How to overcome three common Coaching Challenges
As a modern rugby coach in the game of rugby, it is our duty to understand, communicate and overcome challenges we face on a day-to-day basis. Overcoming challenges shouldn’t be considered a burden, but rather a task. The first step to overcoming these challenges is understanding what the most common ones are. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty, and they will vary from person to person, experience levels and current situations. Having conducted a recent survey of our peers, these are the most common responses, and we at Global Rugby have put together a few solutions to the challenges faced by the modern rugby coach.
1. Educating about improvement, not winning at all costs.
This is a big one, hence why it comes in first. A lot of players (not everyone), and parents for that matter, think turning up to rugby training and playing a season is all about winning. This is a lie. As a rugby coach, have you ever said to your players all we want to do this season is win? Probably not, is that fair? Yes we want to win, rugby is a competitive game that ruffles feathers and breathes contest – and for that matter we do want to win. But at the same time, there needs to be an equal if not more emphasis on improvement.
How will a player measure his or her season? At a young age, most likely on the amount of wins his or her team earns. But as we progress through the grades, self-improvement, and the awareness of, becomes more prevalent. It is through improvement that winning rugby games becomes easier, both personally and collectively. It is our job as a rugby coach to educate players and coaches on the importance of improvement by comparing it to the larger picture. Yes we can win a championship, but not if don’t improve, and that needs to be the focus. For example, if Team A turn up and “go through the motions” and Team B train hard to improve, when the two meet, who do you think will win? Again, we must compare the larger picture of improvement and educate players and parents on its importance. If we do this, winning will take care of itself.
2. Keeping things fresh
Try and remember back to when you were a junior rugby player. Were you eager to turn up to training, learn new skills, develop team patterns and walk away feeling like you’ve improved? Most likely the answer will be yes. But did you ever have a rugby coach who was there to fill in time or didn’t really know what he was doing or practised the same drill over and over and over again? Believe me, it still happens, and our rugby players suffer because of it. Keeping things fresh isn’t easy. It requires time to search the internet, patience to watch countless You tube videos until you find the right one, a willingness to learn a new drill or skill to teach and the courage to try and implement it.