I watch Rugby League on Channel 9 and I'm always interested to
hear Rochy report what the coaches say at half time. More often
than not, his reports include the words "In attack he wants them
to . . ." and "In defence he wants them to . . ." So the coach has
made two main points to his players. This is as much as a coach
can do to improve play in the second half. Any more and the players
will be too overloaded with information.
Generally, players are not in a receptive frame of mind at half
time and comments about the play of individuals should be avoided.
Let them relax for a few minutes, check out bumps and bruises and
then get their undivided attention. Make a couple of basic points
to give them a focus for the restart. Be repetitive to make sure
it sinks in. The confidence of your delivery and the focus on team
play will help to clear their heads if they are having problems.
What kinds of things should you emphasise? Even if you are unsure
what is going wrong, it never hurts to underline the basics. Choose
any two of the following:
In attack:
- support the ball carrier from behind with forward runs;
- more shooting from long range;
- look for the wide players when passing;
- off the ball, lose defenders by constantly moving short distances
towards and away from the ball.
In defence:
- tighter marking on the central strikers;
- stay with the opposition midfield runners;
- close down the ball carrier quickly;
- don't dive into the tackle - jockey;
- try to win the ball in the opposition's half;
- get out of the penalty area quickly when the ball is cleared.
Each one of these points is fundamental to good team
play and should not be new to players' ears on match day. So the
player returns after half time ready to apply a tactic which has
previously been discussed and practiced. Incidentally, the attack
and defence points above, whilst not exhaustive, provide an observation
list for coaches during the game.
Happy coaching. Keith
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