Put me in Coach!

Non rugby: Dear Dr Leibovitz

2008-05-08T07:00:00.000-07:00

So K-2 (pictured in black and white on the sidebar) is a Siberian Husky, closing in on 15 years of age. He is perky, active, talkative, agile and puppy like in many ways. He's also got a variety of tumors. There's a big one in (not on) his butt, several little ones all over his torso, a small one that looks like a miniature brain on his head, a fatty one on one of his front legs, and this one....

On Tuesday morning, this lovely tumor was red, inflamed, hot, and generally gross in every way.

So today, my 14 y/o going on 15 y/o dog is getting it removed. The last time he went under anesthesia, he basically talked for 2 straight days. Apparently this is common with northern breeds. Seriously, yelp, yelp, yelp, yelp, yelp for about 48 hours. NON STOP. But of course, I'd rather have him chattering for 2 days than not have him.

So Dr. Leibovitz (vet extraordinaire), please have an awesome day today.

MARFU U23 Women's All Stars: Tryouts this weekend and next!

2008-05-07T07:42:00.001-07:00

For details:

http://marfu-u23s.blogspot.com

OR on facebook ...

May 11th - http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=13221718412
May 18th - http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=24489371088

Shoulders below hips - is it ever ok?

2008-05-07T06:59:00.000-07:00

I had a lengthy discussion this weekend with a referee about the notion of "shoulders below hips". After reading the comments on the Stanford v PSU women's collegiate championship final, it seems this topic requires further discussion. (how does it feel to be the subject of our discussions Alison?)

At the forefront of the shoulders-below-hips issue is the technique known as "sealing".

Sealing occurs when, as the offensive players who arrives first to the breakdown, you bind tightly to the player on the ground. When done correctly, the player pulls the head and neck towards the shoulders, tensing everything in the front and back of the neck, and pulls the player on the ground towards the upper body, essentially creating a seamless "seal". This technique of "securing" the head and neck is known as "turtling". Players contesting the breakdown are free to counter-ruck and drive the sealed player off the ball, though a nice tight bind by the sealing player, and traditional "drive over" support by the supporting offensive players make it more challenging to contest for the ball. when done correctly, a seal does not kill the ball, in fact it makes it more playable for the team that arrived first to the breakdown. It completely eliminates some of the wild kicking that can occur at the breakdown, and it significantly cuts the number of players required to maintain possession at the breakdown.

At the highest level - Sealing is a no brainer. Do it, and do it well, or you won't get selected. From a coaching perspective, coaching the seal safely should be considered as critical as coaching safe scrummaging or safe tackling.

What's the point of contention for referees? Well, there are few. If the defense does not in fact contest the breakdown, and the sealing player came in with power (as they should, since the may very well transition from seal to clear-out mode as they arrive), the arriving players momentum may create a "diving over" scenario. At the higher levels, arriving players are not penalized for diving over, since that scenario does not present itself unless the breakdown is uncontested - in which case there since there no defense, a player who finds themselves on the other side of the downed ball carrier is neither impeding play, nor in a dangerous position (if theres no one around you to injure you, are you going to be injured?).

Many referees contend that, at the seal, since the shoulders are often below the hips, the act itself is inherently dangerous. And there is guidance to back this up.

So I suppose this is where discretion of an individual referee comes in. Do we apply the same standard of safely to a new, younger, or less physically mature player that we do with a fit, well trained, experienced player?

My discussion this weekend ended at an impasse - the specific take on sealing was that, if your butt was down and your head up, it was safe, since the shoulders were above the hips.

I disagree - in this scenario, players arriving from the defensive side of the breakdown can very easily drive a knee (unintentionally, simply in the act of rucking) into the sealing players face and chin, and players from the offensive side can easily drive the sealing player over the top of the downed player, simply by applying any pressure to the sealing player from behind.

In the "tight and turtled" scenario, the sealing player is in a modified 4 point stance, with their head securely nestled on the offensive side of the downed player, with their head and neck muscles in a solid and balanced position. Is their head below their shoulders? YES. But, if done correctly, you are literally pulling the downed player toward you, and, were you as a player, to let go, you'd remain on your feet.

Interestingly enough, this same weekend we ran into some challenges with our scrummaging style. Since the head is in a neutral position (imagine how your head sits on top of your body now, then simply bend at the waist without changing head position, and you'll see what that's like), the clear cut "head above hips" is hard to see. In fact, it looks like the head is exactly even with the hips (which, is what this particular style calls for). Since guidance is "head above hips, always and forever", this style of scrummaging has drawn some angst from many in the referee circuits. Which, lets face it, is a problem - since this style of scrummaging is being taught throughout the country, to men and women of all ages, as the way WE (USA) are going to scrum.

What to do? I'd love to hear from a high level (B1 etc) ref on the matter ... At this point, on game day - I have no idea what to expect. With the ELV's looming on the horizon, it seems we'd better sort this all out.

Good luck to PSU, Navy and Shippensburg - and watch it all live!

2008-05-02T05:27:00.000-07:00

This weekend 3 MARFU Collegiate women's programs vie for the #1 spot in the country at USA Rugby's Collegiate Championships.

AND YOU CAN WATCH IT ALL LIVE (times are pacific - add 3 hours if you are on the east coast) ...

USA Rugby has partnered with the National Guard & ESPN to stream all the games live and do television broadcasts.

From usarugby.org ..

Friday, May 2
11:00 pm: Division I Women's Semi Final (Penn State vs. Brown) 1:00 pm: Division I Women's Semi Final (Stanford v Navy) 3:00 pm: Division I Men's Semi Final (Cal v Saint Mary's) 5:00 pm: Division I Men's Semi Final (BYU v CU - Boulder)

Saturday, May 3
11:00 pm: Division II Women's Championship - UM-Duluth vs.
Shippensburg
1:00 pm: Division II Men's Championship - Radford vs. Utah Valley State 3:00 pm: Division I Women's Championship 5:00 pm: Division I Men's Championship

And don't forget, the 2008 USA Rugby's National Guard College Club Championships is also part of ESPNU's expanded coverage of USA Rugby. A tape delayed telecast of the USA Rugby National Guard Men's and Women's Division I College Championships will be aired on May 21 and 22, at 10 p.m. EST.

To access the live stream ...

http://usarugby.tampadigital.com/video/665EC396CF/Click+Play+for+Live+Stream

Politics meets rugby at the Philly WNT skills camp ....

2008-04-20T18:22:00.000-07:00

From the Philly WNT skills camp ....

Who's front and center, wearing a USA Rugby jersey? Yup, it's Chelsea Clinton. She was visiting the Lansdowne YMCA, across the street from where the WNT was training, talking about her mom and (of course) universal healthcare.

The players signed a USA Rugby jersey presented it to her. She donned said rugby jersey and took some photos with the team.

Primary season in Philly continues ...

Getting struck by lightning

2008-04-13T04:41:00.000-07:00

So yesterday, while the pitch set up for the day's activities, we all got struck by lightning.

I'm totally serious.

How can a bunch of people get struck by lightning? We'll it's called a ground current, or a side flash - not sure what the heck we experienced, maybe one, maybe both Read about it here ...

Here's how it goes: Lightning strikes an open field, or something in an open space (in this case a light pole), and if the conditions are right, the electrical current zaps anyone in the area. In this case, a wet field = the right conditions. I think we're all very glad that the individual closest to to light pole was wearing giant rubber galoshes, and spared what could have been a life-stealing jolt.

So anyway, we're futzing about the field, it's a light drizzle with a few dark clouds, but certainly nothing scary. Then WHAM! A flash, a bang, and then a TAZER to the head!

Most everyone got knocked to the ground and felt the shock through the tops of their head, though a couple of people who were bending over at the time felt it through their posteriors. The distance impacted was pretty big - the guys playing softball one field over also got knocked down and were grabbing their heads.

After we retreated (a little shook up) to the cars to wait out the ensuing thunderstorm, I took a stroll to inspect "ground zero" of the strike (within 20 minutes of the event the sky was blue and the sun was out). This pole was SHREDDED - shards of splintered wood were sticking out of the ground like spears."

So there it is. I will never ever underestimate lightning and its power. I promise to adhere to any and all lightning related safety policies.

And I'm really hoping everyone gets super powers, myself included.

Absoulutely non-rugby, rather, irritated about my voter registration form

2008-04-03T12:34:00.000-07:00

So, here's the deal.

I've been an independent my whole voting life. There are philosophical things that I like about the Republicans, but when it comes to my day to day existence, I mostly support the Democrats. Recently though, I've grown weary of the shenanigans.

Like a zillion other Pennsylvanians, I'm excited about having a chance to vote in the Democratic primary. I got a voter registration form, so I could change my party affiliation from Independent to Democrat. It sat for a day or two, and then one day on the way to work, I was stopped by some people doing voter registrations in Suburban Station, and I said "heck, I better do this now before I procrastinate and I'm S.O.L". So I did. Yay!

Not yay. B@&**#*T. Less than 48 hours after handing this nice volunteer my voter registration form, I got a phone call from one of the two campaigns. The caller left me a voicemail and said "We heard that you were interested in supporting XXX. We also hear that you might be interested in volunteering! I'm your neighbor, I live in your area... call me!"

There is only ONE PLACE that the caller could have gotten my number ... my CELL phone number ... from my Voter Registration Form. Without a doubt, my data was harvested and forwarded on to a rep in my county... a "neighbor."

I have been receiving calls from this campaign every 2-3 days. Always the same thing. I've told them very clearly, "I'm not supporting XXX, I'm supporting DDD. Thank you for your enthusiasm, but please don't call me anymore". It hasn't stopped. It's as if my phone number, name, age, etc, from my voter registration form, has been loaded into a sales-lead of database. It's rude. Its NOT OK.

Most people who know me are aware of the candidate I support - however I have little doubt that both campaigns are doing this. Which is crap. What happen to registering to vote because it was both your civic duty, AND your privilege as an American?

My voter registration form is a government document. Its private. It's got all my personal info on it. ITS PRIVATE!!!! You don't have the right to harvest my information! YOU DON'T HAVE THE RIGHT TO TREAT ME LIKE A SALES LEAD.

So, to "my neighbor" who keeps calling me .... PLEASE. STOP. NOW. PERIOD.

A question from a visitor ...

2008-03-25T07:56:00.000-07:00

I received this in my mailbox today from reader from the Men's Club community. It highlights how routine and casual decisions by us as coaches can have a heartbreaking impact on players. When we dangle that carrot and say "you'll get a chance to compete", we have to do just that.

body of email:
---------------------------
I play for a D3 club team and I'm in the pack. I have always wanted to become one of those TDMs (tactical decisionmakers) for the team and put a lot of thought and practice into improving how I see the game. This year our team has a need for a scrumhalf, and I was told to train up my fitness to play the position. I knew that two other guys would be competing for it as well; we all have different pluses and minuses.

Last week, after our second week of spring practice, I was told that they wouldn't be using me at scrumhalf, but to keep my skills up because it might "be an option" down the line. I will admit that I was deflated by this, and as an adult club rugby player, it's been hard to motivate myself to keep up the fitness or enthusiasm for practice since then.

The problem I have with the process is that none of our practices even involved any scrumhalf play (they were all just "let's get back in the swing of things" basic skills refreshers), and there was no opportunity to trial for the 9 shirt. While I'm sure I would be disappointed if I was beat out for a position, it is far more disheartening to lose a position without ever having a chance to
compete for it. I believe my skills are better than the other guys, and given a scrimmage, that I could run the scrumhalf position better. If I compete and am proven to be wrong, I am willing to accept that. It is hard to accept being shown a carrot and then having it removed so offhandedly.

I'd love to hear your (and your colleague's) thoughts on what a player should do in this situation. I also wanted to put out there the idea that, in my opinion, coaches should be conscious of players individual ambitions, and not make decisions like this with the appearance of casual judgment.
---------------------------------------

Its interesting that this email comes the day we're "declaring" our individual seasonal goals at today's training. How do others in the coaching community balance the needs of the individual with the needs of the team?

Anyone have any advice for this guy?

Deciding, Planning, Scripting

2008-03-24T11:12:00.001-07:00

Every Coach Development workshop I go to focuses on the criticality of developing decision makers - players who can look at what's in front of them, collate and assess all sorts of relevant information, select a course of action, and implement that course of action.

How well are we doing it?

One of the things that's becoming clearer to me, as I examine my own coaching sessions, as I watch other's sessions, and as I talk with players, is that we need to distinguish between planning and deciding.

Very few coaches, when asked, will tell you that they want to play a heavily scripted game. There are a few of us who still hold fast to the 900,000 page play book, but those of us who do stand fiercely by the theory that a "play" is a starting point, it's the follow up actions that constitute the decision.

I'm thinking about that ....

Now I'm not saying we should throw away the play book - every team ought to document their communication system, their game plan, their philosophy of the game.

So today's coaching question is: Are your practices encouraging decision making and creativity, or do your practices encourage planning; an if-then method of choosing from a list of scripted, acceptable choices?

According to all the coaching theory, the process of true decision making takes four steps:

Recognition: you've got to not only see whats in front of you, but recognize it in a way that is useful. For example, maybe I recognize that my opposite is bearing down hard on me in defense. If I don't, however, recognize that she is leaving her partner behind, and therefore creating a gap in the defense, then I'm not truly recognizing the situation, I'm only seeing it.
Assessment: once you've recognized the problem in front of you, you've got to take in all sorts of relevant information, and mentally assess various solutions.

In the scenario above, that might mean that i need to know if I have vertical support, and if a short pass to a penetrating runner is a possible option; I need to know if I have wide support - maybe moving the ball out early and far is an option; I need to know if the player outside me is running an angle towards me, if she is, perhaps attacking the gap in the defense is an option; I need to know what the opposing teams back triangle is up to - perhaps a kick is a way to mitigate the pressure. Once I've assessed these various options I need to make a ...
Decision: The player needs to pick one of the options.

Good decision makers make decisions that put a player across the gain line or get the team out of trouble. Great decision makers make decisions that put a player in the try zone, and turn poor situations to their team's advantage.
Execution: All the brilliance in the world is for naught if we can't actually run, pass, or kick the ball where it needs to be, when it needs to be there. When the golden opportunity comes around, we need to deliver.

So, in order to teach decision making, we need to first teach players how to recognize and assess various situations. This is where the difference between teaching "planning" and teaching "decision making" comes in.

Let's start with the standard "around the cones 2 v 1". Your instructions as a coach are something like this:

"If the defense sticks to you, pass. If the defense slides, keep the ball." Pretty normal stuff, right?

Clearly, the player needs to recognize what the defense is doing and act accordingly. But is he/she making a decision? Or simply acting out a pre-planned course of action? How about the support player? In this scenario, we're killing the "assessment" part of the four step cycle.

Let's tweak the standard "around the cones 2 v 1". This time, a third player tosses the ball into the grid, for either attacking player to catch, pick up off the ground, whatever. The defender can enter the grid the moment either attacking player touches the ball. Suddenly everything is different - and maybe a little chaotic. Suddenly, all three players have to pay attention to whats going on .... all three players need to recognize, assess, decide, and execute.

Many coaches are strong proponents of the decision tree. It goes something like this:

If x, then a or b
If a, then 2
If b, then 3
etc, etc, etc.

For example:

If the defense commits to you, and you have time to pass the ball out, pass the ball out.
If the defense commits to you and you have no time to pass out, look to pass through contact .
If you cannot pass through contact, keep your feet moving till help arrives.
If you cannot keep your feet, look to place the ball towards your team in the tackle.

These trees can get pretty detailed, and can be expanded to encompass small units, large units, and full teams. Sometimes the options are mapped to field locations and grids. For many coaches and many programs, this approach work just fine.

I see a use for these types of trees, but I think they restrict us, even when there are a myriad of options specified. My primary issue: they only address what is in the COACH's head ... creativity, on the field, comes out of the player's heads - and from the intereactions between players. Like so many scientific discoveries, it happens when two or more events collide in space and time to present an opportunity not previously imagined, and it required a willingness on the part of all players involved to venture into this unknown territory, and "try something different". A dash of "what the #$@*" mixed with a little serendipity.

No matter how detailed our script is, no matter how many options and scenarios we can imagine, we can never BE in the heads of the players on the field, we can never see what they see, and we can never fully understand why they chose what they did. No one every makes a bad decision on purpose; rather, for whatever reason, during the recognition and assessment phase of the process, they saw or assessed (or didn't) something different than what we saw and assessed on the sidelines.

A question to ponder:

Team A: You spend the bulk of practice learning to recognize the field situations, learning to assess options, and learning to make decisions, but your team struggles with execution. Your team is smart as hell, but the mantra on game day always seems to be "right idea, just unfortunate" The last pass, the last tackle, the last kick always fall short.

Team B: You spend the bulk of practice working on execution: pass, kick, catch, tackle, run - that sort of things. You look sharp, but on game day you never really find the gaps, you never really exploit the defense's mistakes. You always look good, but on game day your mantra always seems to be "we're so much better than them, why are we losing?".

So now we take a few sessions with Team A, and work on their execution skills.
We take a few sessions with Team B, and work on their decision making skills.

Which team is going to show the biggest measurable difference? What takes the longest to develop?

I pick A.

It's requires a leap of faith to be sure, and requires a belief that even the most ordinary of players can have moments of extraordinary creativity and vision. I don't know about the rest of you, but on game day, I like surprises.

High Performance Kids?

2008-03-13T09:12:00.001-07:00

The big buzzwords in rugby circles these days are "High Performance". We have High Performance Plans, High Performance Coaches, High Performance Centers.

So I googled it.

One of the most surprizing results was the Discovery Education: High Performance - Sports. It talks not about VO2 max measuring, not about hip-dominance and hamstring chains, not about micro-cycles or high intensity intervals.

The particular lesson plan is designed for 6-8th graders. It might also be relevant to 20-40 yr old men and women.

In a nutshell, the kids have to work in groups to invent a new "game" (sport). They have a list of everyday objects (some sports objects, some not), and they have time. They need to define and shape this sport, and then they need to teach it to the other kinds. It's all broken down into a detailed lesson plan, complete with pre, in, and post session tasks for the kids. One of the most interesting set of tasks is this particular post-session task:

--------
Students will then need to discuss and write about how their game affects a person mentally, physically and socially (mind, body and spirit). This can be done in their groups with one report submitted per group. Students should break up responsibilities of the report into sections with each member of the group writing one section (this will all depend on the number of students per group). Report responsibilities can be broken up as follows:

Introduction (giving how the game was created, objects used to play, name, rules, how the game is played, etc.)
Mental affects from the game
Physical affects from the game
Social affects of the game
Conclusion (summarizing group findings, outcomes, feelings, etc.)

Afterward, there are the following discussion questions:

1.	How does the pressure of a sport affect you mentally?

2.	How does the discipline of a sport affect the way you approach other things in life?

3.	What is it about any sport that keeps you interested?

4.	Why is it important to prepare yourself mentally for an event?

5.	Do you ever feel so drained of energy that it takes away the fun of the sport?

6.	Do you ever feel the need to keep going in a sport even though you are hurt or not 100%?

7.	What are the pressures like to loose or gain weight while playing a sport?

8.	How can physically enhancing drugs help or hurt you?

9.	What does it mean to be a team player?

10.

What are the feelings experienced when the whole team contributes to the win?

11.

What do you learn from loosing?

12.

How do you learn to depend on your teammates?

Pretty cool stuff ...

Non-Rugby: It's going to be a long six weeks in PA

2008-03-12T11:34:00.000-07:00

That's right, it's family feud time for Democrats in PA ... here are a couple of ways to pass the time in between surrogate outbursts, town hall meetings, rallies, and debates.

Become a political balloon artist.

Theft Alert!

2008-03-11T08:21:00.000-07:00

Dear rugby community (especially those of you located in the Philly metro area),

Be on the lookout for a set of white/maroon/blue numbered rugby jerseys with the Philly Women's logo. A team member's car was broken into last night, and a full set of jersey's stolen.

Here's two photos so you know exactly what they look like:

If spot one ( or 22 of them) on the street, please email captain@pwrfc.org , or text 215.421.1823, and we'll take it from there ...

Thank you all!

Standards High for Conduct and Safety released by EPRU

2008-03-11T07:22:00.000-07:00

Recieved this via the EPRU today - the "code of conduct" pieces especially interesting, as this is the first time I've seen match officials, coaches, players, and supporters all address in one documents.

There are some very interesting line items in this doc ... the tread into areas I haven't before seen a union policy paper tread. Since this is a blog about COACHING, I'll pull out the coach-specific stuff here.

Coaches of players should:

A. Recognize the importance of fun and enjoyment when coaching players.
B. Understand that most learning is achieved through doing.
C. Appreciate the needs of the players before the needs of the sport. Specifically
coaches MUST be aware of any size mismatches and move players to
compensate
D. Be a positive role model, and think what this implies.
E. Keep winning and losing in perspective, and encourage players to behave with
dignity in all circumstances.
F. Respect all referees and the decisions they make, even if they appear to make a
mistake (remember it could be you refereeing next week), and ensure that the
players recognize that they must do the same. Refrain from shouting out
decisions from the touchline. It simply confuses players and can cause them to
lose potential advantages being played
G. Provide positive verbal feedback in a constructive and encouraging manner to all
players, both during coaching sessions and matches.
H. Provide rugby training matched to the players’ ages and abilities, as well as their
physical and behavioral development.
I. Provide a safe environment, with adequate first aid readily on hand.
J. Avoid the overplaying of the best players by using a squad system which gives
everybody a satisfactory amount of playing time.
K. Never allow a player to train or play when injured.
L. Provide good supervision of players, both on and off the field.
M. Recognize that players should never be exposed to extremes of heat, cold or
unacceptable risk of injury.
N. Develop an awareness of nutrition as part of an overall education in lifestyle
management.
O. Recognize that it is illegal for players under 21 to drink alcohol and those under
18 to smoke. Coaches should actively discourage both.
P. Keep their knowledge and coaching strategies up to date and in line with USA
Rugby philosophy.
Q. Be aware of, and abide by, the USA Rugby recommended procedures for taking
young people on residential tours at home and abroad.
R. Coach to the laws and keep up-to-date on law changes.

Thoughts?

------------------------------------------------------------------------
The full copy for your review below - links to a host of safety resources .

To the Rugby Community:

The EPRU is proud to announce the issuance of two new standards which are intended to improve the enjoyment and safety of rugby by all.

Feel free to use these standards and as well as passing them along to your rugby contacts that would benefit from them.

Comments and suggestions for the improvement of this standards are both welcome and encouraged. Please send them to me at president@epru.org.

With you on-and-off the pitch.

Steve Cohen
EPRU President

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

EPRU Sets Standards of Conduct for Participants and Supporters
A high degree of sportsmanship and fairness is expected from players, coaches, match officials and supporters.

In its continuing efforts to improve the rugby experience for all involved - both on and off the field of play, the EPRU has issued a series of Codes of Conduct that it expects compliance with from match officials, players, coaches and supporters. This document can be found at: http://www.epru.org/forms/pdfs/conduct.pdf.

In addition....
All age-grade (ages 6 to 19) coaches and collegiate coaches are required to sign and abide by the EPRU “Rugby Coaches Code of Conduct” which is found at www.epru.org/forms/pdfs/conduct_coach.pdf

AND

All collegiate players and coaches must comply with the USA Rugby's Collegiate Code of Conduct which states:
'Collegiate rugby players represent their universities and are ambassadors of United States collegiate rugby. As such, each collegiate rugby player and coach is expected to be a lady or a gentlemen on and off the field. Collegiate rugby players should not tolerate obnoxious, impolite or antisocial behavior of any sort which could adversely affect the image of collegiate rugby as a serious and disciplined athletic endeavor. Any breach of this Code of Conduct at this event, either at the event site, area hotels, public facilities, etc., as witnessed and reported by any individual will be forwarded to the appropriate disciplinary committee for action.'

Compliance with these conduct codes requires cooperation from everyone involved in the game and recognition of the fact that we are all in this together for the same reason.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

EPRU Improves Its Standard for Rugby Safety
The EPRU continues to lead the way in making rugby a safer experience for everyone.

Since 1995, the EPRU has been pro-active in making rugby a safer sport with its publication of "Safety Precaution Recommendations". In 1998, a more comprehensive safety publication "Making Rugby Safer" was issued. This document was well-received by the rugby community nationwide and is used by many Unions as "their" safety document. In continuing its pro-active approach to rugby safety, the EPRU has issued its Safer Rugby Program and feels its 7-step approach to rugby safety will help to make the rugby experience even better for all involved. Please start using it today.

In recent years, safety has received more focus by both National and International Rugby governing bodies as seen by the wealth of information found at USA Rugby's website (www.usarugby.org ) as well as the IRB (www.irb.com). USA Rugby has partnered with the National Center for Sports Safety ( www.sportssafety.org) to provide its sports safety course "PREPARE" which is now part of the Coaching Certification Program. PREPARE can also be taken directly online at the NCSS website. The IRB has produced its "Rugby Ready Program" ( www.irbrugbyready.com) and can be taken online. Both of which are part of the EPRU's "Safer Rugby Program".

The EPRU Safety and Risk Management section is at: http://www.epru.org/safety/index.php and has links to various safety and risk management articles and information. The Safer Rugby Program and Making Rugby Safer documents are available at: http://www.epru.org/safety/safer_rugby.php.

Recruiting Revisited

2008-03-10T08:04:00.000-07:00

My last post on recruiting practices got its fair share of dialog, a lot of it around 5 year college students.

Just to make it clear - i absolutely believe that players can and should make all decisions regarding their lives and futures; my primary concern is that we have zero ...ZERO.... ethical guidelines for recruiting. My concern is that we, as coaches, control the bulk of the information that enables players to make sound, rational, informed decisions .... and some times we don't do the right thing with either the information, OR the responsibility we have.

At the club level I personally feel there is a lot bigger gray area, and a lot more is kosher (if only with a big K instead of an OU) - simply because the colleges and universities, athletic departments and rec sports offices - are not involved. There are still ethical issues, but without the oversight of a major institution, there is less accountability, so really less to base any standards on.

To the reader who commented that, if a players wants to stay in school 5 years just so they can play more college rugby, or doesn't want to finish college at all (and is around just for rugby), that's totally cool (cuz it's his or her money), I have a question. Would you be willing to take that stand with the university sports or recreation officials? How do you think the university would respond to the player who says "Well, I'm paying the bill, and I've decided my priority is rugby. I'll graduate when I graduate, if I graduate. School is less important than rugby". How do you think the university would respond to the coach who echo's those sentiments? Keep in mind, while the player may in fact be footing the bill, most universities get some sort of public subsidy, and most university clubs are at least, in part, funded by student fees. So while it's mostly YOUR money, some of it is my money.

One reader commented that the sketchy event is rare. It's not as rare as we'd like to think. There are IN FACT college coaches telling players, as freshman, they they need to get on the five year plan. There are IN FACT college coaches who pay the "special" player's expenses for them, to entice them to stay around longer. There are IN FACT coaches who promise players that, if they stay with them, or if they move, they will make this or that all star team.

So the debate isn't about the player's choice, it's about the coaches actions. It's about what we, as a community, think is OK. Its about what our employers (and sorry, even if you are a volunteer you are accountable to the school) think is OK.

Just looking through a range of NCAA documents on recruiting, it's clear that they have had to put boundaries in place. Very little of the documentation describes a minimum, it describes boundaries and limits.

NCAA rules describe things like how often a coach can make phone contact with a player, over what period of time, and starting how early. How often a coach can make face-to-face contact. Even, yes, how often a coach can use text messaging, chat, IM, and email. Their guidelines specify WHERE contact can take place, and its in almost all situations it is school grounds, practice fields, sports locations. These rules are incredibly detailed, and specific for sport and division. They discuss exactly what "deals" a coach can make with a prospective player, and how these "deals" must be documented in writing and reviewed.

Now granted, we're not NCAA. But do we really believe as a community, that there's no need to discuss ethics? That to question what's ethical and what's not is the equivalent of complaining?

I don't think so.

It's a market based economy, with rugby players as the currency

2008-03-06T07:45:00.000-08:00

Alternate Title: the Head Coach as a Recruiting Agent

I'm hoping to open a lively but potentially charged discussion about recruiting. Every team has to do it, those that do it well develop strategies they improve and build upon year after year. Strong teams with longevity are strong recruiters.

My guess is that we all agree - recruit, recruit, recruit. Recruit HS players into rugby colleges, college players onto rugby clubs, and HS, college, and club players into local, territorial, and national select sides. Where's the controversy in that?

Since for the most part our HS and College programs are not varsity, not formally state based, we have little ethical oversight when it comes to recruiting. At the club level, we have nothing. There are a host of ethical questions that repeatedly come up, and I'm sure I'm barely scratching the surface - so what the heck, let's tackle them.

Select Side coaches recruiting for their home club:

This is probably the one that comes up most, and generates the most emotional response. If you, as a club/college/HS coach, are ALSO a select side/national team coach, is it OK to recruit players you're exposed to through select sides over to your own program?

It gets complex in my opinion ... are you a college coach coaching a u19 select side, who recruits high school players to your college? If so, it seems like an unfair advantage to coaches who are not in your position. But, if it's a market based economy, and you've done the hard work to develop your coaching skills and your program, aren't you entitled to promote it, if only "for the good of the player?"

There are two problems as I see it. First the implied influence. I mean, only the boldest of us would say "play for me and I'll put you on the lau/territorial/national team", but even if we don't say it, it's implied. Second is funding ... if your LAU/Territory/Country is funding your Select Side, and you're recruiting through your select side program, isn't the LAU/Territory/Country in part funding your club's recruiting program?

Another layer of ethical question comes into play if you, as a select side coach at any level, coach a team of the same level. Ie, U18/19 select side coach also coaches High School, Collegiate/U23/U20 Select Side coach also coaches College, Senior select side coach also coaches Club. So now, if you recruit, we have a situation where perhaps you are recruiting directly from your competitor. And, consciously or not, dangling the "if you play for me you will ..." carrot.

While this post is limited to recruiting, it's impossible to ignore the other issue ... its near to impossible NOT to show some favoritism to the players you coach daily. Why?

They understand your communication style, the type of game you'd like to play, the skills you most emphasize
You understand them, and have the time with them to work specifically on improving whatever weakness you see. With players not on your team, you have to hope their coach is responsive and capable of doing that by proxy.
The players you play against are always viewed by you in a "how can we beat them" view port, so you are more likely to focus on their weaknesses, and your own player's strengths.

But that's a separate topic for later.

So here's the last question regarding recruiting and ethics .... is it OK to actively recruit players from the team across town? From the other teams in your league? Rivals? Teams from a lower division in your area? On one hand - if you can offer those players something that you're coaching competitors can't, why not? If it is indeed a market based economy, and the currency is indeed rugby players, and we agree that its a free market, the only conclusion is YES, it's OK.

But does it feel right .... or does it sometimes feel, dare I say ... shady? Do we, as head coaches, ignore the social and ethical burden that our recruiting puts on players, or do we just recruit with blinders on? Do we entice them away from home, encourage them to break off friendships, tell them that we are better able to coach them then another coach? Promise them a position? Promise them playing time? Money & Fame? Are there any boundaries? Or is it all part of healthy competition?

Probably the worst thing I've every seen crossed a pretty clear line from "ethically questionable" to "downright sleazy", when at a collegiate tournament, a bigoted coach for club X purposefully outed member of a club Y to a wide audience of college players, and listed it as a reason not to play for club Y, but rather for club X. There is nothing quite like using hate and bigotry as a recruiting tool.

I can tell you from my personal experience that I have been on both sides. I have indeed, in the context of being a select side coach, said to players, "So, I'd love to have you check out my club team when you graduate ..." I've justified such action by telling myself that I make no promises, no assurances, and dangle no carrots of national team or select side glory. I tell them to check out other clubs, but strongly encourage them to check out mine ...

I've also been pissed beyond words when I've felt like an ethical line has been crossed ... PISSED. But even in my angst, I've struggled to pin down what exactly it is that's irked me. The problem at it's core is, we as a community haven't agreed on where the ethical line is, or if there even is one.

And yet another recruiting technique that I'm a little ashamed to say I've unintentionally used is the "guilt card". Essentially, this is the "after all I've done for you .... " card. Yeah, I played that card once. And I felt like a complete s#&t-head, and I haven't done it again. It wasn't premeditated, it was a gut response, and I was incapable in the moment of self-censoring. As it turns out, things turned out just fine, but it doesn't change the fact that, in that moment in time, I was thinking as much about what was best for me, as what was best for the player.

And on to this idea of "rugby players as currency" thing. A highly capable and successful coach once told me that recruiting in rugby was simply an extension of the market based economy. So should I recruit just one or two 100 dollar bills? 20 5s? or a whole lot of singles? It's an interesting metaphor if nothing else.

Last, is it the head coach's job to recruit? The survey I posted a while back indicates that at least half the coaches out there are the PRIMARY recruiter ... yet most every club has a recruiting committee. Any conflicts? Are we making promises to players we really can't deliver on?

Does anyone have any recruiting stories they'd like to share? Or any thoughts/opinions about what's mentioned here? Ethical dilemma's you've struggled with? Share!

The All Blacks Sports Wizards

2008-03-04T10:14:00.001-08:00

Has anyone tried this? Feedback please ..

http://www.rugbysportswizards.com

A vacation without rugby?

2008-02-25T10:37:00.000-08:00

If you are anything like me, "vacation" doesn't mean what it does to non-rugby people. More often than not, "vacation" = using your precious time off to fly somewhere for rugby, never actually see the place you are flying to, work your ass off playing/coaching/reffing/administering, and return home more in need of a real vacation than you were when you left.

Take a vacation. A real one. It will make you feel better :)

I just got back from MY ridiculously fabulous vacation in Honduras - about 1/2 mile east of Sambo Creek, which is about 15km east of La Ceiba, to be exact.

We flew into San Pedro Sula, via Atlantic City/Ft Lauderdale, after frolicking just a bit in the overprices Atlantic City Casinos. Some bummers about AC: you cant' find a craps table for less than 10 bucks, you can't drop coins into slot machines anymore, and a cheese steak costs 10 bucks.

By the time we arrived in Honduras, we seriously needed a break. We stayed at this little B&B called "the Diving Pelican", which was right on the beach. Unfortunately there's some security issues at night, so almost all the beach hotels are gated. No matter - it was still amazing.

The place was run by a couple from Texas who bought their tickets the day after Bush won the election. There is room for only 6 guests - so it was really just like staying at someone's house. The place included a "Champa" which is essentially like an outdoor bar/recroom with beer, juice, wine, and rum rum rum. It was pay as you go and dirt cheap. Seriously, in the states, our bar tab for two people for a week at the beach would have been at least 500 bucks. Instead it was about 40. Here's the Champa (right outside the gate is the ocean) ...

The first day was basically beach, beach beach. Duh! This is Playa Helen - the boats are used by the local Garafina people, who do largely subsistence fishing.

On Day 2, we took off to the jungle canopy for a zip-line tour. We were picked up by a kid who couldn't have been more than 15, on horseback, with horses for us. Now, we Americans LOVE our animals, and it was a little tough seeing the conditions down there. I had to keep reminding myself - pets really are a luxury. The horses that picked us up were clearly working ... they were quite a bit scrawnier than what we're used to, and you could really feel them sweating in the heat.

We got kitted up with our harnesses (just a climbing harness with a wheel thingee-that fits on a cable) and rode on horseback up a trail into Pico Bonito National Park. The "Canopy Tour" involved traversing the jungle canopy via a network of cables. There were 21 cables total - the longest one was over a kilometer! I would have liked to take a little more time and really learn about the local flora and fauna, but it was still pretty awesome, flying through the jungle, hundreds of feet above the ground. Though the whole experience would NEVER pass any sort of OSHA safety inspection, I never felt unsafe, even for a second.

Once we finished the zip line tour, we went back into the edge of the jungle, where there was a natural hot-spring to soak in. AMAZING!

On Day 3 we decided to go into town. La Ceiba is the third largest city in Honduras. It very much has the feel of many poorer southwestern towns in the US, with a constant wave of people buying and selling fruits, grains, clothing, and WWF t-shirts. We bought a bunch of souvenirs, some rum for the champa, and had a FANTASTIC dinner.

Day 4 ... SNORKELING! A young couple staying at the inn told us that the guys who run the snorkeling tour would also just drop us off at an caye (island) and leave us for the day, so thats what we did. It was breathtaking. I've been snorkeling before, but never in anywhere that was so completely saturated with life. Alas, no waterproof camera = no underwater photos, but they are seared in my brain. I don't do the diving thing, in this particular area it wouldn't have mattered so much - the water wasnt more than a few feet deep for what seemed like forever. Literally, there wasn't a place you could look that wasn't teeming with life. At first the barracudas creeped me out a little bit, but after a few moments it was clear that they intended no harm and we just enjoyed staring at each other a bit.

Now I'm by no means a tree-hugger-environmentalist type, but in this day and age I hope we are all getting a bit more sensitive about the world we live in. I couldn't help but wonder, if everyone got a chance to see how peaceful, beautiful, and full of life these pristine pockets of earth are, that we would perhaps take just a little bit better care of the planet. Of course I'm currently working for a client in a 28 story office building, in center city Philadelphia, that gives out free canned soda (we go through at least 4 cases a day on my floor alone), and doesn't recycle. Hmm.

anyway...

We spent our last day at the Diving Pelican, laying around in hammocks, reading, drinking rum, swimming in the ocean, the strolled into Sambo Creek for a massive "meat platter" with beans & rice, plantains, salad, and of course beer, that cost about 10 bucks for both of us. The sunset was glorious, and then it was time to return to the states. No sooner did we get to Atlantic City, then we were ripped off by a cab driver. That's right, the bill was 23 bucks, I handed him 40, he said "let me get you change", and them promptly drove away. So much for so-called civilization.

Side note: We flew on Spirit Airlines, a discount carrier that specializes in the Carribean and Central America. I was a little worried that our plane would be held together with duct tape and rubber bands, but it was actually brand new, with roomy leather seats, and no BS. Plane fare to San Pedro Sula from Atlantic city was about $300 per person, and we left and arrived on time. I highly recommend flying with them, just go into it knowing that checked bags, even one, cost money, and even soda's cost money on board. If you put that aside, the plane, service, and flight were better than any I've recently had from any of the big name domestic carriers. I just wish they flew out of Philly. Oh well.

The jump back into rugby happened very quickly, as the day after we got home was Philly Women's annual free collegiate clinic. More on that later, for now I'll leave you with this final image....

Non-rugby political rant

2008-02-15T06:47:00.000-08:00

I've been absolutely OBSESSIVE about this years presidential election. I must have 20 tickers in my blog folder - CNN, MSNBC, Fox, Savage Politics, Politico, Media Matters, Real Clear Politics, Radical Left, Slate, Salon.

I can't get enough. It's not so much the candidates or the articles themselves that facinate me - it's the comments. Talk about mud-slinging! These people are RUTHLESS. If I were to look at the negative comments only and if I actually believed them then:

Hillary Clinton is the Devil in a pantsuit
Barack Obama is either the second coming of JC (OR the anti-Christ)
John McCain is Ghengis Khan, Alexander, and Hannibal all rolled up into one.

Then there is the behavior of the so called "surrogates" - and there are close, trusted surrogates (mostly family members and close advisors) as well as far distant surrogates. Basically, these are people who say the things the candidates can't get away with saying without being slammed for "going negative". Often candidates are accused of having "positioned" a surrogate to say something, when the reality is that said surrogate probably just spoke their mind. It's like a giant Junior High game of he said/she said.

And it's out of control.

If you click through PAST the news articles and blog posts, to the links that the commenter's have put in the post, it gets even crazier. For example, there is a theory out there that the Republicans are SAYING that Barack Obama will be harder to beat then Hillary Clinton, in order to stimulate Dems to vote for him. The logic here is that republican insiders actually think he'll be easier to beat, so are trying to influence the nominating process.

There is the theory that Karl Rove is pushing independents and non-registered republicans to go out and vote in the democratic primary in order to ensure that the Republicans can run against the Democrat of their (republicans) choice.

There are as many conspiracy theories out there on the flip side too. It's almost impossible to ignore the spin... I can't even count the times that a headline has got my attention, and when I read the article, I learn that the headline was a load of misleading crap.

Where am I going with this? I've been reading some disturbing stuff in a lot of these comments, some real elitist BS. Basically the so-called reality is that, "educated people & people with high income" are voting for one candidate, and "working class people & people with low income" are voting for another. The conclusion that is being drawn in the media and amongst the commenter's is that "you must be stupid to vote for .... ".

Seriously? Isn't it the JOB of the most powerful person in the nation to help people who need it the most? Is it a bad thing for poor people and less educated people to pick you? I mean, maybe it sounds sort of communist, but shouldn't our leader be a champion for those that have less and need more? Really, in a country like ours, founded by immigrants who were craving for religious freedom, populated by people who were once slaves, by native American's who were driven from their homes, by political and economic refugees, where theoretically everyone is equal, haven't we learned anything?

All I know is I'm incredibly disappointed by our media making headlines out of non-events, creating conflict when there isn't any, and telling us who to choose.

WNT Team Announced for Hong Kong 7s

2008-02-13T09:59:00.000-08:00

Just in from Jules,

Amy Daniels- Beantown RFC, Boston MA (NE TU)

Tyshawn Henry- NY RFC, NY, NY (NE TU)

Pam Kosanke- Chicago Northshore RFC, Chicago, Ill (MW TU)

Alison Price, NY RFC, NY, NY (NE TU)

Kelly White, Belmont Shore RFC, Belmont Shore, CA (SoCal TU)

Teena Maestrangelo, Chicago Northshore RFC, Chicago, Ill (MW TU)

Ines Rodriguez, Keystone RFC, Philadelphia, PA (NE TU)

Christy Ringgenberg, Minnesota Valkyries RFC, Minneapolis, Minn. (MW TU)

Ellie Karvoski, Little Rock RFU, Little Rock, AR (West TU)

Jen Starkey, NOVA RFC, Washington DC (MARFU TU)

Hong Kong Player Sponsorship Opportunities:

You can sponsor the USA Women's 7s Team! Simply choose which player (above) you would like to hear from while in Hong Kong (via email) that describes her personal experiences playing International Rugby at the Hong Kong 7s!

Red Level: $250-$499

This level awards you: an email from your favorite player while in Hong Kong, an autographed Team postcard and picture, and a Hong Kong 7s baseball cap.

White Level: $500-$999

This level awards you: an email from your favorite player while in Hong Kong, an autographed Team postcard and picture, a Hong Kong 7s baseball cap, and an official Hong Kong 7s Tournament T shirt.

Blue Level: $1000-$4999

This level awards you: an email from your favorite player while in Hong Kong, an autographed Team postcard and picture, a Hong Kong 7s baseball cap, and an official Hong Kong 7s Jersey.

Silver Level: $5000 or greater

This level awards you all of the above plus a free Saturday Footwork Camp for your club or TU team, held by the USA Women's National Coaching staff (www.footworkcamp.com)

Please email Julie McCoy (www.julesmccoy@sbcglobal.net) for more details!

Yesterday's Scrum Clinic

2008-02-11T12:34:00.000-08:00

So yesterday we had the last in a series of 3 scrummaging clinics for the U23 women here in Marfu. Previous clinics were held in EPRU and PRU, yesterday we traveled to James Madison University in VRU.

What a terrific day! First of, Harrisonburg is beautiful, and our hosts JMU and VRU were terrific. Thanks so much to Roshna (who in addition to coaching JMU, has been on the MARFU U23 staff for several years and works with the VRU U23s as well). There was a tremendous amount of wind, but it turned out not to be nearly as cold as it could have been.

The best part - despite the cold weather and the earliness of the season, nearly 50 players showed up. We've hovered around 40 the previous clinics, but in both EPRU and PRU, we opened it up to men's college programs to increase numbers. No need for that this time - with players from JMU, Virginia Tech, UVA, University of Maryland, and the Stingers among other teams, we had plenty of participation. Every single player had a great attitude and was eager to learn.

My esteemed asst coaches Kristin Aliberto and Stacy Baker, both currently with the Philadelphia Women's Rugby Club, MARFU senior side players, and WNT pool players, did as always a tremendous- job. We were able to keep all the players engaged, get everyone lots of repetition, and trickle down some of the current scrummaging practices.

We've managed to hone the format for these clinics, and since this is after all a blog about coaching, I thought it worthwhile to share the format for the masses, in case there's something that y'all in the blogosphere can add to or take from it.

Warmup & orientation: about 15 minutes
Introducing the repetitive execution of the individual set-up profile: about 15 minutes.

We then sliced up the players into 4 groups, as much as possible keeping them in their team units, and worked through a 3 station circuit:

station 1: core agility. If you've seen the stuff that Bill LeClerc's been doing, you're familiar with this. Various types of planks, "angry cat", and everyone's favorite, the 2 person-fireman-around-the-back-scoochie thing. Usually Angie is available for the 2 person-fireman-around-the-back-scoochie thing, but alas she couldn't make it this time. Apparently there was some sort of gummy-clearance sale at the Gummy and Sugar Warehouse.

station 2: solo work on the predator, focusing on a) picture perfect body position b) sustained pressure c) quickness across the tunnel

station 3: harness work, progressing from solo to groups of 4. I'll post an image or two later about this - basically it's a fantastic tool for teaching players EXACTLY how to apply pressure, how to use the ground as their source of power, how to transfer from the ground through their legs and core to their shoulders to create forward drive. It's hard work, but its fantastic work. This station has a 30 minute duration to the other two's 15.

So, the station work takes about an hour and at the end there's little doubt in anyones mind about how to generate power, what body position is the most effective, and what areas the individual players need to improve in.

After this, we went to one-on-one engagements, focusing on transferring the great body position learned earlier to a competitive situation. We work from the ground up, and focus on using the knees as a spring, to transfer your opponent's kinetic energy into your potential energy, and how to channel all your power into "go forward", rather than "go up or down".

Once all the coaches had time to work with the individual pairs, we introduced some binding concepts, previews what we would cover after the break, had some Q&A, and broke for lunch.

Well, not everyone. We spent about 20 minutes with the hookers and 8s, having them work together on releasing the "brake", timing the strike with extra pressure from the 8, and letting the 8 work on their body position and timing out of the gate for pick attacks. At the same time, we worked with the flankers - showing them how to take the power of the scrum and use it to improve their speed and explosiveness off the scrum. Ie, it is possible to watch the ball, think about what comes after the scrum, AND actually drive.

Once the whole group returned, the real fun started.

With each of the 4 groups, we worked on speed of engagement, and movement as a unit. Too often, the players in the scrum wind up "chasing" the front row into the engagment, creating an accordian-type effect. We used something we've been calling "scrummaging sprint starts" to teach players how to apply and maintain pressure from the back to the front, how to use their binds to preserve as much individual power as possible, how to react to pressure from behind, and how to explode, like a sprinter, across the tunnel. We start this process in groups of 3 (2 + 1, position irrelevant), and build to groups of 8. This is when everything starts coming together, and the players go through the setup sequence the learns as individuals, only now as a group. This takes about 20-30 minutes, and once the full 8 person start looks good, we start doing reps on the predator.

At this point - we're working in full packs. We like to take a few reps on the predator, do some starts, and challenge another pack. We continue like this, tweaking, getting faster, and challenging, for the remainder of the day. As the groups get better and better, we can advance. One of my favorite exercises is to the have the groups work as "cooperative competitors" to move up, back, left, and right. This sort of movement is only possible when the players focus on solid body position, balance, core tension, and collective movement ... EIGHT AS ONE. We did this for about 45 more minutes, until we sensed the players were reaching the saturation point. At about 2:15, we wrapped up for the day. It was a hugely fulfilling day - most college players seldome get to spend even 30 minutes working on their own individual scrummaging skills, let alone 4 hours.

So t was a really good rugby day, and I'm starting to get pumped about the spring club season and the U23 Territorial season.

Thanks again to Roshna and the JMU hosts, but especially to Kristin and Stacy, who have really grown into terrific young coaches. Thanks guys!

Survey Results: Practice Participation

2008-02-04T11:11:00.000-08:00

So, some 50ish people have responded to my "what do you do" survey, and the results are certainly interesting. I'm not quite willing to tackle some of the more sensitive subjects right yet, so today we'll focus on "active participation in practice", since 33 of 53 respondents replied that yes, they actively participate in practice.

To be clear, what I'm referring to is the practice of lacing up your boots and jumping into a drill or game. This does not include giving formal demonstrations - which is another topic all together. What I'm talking about is actually participating, physically. Breathing hard, getting dirty.

Clearly, for the player-coach, pretty much everything is a gray area, and the player coach has a responsibility as a PLAYER to maintain his or her skills. So they HAVE TO PRACTICE. The rest of us don't, but some of us choose to.

My personal opinion? No matter how much you believe that "seeing you in action" will help your players, IT WON'T. I've heard all sorts of comments....

"sometimes my team is just lazy, if I get in there and set the pace, then they'll have to keep up with me at practice".
"the players tend to take it easy on each other, so if I get out there and play defense, I will challenge them".
"the players will respect me more if I show them that I'm willing to do the same things I'm asking them to do"
"sometimes there aren't enough bodies at practice, so they need me to participate"
"I'm a big guy and I coach a women's team. I like to have them tackle me at practice - if they can get me down, they can tackle anyone.
the best way for me to figure out what's going wrong with a scrum is to just jump in there. If I feel it, I can fix it.

I don't buy it, for a million different reasons, but a few stand out.

1. If you go out there and "set the example" by increasing the pace or intensity of the practice activity, then you are in fact preventing the team from finding their own drive. Leadership seldom emerges when it is not needed. If you, as a coach, provide the "on field leadership" at practice, come game day the players who are formal or informal leaders will be unprepared. They will lead by assignment, rather than through experience. Yes, some people are natural leaders - but even they need to practice their craft and find their own style. Make them wait until game day, and you set them up for failure.

2. If you are playing, YOU AREN'T WATCHING!!! And if you ARE watching, you are only seeing what you are in position to see. We've got to be able to move about and look at both details and game flow - you just can't do that if you're catching your own breath or admiring your own work.

3. SAFETY!!!! REFER TO #2 above...

4. Maybe you're not as good as you think you are? The big risk of "watch me while I show you" is that you may in fact SUCK at whatever skill you are demonstrating. Who's coaching you?

5. You are taking valuable repetitions away from the players, and missing valuable opportunities to give feedback to players.

6. To those of you who like to "jump into the scrum" to see what's going on - how will your players learn those problem solving skills?

I'm sure some of you disagree ... bring it on!

What is appropriate? What do YOU do?

2008-01-08T10:00:00.000-08:00

There's been a lot of discussions on various forums around just exactly what's it's ok for a coach to do. So rather than jump on a high horse (since I've marked a few boxes myself), I thought it would be really really interesting, to take an anonymous survey. I hope you spread the word - and be honest!

The questions below all apply to "player(s) I coach(ed)". Even if you've only done it once - that counts. Mark every single thing that applies. Please don't vote on what you THINK the role of the coach is.... I want to know what people are actually DOING. Just like Kinsey.


Which of the following have you, as a coach, done with players you coach?
Had a couple of drinks with club players Gotten drunk with club players Had a couple of drinks with college players Gotten drunk with college players Dated/hooked up with a club player Dated/hooked up with a college player Shared a hotel room with college players Shared a hotel room with club players Spent time at a club players house or had players at my house for purely social reasons Spent time at a collegiate players house or had players at my house for purely social reasons Smoked marijuana with a player (club or college) Borrowed money from a player Showed up unannounced at a players house Attended the social (college) Attended the social (club) I manage the team's checking account I do selections exclusively I physically participate in practice sessions I am responsible for the teams recruiting efforts I determine the goals and direction of the team I am responsible for getting the team sponsers I am responsible for the match schedule Most of my friends are on the team I coach Some of my friends are on the team I coach Just a couple of my friends are on the team I coach I am not friends with any of the players I coach None of the above apply to me. I am a frigging saint.

Recovery=Pampering? Crossfit and rugby, so many questions

2007-12-28T11:29:00.000-08:00

While the clock ticks away and I wait for the moment that I get my paycheck and can leave for the airport (and pray that my flight from ATL to PHL is on time and without incident), I've been trolling the internet for ideas that will inform the transformation of our garage to home gym. And I stumbled upon some Crossfit stuff along the way.

I know there are some big time Cross-Fit fans out there, so I encourage you to speak your peace. But I have to wonder just a little bit about some of the training philosophy.

In this article, written by the founder of Crossfit, the author states that 'those most inclined to worry and ask about “overtraining” are about as likely to set a new record in the Olympic Decathlon as they are to ever overtrain' . He also states that 'If we clump the recuperative modalities together as “pampering” what my clinical practice suggests is that the pampered athletes are generally performing below the 50-percentile mark. Those most inclined, for instance, to yoga, meditation, and chiropractic treatment are not our fire-breathers.'

So recuperative modalities, among them listed as stress control, massage, sleep, contrast hydrotherapy, hydration, recreation, stretching, and chiropractic treatment, qualify under the Crossfit model, as pampering.

REALLY.

While I agree wholeheartedly that mental toughness is developed under intensely anearobic activities, the leap to treat recuperative techniques as 'pampering' is a little out there. It's so easy for us as coaches to leap right into the blame game, and shout out that the unsuccessful player of the unsuccessful team simply 1) wasn't trying hard enough 2) didn't want it enough or 3)isn't mentally tough enough, instead of identifying specific weaknesses and creating specific plans for improvement.

A friend of mine who coaches at a very high level tells me that she almost always needs to reduce the amount of time and the number of repetitions that players do in training, in order to improve quality and get tangible results. The cross fit philosophy seems in contrast to this ...

At its core, the methods that drive Crossfit are stated as being "empirical". It's an interesting choice of words, with definitions that are someone in conflict...

em·pir·i·cal –adjective
1. derived from or guided by experience or experiment.
2. depending upon experience or observation alone, without using scientific method or theory, esp. as in medicine.
3. provable or verifiable by experience or experiment.

Basically, its the "it worked for me and for others, therefore it's valid" argument.

I can't even count the number of players who define a workout as "good or bad" based upon how hard they breath or how close to vomiting they get. Crossfit clearly appeals to this personlaity type. Think you're tough? Not unless you do our workout you aren't!

Quick, let me jump on board and do pullups and squats till I vomit. I'll show you tough!!!

Is this sort of training intensity good on a regular basis? Shouldn't the training be gaged by the on-field results? Will training to that level exhaustion translate to on field results?

So does Crossfit have it's basis in science or not? Does it have a place in rugby? Will it make you faster, better at tackling, or more evasive? Should we use it for general fitness or for developing mental toughness?

And to the bigger question, is harder, faster, MORE MORE MORE the answer to all our training woes? Are recuperative methods "pampering", and if so, does it matter?

If you've got personal experience you'd like to share, I'm all ears.

Truth

2007-12-23T09:58:00.000-08:00

I found an article on KR's blog about reporting to boards, giving speeches, etc. He in turn is quoting from a gentleman named Peter Guber, who's a movie producer, who essentially deals with "stories". The article speaks of four truths when storytelling, making speeches, delivering reports, etc.

For me personally in my coaching career, the concept of "truth" is way more complicated than I'd like it to be. There's always got be be a balance. We've got to edit ourselves, choose our words wisely, tailor what we say to the individuals we work with, and find a way to always go forward, whether the truth is something positive or negative.

You know what I mean - maybe you're working with a player who just can't catch to save her life. Tell her that and you've lost her forever. Maybe your have a player who stands out head and shoulders above the rest - communicate that truth too often, and before long you're playing favorites.

Add the that the fact that all of our individual "truths" are colored by our past experiences, perspective, and supporting info. What might be
"true" to me could be completely untrue to someone else. It's a delicate balancing act that I will likely struggle with forever.

For those of us who choose to coach, "truth" is something that we dole out, when and where it's appropriate, in a delivery mechanism that we hope will work for the widest group of players. I found the four basic points below to be really insightful ideas about how truth applies to communications.

# Truth to the teller. Yes, authenticity again. Show and share who you are with an open heart.

# Truth to the audience. It’s Value for Time. They give you their time on the understanding that you will give them emotional value and personal insight.

# Truth to the moment. Be prepared and then – improvise. The preparation will ensure you don’t lose focus. The improvisation will make sure you don’t lose your audience!

# Truth to the mission. Don’t even try to inspire people to do something you don’t believe in yourself. They won’t believe in it either.

USA 7's, International Women's Rugby, Free 7s for participants, show the IRB/USA Rugby your support

2007-12-23T09:47:00.001-08:00

Spoke with Julie McCoy, the women's 7s coach yesterday, and she asked me to pass this on, as well as some information regarding the USA 7s tournament. There are two big parts, i'll summarize.

USA RUGBY and the IRB need to SEE that women not only participate, but support their own programs in order for the women's final to be played in Petco park.

There are two ways to do this:

1) If you are going to USA 7's for any reasons, to watch anyone - buy your tickets from Kim Brock at USA Rugby.

2) If you want to play 7s, Kim Brock will help arrange for you to find an opponent and you can play on the 7th/8th ... FOR FREE! That's right FREE!! And then get your spectator tickets to USA 7s through Kim for the big event Saturday.

If we can show enough interest in the women's game, the women's International Final can again be played in Petco Park. That's cool. Let's try and make it happen.

The official words:

As many people already know, the San Diego 7s event in rapidly approaching. It is the largest International rugby event hosted in North America and a stop on the iRB’s 7s World Series. This event will take place on February 9-10 at PetCo Park, home of the Padres, in Downtown San Diego. This event features 16 of the Worlds best 7s teams including New Zealand, Australia, England, South Africa and your USA Eagles!

What you may not know is that on Thursday and Friday the 7-8th there is another event running in conjunction with the San Diego 7s known as the San Diego Invitational. There will be nearly 50 rugby teams in town ranging from youth, high school, collegiate and Masters (AKA old boys). Also, as a part of the San Diego Invitational, there is an International Women’s 7s event featuring teams from Samoa, South Africa, Canada and most importantly, the United States Women’s National team!

Last year the women’s final between the US & Canada was played at PetCo Park in front of 15, 000 spectators who were there to watch the men’s event and we are really hoping for this to happen again. This is a tremendous opportunity for women’s rugby, not only here in the states, but internationally as well. In order to make this happen, USA 7s is asking us to show that the women’s rugby community supports their National Team.

How do we do this?

The San Diego Invitational has all age levels, but for the most part, only male participants. Women’s senior and collegiate teams have not shown interest in participating. I am not sure if this is due to lack of knowledge or interest in the event.

If we, the women’s community, can band together and show that we are participating in the San Diego Invitational and purchasing tickets to the USA 7s event (at a discounted group rate) it will help the USA 7s make the decision to have the women’s final inside the stadium once again.

How does the San Diego Invitational work/how does my team get games?

On Thursday and Friday we have 8 fields available all day long. Your team can challenge another team from a different territory or you can submit your interest to Kim Brock and she will work on matching you up to another team who has shown interest. We can work out a round robin format, short halves, full matches or whatever you want your matches to be in order to get you to the event.

There is NO ENTRY FEE to play in this event!!! PLEASE FEEL FREE TO PASS THIS MESSAGE ALONG TO ANY AND ALL TEAMS WHO MAY BE INTERESTED.