s be blunt. They're not interested in the kid's development, their only concern is brand recognition, product placement, and the food is unhealthy rubbish!
Bin them!
Avoid the fake award, the “participation certificate” etc, you know, the one that says,
Congratulations! You came 12th out of 13 in the 100 meters egg and spoon race!
Or as my sones (showing a cynicism far beyond their years) describe them as a,
”Thanks a lot for trying but-you-still-suck” award!
“Not our best work gentlemen…”
All games are won and lost on the training paddock…
It’s Ok to lose a game if the opposition was a little bit quicker or slicker or even if the ball just wanted to bounce the wrong way, it’s all ok, you learn far more from a loss than a win, remember, you can never learn to win if you can’t learn from losing.
However, if you lose because the team performed badly, because of sloppiness or silly unforced errors, giving away penalties or just making it hard for themselves with bad defense or attacking options etc, this must be attended to properly, fairly, and without fear or favor.
If the team isn’t doing well, week in week out, don’t blame the boys for not following your brilliantly laid out strategies!
Simply go back to the old “Kiss Method” drawing board and keep trying to improve on the particular weakness, move players around or try different tactics or drills, ask advice from other coaches but never, ever only blame the team for losing.
Remember you are the coach and the buck stops with you mate!!!
The next session:
After each game make notes on how you felt the team went with your co-coach, discuss strengths and weaknesses, and plan the next training session around them.
Though we strive for victory week in week out, the fact is, you learn far more from a loss than a win after all a mistake is only a mistake if you don’t learn from it.
At training, tell the team what you thought about the game and ask them their opinion as well, then get to work.
Remember, patience, the “Kiss Method” and practice makes perfect, are the keys to success.
Minis to opens, a personal perspective on coaching different age groups.
U6/U7 (Two-Handed Tag)
RIP!-PASS!-RUN!
Or “Come back, you’re going the wrong way!”
“I have a doggy and his name is Tim. He’s a boy doggy, but daddy is taking him to the doggy doctor and when he comes home he’s going to be a girl doggy!
“Why?-How?”
All said to me with much big-blue-eyed earnestness in the middle of a game…
Remember how I said that coaching mini’s and junior’s teams is like trying to herd twenty cats into a wheelbarrow.
This is where it all begins!
Ok, the big thing here is to get the kids to run straight and forward, not go all over the place and maybe even pass the ball to each other from time to time; and if you can do that, you’re doing very well.
I have found a little imagination and a lot of fun goes a long way in getting the desired results.
First tell the team that this isn’t anything like playing chasings at school where you can run backward and all over the place, it’s important to always run forwards even if it means getting tagged immediately.
Then (and this is the fun bit) tell the team to use their imaginations, and that on one side of the sideline there is a 100-foot drop into a pool of cold porridge, Bull sharks, or dogs poo etc and on the other side of the field there is a pit full of old undies, socks, stale cabbage etc, and the grosser the better, the kids love it!
If they run backward, they run straight into the arms of, “Nannastein!”
Now Nannastein is no ordinary Nanna! She has mauve hair, heavy pink lipstick, too much powder, and rouge on her cheeks and one of those big moles with hair coming out of it and a bristly chin and she hasn’t seen her beautiful boy for such a long time and needs to give him a-great-big-kiss!!!!
There is nothing more satisfying than watching a player tip-toeing away from the sideline or the chorus of “Ha-Ha, Nanna will get you!” from the team if some someone should run backward.
Try this with the younger kids, it's fun and it works!
(And of course, don’t kiss anyone or you will end up in Long bay kissing Jamal, Ice-pick and T-bone…)
RIP!-PASS!-RUN!
Passing is the big challenge; they all want to run the length of the field knocking all and sundry aside to score under the posts.
It’s an idea to ask the kids this;
“What would you rather have? You scoring 10 great tries by yourself but the team losing the game? Or, you scoring nothing, but the team wins the game?
Mostly the kids want the team to win; this is a good tactic to use on a player who hogs the ball.
On the word “Tag” the player carrying the ball turns around and presents the ball to the following player who “Rips” it from him and then “Passes” it on to another boy who then “Runs” until he too is tagged and so on.
If drilled properly the team can get quite a lot of speed and go forward happening.
You can then add an extra “Pass” and/or “Run” to the mix and if you feel the team has some real potential, “Wrap around” could be added.
So you may have something that goes “Rip, pass, run, pass, wrap-around, run, pass…” etc, etc.
Get the team to chant what they are doing so it gets ingrained.
You will end up with a little chorus of kids all chanting “Rip, pass, run” etc on the training paddock and good results should follow in their games.
To me, coaching U6 to U7 isn’t about winning; it’s about introducing the kids to the game in a safe and fun way. Always be prepared to joke and have silly fun with the team, remember at this level it is a sort of playgroup, but still a serious one and always keep in mind that you must get the basics down ready for the time they start tackling and really competing.
You should try to increase the intensity of their play a little at a time to get them ready for the big day so as it won’t be too much of a shock to the system, most boys will be champing at the bit long before then anyway.
From U8 to U9 you are preparing them for Graded football in the U10s, and that’s a different story altogether…!
Graded teams U10 and up:
Congratulations!
You are now playing for Cattle stations!
You are now playing for the soul of your ancestors!
You are now playing for the very right for you and your family to draw breath upon God’s good green Earth!
YOU MUST WIN AT ALL COSTS!!!
This is where some clubs and coaches go a little nuts with “creative recruiting”
or trying to slip in ineligible players etc because, if you can’t win by cheating, win by cheating more!
Welcome to the wonderful world of graded Rugby!
Weeeeeee! Are we having fun or what!
This is where the coach’s diplomatic skills and that of his manager will be most tested,
remember our demanding parents I mentioned earlier?
Well, they’re now demanding to know why their immature, disruptive and uncoordinated smart-ass spawn isn’t in A grade!
We all want to coach an A grade squad to glory but sometimes it just isn’t possible.
It’s vitally important to match the players you have to the team, A, B, C etc, and the team to the competition.
There’s no point in putting a C grade team in an A grade comp the weekly bashing will do no one any good at all.
However, being graded lower than you should be isn’t of much good either.
Try for balance, you want to challenge the team every week, not receive or give out a thrashing.
Avoid “Trophy Hunting” (the deliberate under-grading of your team) so they have a better shot at a premiership, it gives them a false sense of their abilities and it will give you and your club a VERY bad name for many years to come!
A case in point, one session a cretin team from the Northern suburbs of Sydney collapsed their under-strength “A” team into their “B” squad. They proceeded to rack up over 100 points in there TWO trial games then had the gall to place themselves in the D grade competition!
They then proceed to belt every other team by at least 40+ points to nil!
They were then re-graded to the C comp where they continued on their merry way winning every game, but losing all respect.
This sort of “Soft-cock” cheating and trophy hunting should be avoided at all costs if you want the respect of your peers and most importantly help the development of your players.
Also, don’t be too quick to put a team up into a higher grade unless you can be sure they can take it, remember you team will almost certainly need tougher training to handle the harder games.
You must be honest and a realist.
It’s also diplomatic to have another coach watch the team play in the pre-season trial games and help grade the players accordingly.
Of course, the final decision should always be yours, but mum and dad don’t need to know that now do they…
The Joy of Puberty!
Suddenly, all the players’ sisters who couldn’t give two hoots about their rotten brother’s stupid crappy team will suddenly start coming out off the woodwork…
It’s safe to say that when a young lad's balls drop, so does his IQ!
You know that angelic, sweet-natured, fast thinking, little halfback with the quick side step and beautiful hands; well, he’s now a great-big-galumphing prop with a rudimentary understanding of the spoken word a five o’clock shadow the complexion of a five-meats pizza and a semi-permanent erection!
It’s fair to say that talented teams that were dominant in the lower grades will find themselves being knocked around by squads that were once considered easy-beats solely because some or most of the opposition players have developed quicker than others.
Who says size doesn’t matter!
This is a difficult time for all as you will find that somewhere between the U12 and U15 age groups, roughly half your squad will be going through puberty and the other half won’t have started yet and this can really unbalance most teams.
You will sometimes have a boy or two who have been very dominant in past seasons being caught up with and surpassed by seemingly lesser players, this can be very bewildering to both the player and mum and dad.
You must (diplomatically) communicate to the team (and mum and dad) when necessary about what’s happening and why some of them might not be suitable to play in their favorite positions.
A 50Kg player who always played very well in the centers might find himself overwhelmed when lining up against 75Kg or 95Kg opponents and all that courage and finely honed technique goes out the window when physics raises its ugly head!
Ahhh yes, happy is the ex-forward that finds himself on the wing, joyfully skipping and crashing his way through smaller back lines or snuffing out their feeble attack with his satisfying, bone-crushing defense.
All because of a pair of dropped nuts and a pimple or two!
Make hay while the sun shines sport because it won’t last forever.
Be sure to use your bigger boys where and when you can, however, be aware that all that extra strength and speed usually has a trade-off in the form of general awkwardness and clumsy catch and pass, etc and loads of penalty giving, potentially game losing aggression!
Quite often they just don’t know their own strength, couple that with hormones that are telling them to “Crush-Kill-Destroy” at every ruck, mall, break-down, and tackle you can have some real disciplinary problems on your hands.
It’s also safe to say as soon as a lad (or lass) enters their teen years they are mystically endowed with all the knowledge and wisdom of the ages and YOU don’t have a bloody clue! Remember our halfback? Well, he’s now an eye-rolling, smart-assed punk as well as being King Kong on heat!
The key here is discipline, communication, and patience, that and keep practicing all the basic skills and drills and remember to tailor them to the age and size of your team, as mentioned earlier, there’s no point in training an U13 team using U10 techniques and tactics.
If you have an overabundance of smaller players then you might want to put your team in a lower grade, what was once an A graded squad might now be better off in the C competition.
You will need to concentrate more than ever on your defensive and catch-pass fast handling techniques or you won’t stand a chance against the bigger teams.
With some careful positional selection, diplomacy, and all-around cooperation (if possible) you can rein in all that rampant testosterone and turn it to your advantage.
Be patent, be honest, and try not throttling any of them.
Taking down the posts:
About August, September the goalposts begin to be taken down from around the grounds and the Cricket pitches are uncovered from their winter’s hibernation and I think wistfully to myself, “Ahhh, there goes another season…”
Rugby is more physically demanding than League and AFL and requires more grit, heart, discipline, and plain old-fashioned guts than Soccer.
*And unlike Soccer and AFL, there’s a position in a rugby team for everyone.
Short or tall, fat or thin, fast or slow there’s a spot for them all!
Rugby/League is a game of skill, commitment, and courage!
You give Rugby and League a clumsy, dopey, gangly kid at the beginning of the season, and it will present back to you a clumsy, dopey, gangly young man/woman by the end of it!
I think it’s all because you can learn a lot about yourself at the bottom of a ruck…
“Go all you good things!”
Grunthos
* A 2021 note on League: There was a time when there was a place on the Rugby League field for every shape and size, from the skinny little
whippet to the big boofy guy.
Now the game is obsessed with speed, strength, and size and best suited to players who are big, fast, and athletic, like Sonny Bill Williams etc.
This is bad for the development of the game at the grassroots level in the long run as kids who are keen and want to progress to higher levels but don't have the required athletic build and stamina to complete satisfactorily will all fall by the wayside.
Now only Rugby Union can cater to all shapes and sizes from U6 mini through to senior grade and this has a lot of appeal for kids left behind by
Soccer and Aussie rules and now, unfortunately, league.
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