Rugby Coach Weekly

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In this short podcast, Dan speaks to Gary Townsend, head of rugby at Switch Rugby about whether we have the wrong expectations of young rugby players.

He is former RFU National Player Development Manager and Bristol Bears Junior Academy manager.

In this episode, they discuss what a capable 13-year-old rugby player should achieve on the pitch and what coaches need to do differently to ensure we focus on the right skills and game understanding.

To find out more about this podcast and many others, go to Rugby Coach Weekly

Also, tap into the library of 4,000 pages of activities, advice, tactics and tips to help you become the best rugby coach you can be!

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We are going to turn the tables and Stu James, is going to ask me the questions.

Stu is a club coaching ordinator and colts coach at Guildford RFC, as well as a coach within the Quins Foundation programme and for Surrey Colts. In addition to these volunteer roles, he has a day job as a business consultant and executive coach.

In the podcast, Stu challenges me on:

• What question do I wish other coaches asked me on courses
• How do I help coaches who haven't got my experience
• How important is a coaching philosophy
• How do I balance taking control and giving control
• How do I know when things are going wrong in training, and how do I fix it
• What has made my coaching philosophy change
• What is the most important lesson learned from my coaching journey 

To find out more about this podcast and many others, go to Rugby Coach Weekly

Also, tap into the library of 4,000 pages of activities, advice, tactics and tips to help you become the best rugby coach you can be!

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In this short podcast, Dan speaks to Gary Townsend, head of rugby at Switch Rugby with a focus on deciding when to help players specialise as a 9 or 10.

He is former RFU National Player Development Manager and Bristol Bears Junior Academy manager.

In this episode, they discuss the best age, why it makes sense for this position and how it impacts their future development.

To find out more about this podcast and many others, go to Rugby Coach Weekly

To find out more about this podcast and many others, go to Rugby Coach Weekly

Also, tap into the library of 4,000 pages of activities, advice, tactics and tips to help you become the best rugby coach you can be!

Send us a text

Welcome to the Coaching Knife when we cut to the root of the matter. In this episode, we speak to Martin Haag, high performance team and executive coach.

Focusing on managing people rugby we are going to cut to the root on the importance of having a coaching philosophy.

Martin played for 14 years at Bath, then coached Bath, Nottingham, Bristol, Bath Academy England U20 World Cup Winning, Rouen, and Scotland, and now work in high-performance teams and executive coaching.

His philosophy is Encourage, Excite and Empower.

You can contact him on LinkedIn. 

To find out more about this podcast and many others, go to Rugby Coach Weekly

Also, tap into the library of 4,000 pages of activities, advice, tactics and tips to help you become the best rugby coach you can be!

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Welcome to the Coaching Knife when we cut to the root of the matter. In this episode, we speak to Nic Evans, L4 coach and former director of rugby for the Kings Cross Steelers.

Focusing on women's rugby, we are going to examine why there aren’t more women coaches coaching both men's and women's rugby.

Nic is a former head of PE, director of sport, and then lecturer and programme manager in higher education. She played rugby for Wales, is an L4 coach and coached the King Cross Steelers as the DoR of the very first gay and inclusive club in London.

She is also an experienced sevens coach, working with Wooden Spoon and head coach of Lions 7s.

You can contact her on LinkedIn: Nic Evans

To find out more about this podcast and many others, go to Rugby Coach Weekly

Also, tap into the library of 4,000 pages of activities, advice, tactics and tips to help you become the best rugby coach you can be!

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Dan speaks to one-half of the Squidge Rugby Owen brothers, Will.

With a massive following for their YouTube channel, Squidge Rugby analyses matches in a unique, bringing insight and entertainment in equal measure.

Will is an avowed rugby geek but also still plays and coaches his local team's colts.

Dan asks him about:

• How Squidge Rugby come into the world .
• Translating complex plays into a layperson's language is tough. How do you bridge the gap?
• His coaching journey.
• How does the analysis inform his coaching?
• Do top coaches truly innovate? 
• Should international teams aim to win every game or build towards the World Cup?
• What's the best game he has ever seen? 

Want to find out more from Squidge? Go to their Youtube channel

To find out more about this podcast and many others, go to Rugby Coach Weekly

Also, tap into the library of 4,000 pages of activities, advice, tactics and tips to help you become the best rugby coach you can be!

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Welcome to the Coaching Knife when we cut to the root of the matter. In this episode, we speak to Gavin Blackburn, Head Coach Cambuslang RFC.

Focusing on the scrum rugby we are going to cut to the root on how to deal with a pack that’s dominating you.

Gavin was a former age-grade district and international prop. He was a member of Saracens’ academy programme in the late 1990s, then played club rugby for London Scottish, Glasgow Hawks, Glasgow Southern, and Stirling County coached at Dunfermline, Kilmarnock, Biggar, Garnock, West of Scotland and Stirling County, and was a development officer for five years between 2012 and 2017 in the Garnock Valley.

His philosophy is to develop players by using a drill to demonstrate key points and then putting them into a conditioned game to work on these points/skills under pressure.

Instagram: GB Performance Coaching

You can contact him at [email protected]

To find out more about this podcast and many others, go to Rugby Coach Weekly

Also, tap into the library of 4,000 pages of activities, advice, tactics and tips to help you become the best rugby coach you can be!

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Dr Jocelyn Solomons tackles significant issues in women's sports.

In this episode, she talks to Lyndon Julius about the role of media in this domain.

Lyndon is a communications specialist and creative storyteller with over a decade of experience in sports reporting. He is dedicated to community sports and immerses himself in grassroots athletic endeavours. 

With written and digital media expertise, they delve into his insights on the global impact of sports reporting, particularly concerning women’s sports. 

They discuss his experiences in writing and reporting on women’s sports, the effect of media coverage on the growth and recognition of female athletes, and the media's responsibility for equitable coverage of women’s sports, both locally and internationally.

To find out more about this podcast and many others, go to Rugby Coach Weekly

Also, tap into the library of 4,000 pages of activities, advice, tactics and tips to help you become the best rugby coach you can be!

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Welcome to the Coaching Knife when we cut to the root of the matter. In this episode, we speak to Jamie Barnwell, Head Coach Cayman 7s and Performance director.

Focusing on 7s rugby we are going to cut to the root on to coach to compete when you have limited speed.

Can you win a game of sevens if you don’t have any pace in your team?

Jamie spent five years as head coach of the Bermuda national team for both 15 and 7s. Back in the UK he was attack coach with Richmond, and head of coach of the England senior women’s academ.

His philosophy is to inspire, and facilitate a group to become better, people, athletes and a team.

Go to the Rugby7splaybook on Substack for some excellent resources and games to improve your 7s coaching.

You can contact him on [email protected]

To find out more about this podcast and many others, go to Rugby Coach Weekly

Also, tap into the library of 4,000 pages of activities, advice, tactics and tips to help you become the best rugby coach you can be!

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Dan speaks to Stuart Welsh, founder of ALTA Education. 

With nearly two decades of experience in education, specialising in maths teaching and as well as coaching rugby in schools, Stuart is a well-sought-after speaker and presenter.

He has taught and led teams in schools worldwide, authored popular math textbooks, and founded a widely-used educational website used by tens of thousands of students every year. He is passionate about research-based pedagogy and committed to improving teaching and learning globally through ALTA Education.

In the podcast, we discuss:

• The importance of acknowledging the novice-expert continuum
• How novices and experts learn differently
• How to differentiate effectively
• How experts are novices, too
• What is variation theory in education, and how it could work in a training session

If you want to contact Stuart, email him at [email protected]

To find out more about this podcast and many others, go to Rugby Coach Weekly

Also, tap into the library of 4,000 pages of activities, advice, tactics and tips to help you become the best rugby coach you can be!