This was the first day of my internship. I met with the Head Coach, Jeff Gemmer on Wednesday to discuss what we would do during the parent meeting/practice on Saturday. We decided that Coach Gemmer would run the parents meeting, as they were more familiar with him, and I would run the practice until he wrapped up the meeting. He had been running informal captain's practices since the week after Thanksgiving, however the number of players we need are still down from where they needed to be. We need 4 more people to join the program or else we have to withdraw from the league. Thankfully, winter sports have not ended yet, and a couple guys on the hockey and wrestling teams are very interested. Hopefully I can make practice fun enough where more people will want to join, yet challenging enough so that the students don't think that practice is a joke or a waste of time.

Today was the first practice. In the meeting with the parents, Jeff discussed possible fund raising activities to help pay for league dues and travel costs, as well as an upcoming day camp which is being run by the US Eagles national team head coach. While he was answering the questions of the parents, I was running a practice in the gym down the hall. I started off practice by introducing myself to all the players. We only have 2 returning players from last year, so I have a brand new set of minds and bodies to mold this season, which is both good and bad. It's good in the sense that there are no players with bad habits that were taught by the the old coach, yet its bad because that means only 2 people know what they're doing. In addition, the 2 returning players have 0 total minutes of game experience, because the team was cancelled last year due to lack of interest. This will definitely hurt down the line, however there is only one way to gain game experience, and that is to play the game.
After the introductions, I started to set the tone for the season. I knew that I could not be all smiles on the first day, yet I have to be approachable enough to teach these kids how to play. First, I showed the team the way they are going to warm up before every practice and game this season. After the warm up, I had them run an obstacle course, while working on switching the ball from one arm to the other properly. We then ran a 4 corners drill, and for every dropped ball they were to do 5 push-ups. When the players asked why the whole team had to do push-ups for one person's mistake, I told them that everyone on the team is responsible for everyone else's actions. Having this mentality throughout the season will turn the team into an extremely cohesive unit. I tried to incorporate competitive drills whenever possible in order to test the players and see who is competitive. Thankfully, most of the students are very competitive, and love to win. Standard punishment for losing a competition is 5 push-ups. We then moved onto 3 on 2's. The coaching points that I was emphasizing were using the space and staying steep on offense, and coming up together on defense. The players started out doing a pretty bad job, but at the end of the 15 minute session, there was a lot of improvement. I tried to show them how this drill happens all the time in game situations, so that further down the line I can work on visualization with them. After the 3 on 2's I did a brief defensive alignment drill, which the kids took to naturally.

When appropriate, I am trying to pair the veterans with the new guys. This does a couple things. First, it allows the veterans to start to assume leadership positions within the team. Second, I've found that it increases awareness among the new guys, because the veterans will usually lead the "on the field conversation", which is a very necessary skill in rugby, which is also very hard to coach. Third, combining the veterans and new guys increases team cohesiveness, because it forces the new and old guys to intertwine.
The brief quiz at the end of practice seems to be a big hit, because the kids always smile when they get it right. This is a fun way to see whether or not my pupils are actually retaining what I am trying to teach them. This is a very useful tool because I usually end practice with heavy conditioning, so even when they're exhausted, they can still think.

This week we started tackling in the padded wrestling room, which the boys all loved. According to their questionnaires, most of them signed up for rugby because they liked the physical nature of rugby. However, because they are teenage boys, the team is very disorganized. I only have 6 total questionnaires, and only 10 of the 18 guys in practice had their mouthguards, which we have instructed them to bring to practice since the first day. This week I will have to think of something to change that. Normally, I would just make the mouthguardless players to sit out of the physical drills and do conditioning, but we only have the opportunity to hit every once in a blue moon, until we move our practices outside. I think I might check to see who has their mouthguards, and make the players who don't, do extra conditioning at the end of practice. I will do the same for the questionnaires. I generally like to do conditioning in the middle of practice, because I like to end practice on an upswing, so that the guys come back next time craving more.

Punishment for not having mouthguards or questionnaires worked great. After the first punishment, almost everyone had their mouthguards at the next practice.
There is one kid who keeps pretending to be hurt, or on the verge of puking in order to get out of conditioning when hes tired. I need to think of a way to motivate him to play through the "pain". He is also the same kid who tries to get me to run fun drills, so I think what i may do is use the fun drills as a reward for when i see him running hard during conditioning.
We had a new kid join today. It will be challenging trying to coach him up to the level of all the other kids, while not making it seem like I am constantly singling him out. This is going to be especially hard, because even though he is a big kid, he is awkward in his movements.

This week I focused on being really specific with my feedback, and giving the feedback right after the action occurred. When you provide feedback while the action is still fresh in the athlete's mind, it is much easier to modify their behavior because they know exactly what you are talking about. Being specific is another key factor in providing useful feedback. If I were to just say, "nice tackle Pat", he wouldn't know exactly what made the tackle a "nice tackle". However if I were to say, "nice tackled Pat, you did a great job getting low, driving your shoulder into the waist, and fishing the leg", Pat knows exactly what he did well and is much more likely to repeat those desired actions. I noticed a difference in how the athletes were receiving the feedback. When i was not specific, athletes would feel appreciated but kind of have a blank look on their face afterwards. That is to say, the athletes were not learning why what they were doing was good, they just knew it was good. It is especially important to my team that they learn what is good and what is not, because we only have one player with game experience, and four players who attempted to play last year when we had to cancel the team. For the other 16 guys on the roster, this is their first year playing rugby. Unlike almost every other sport at the high school level, nobody knows how to play rugby before they go out for the team. This places extra importance on being able to teach the athletes at an efficient pace. At the high school level, winning basically boils down to two things: conditioning and knowledge of the game. The faster the athletes can master the rules and strategies of rugby, the faster they can take advantage of the opportunities that are presented to them on the field.

This week we started assigning positions for all the players. This is exciting for me, because I get to put the players in positions where their strengths will help them succeed. We have couple good athletes, and the kids are all intelligent, so the kids all learned their positions relatively quickly. I was happy when only one player did not like the position I had assigned to them. To be fair though, that kid did not like that position because that position, wing, is the least fun position in practice. However when pointed out to him that wings are the ones who score the most during the game, the kid changed his tune pretty quick. It is very interesting to me how the different player's personalities and abilities dictate their ability to succeed and thus their enjoyment of their new positions. For example, all the forwards on my team with the exception of one have a couple screws loose. These kids love to hit, it's great. The backs are all smart and cocky, which is typical of the backline. Probably the best attribute our backline possesses is their speed. These kids can all fly. I made sure to mention to all the kids why they are playing the positions we assigned them to, and they all smiled. For example, when i told one of my flankers that he would be playing flanker because he was the craziest person on the team, he took it as a compliment. My inside center's face lit up when i said he was the shiftiest person on the field, with the biggest attitude problem. This made me wonder why they were all so happy when I told them the reason I put them in the positions i did. I have come to the determination that it must be because by providing them with the reasons, I was also stating that I had noticed qualities about my athlete's personalities and abilities. I was unknowingly providing them with a huge piece of positive feedback, which touched not only on their playing ability, but on who they are as individuals as well. I should incorporate more feedback of this type whenever possible. As far as why my players were able to pick up on their positions so easily, I think a huge part of it was because I pointed out how that position fits into the team's big picture. This ultimately gives the player a sense of purpose, which is a huge part of motivation. By providing them with a sense of purpose on the rugby field, I am telling them what they are accountable for, and what to fight the other team for. Whether it is ball possession, advancing the ball, distributing the ball, I hope that my players keep their purpose in mind for the rest of the season. I am sure they wont, and will need to be reminded of it throughout the season.

This weekend there was a player development camp at the Bill's fieldhouse in Orchard Park. Even though I had no responsibilities within the camp, I still attended because I was curious to see how our players would stack up compared to local competition. Overall, I was impressed with how the team performed. Most of the players were grouped with the "under 1 year of experience" guys, and were much much better than the ones within that grouping. The two kids with more than a year of rugby under their belts were grouped with the "veterans" and were able to hold their own. This means two things: my rookies are ahead of the curve, and that we still have lots of work to do. This camp taught me some very important things: don't overload my players with new information, and provide demonstrations. Only present the players with one or two things at a time. In every demonstration, the demonstrator only mentioned 2 things the players were unfamiliar with. This is because the human brain can only process a certain amount of information in a small amount of time. When teaching critical pieces of information, keep things very simple. This allows the mind to focus on what is important. Providing demonstrations is also a very good idea. It allows visual learners to see the point i am trying to communicate, which is how they learn best. Even though I am a visual learner, sometimes I do not provide physical demonstrations for whatever reason, and this camp showed me the importance of doing so.

3/13/11
This past weekend was another huge rugby event. I traveled to Syracuse to attend a rugby clinic in order to be certified by USA Rugby to be a coach. This clinic was extremely informative. Not only did it provide me with tons of great things to do with my players, but it taught me a bunch of good lessons about coaching.
The first lesson was to shift my focus during practice away from drills, and towards games. Playing games is not only more fun than running drills, but it forces the players to think critically about the situations they are presented with. Drills only teach the players how to do things one way, which does not simulate an actual rugby game at all. Games on the other hand are run at a much faster pace, and teaches the players how to think on the fly and take advantage of the opportunities the other team presents them with. Furthermore, a good game will work on a players conditioning, because there is very little rest time during a game compared to a drill, where players will usually wait in line for a little bit between each rep.
The second lesson I took away from this past weekend was to question my players to check for understanding. This is something that I don't think I did once earlier in the season. While before I would demonstrate something and tell the players to do it, now I ask the players if they understand what is going on, and once I have answered any questions the players have, then they are allowed to play the game.
Another valuable lesson I learned is when to use the "Whole-Part-Whole" method vs. the "Part-Part-Whole" method of coaching. "Whole-Part-Whole" teaching is when you present the players with an entire concept, kicking, for example. Allow the players to experiment for a little while and play the game you have laid out for them. At a certain point, call the group in, and teach a key part of the game, like different ways to kick the ball. Then have the players go back to playing the game presented. This works great in almost all scenarios, except for one. "Whole-Part-Whole" should not be used for things where the risk of injury is high, like tackling. If a coach tells his team to go out and tackle each other, without first explaining exactly how to tackle, serious injuries might occur. For dangerous activities, use the "Part-Part-Whole" method of instruction. This is where you present smaller parts of the larger whole before you break into the whole thing. For example, teaching players how to tackle involves teaching the players how to break down into an athletic body position, where to put their shoulder and head, and how to follow through with their tackles. It also involves teaching the tacklee how to get to ground safely, and present the ball to his teammates.

This week I tried to follow all the advice I had been given at the coaching clinic, and it worked great. The players are happier now that we run a minimal amount of drills and a lot of games. Their competitive nature is showing, which is great. you can see the players are enjoying practice a lot more. I have also made it a point to question my players for understanding after I demonstrate everything. This makes a huge difference. The players are making a lot fewer mistakes because they understand what is being asked of them better than ever before. Also, using "Whole-Part-Whole" is a great method, especially for games. It develops the player's ability to analyze and think critically when presented with new situations, which is enormously important, especially in a free-flowing sport like rugby, where players are never presented with exactly the same situation twice in the same game.

I did not attend practice this week because of spring break.

This week we had our first game of the season. There was a tournament in Hamburg with teams from the division, many of whom we play later in the season. Because it was essentially my entire team's first ever rugby game on Saturday, I placed most of my emphasis on playing hard the whole game, and learning the game. I also reminded the team that it is ok to make mistakes, as long as they are aggressive ones. The first 10 minutes of the first game, the Crusaders were pretty shellshocked. I told them to play very physical, and we played a much more competitive 2nd half. The second game we played really well, and could have won, if the ref didn't hose us with 2 minutes left. Understandably, our guys were pretty upset after the loss. I reminded them that refs blow calls all the time, and that they are part of the game. I also told them to stop worrying about things that are in the past and out of their control. This seemed to help ease their frustrations. The third game on saturday was against the the best team and winners of the tournament, City Honors. We played really physical, but the City Honors kids were really scrappy, and it was a struggle to keep my guys from sinking down to their level. I reminded them to be classy at all times, and not to sink to their level and play their game. However, I reminded them that it is also important to stand up for your teammates and protect them, and not let the other team shove them around. Unfortunately, we had two injuries on the day, which brings our already low numbers down even lower. For the rest of the tournament we had to play with just one sub, and in the last game we had to borrow a player from the opposite team. This really limits what we can do scheme wise, and also forces us to play players that I would really prefer not to have on the team. Even though we did not win a game, I still consider the tournament a success, because we managed to keep all the games close. The team progressed really quickly, and you could tell that the players left the weekend with a much deeper understanding of the game. Being able to play 15 on 15 really helped them understand what rugby is really like, and what they need to do to succeed. We play City Honors again on Wednesday, and then we play Kenmore East on Sunday. I hope I can use this weekend as motivational fodder, and to make my coaching points seem more relevant.

On Wednesday, my guys played a great first half, then City Honors discovered our weak link at wing and took major advantage of it. We suffered a couple more injuries, but had a new guy in at practice this week, so we still had enough to play today against Kenmore East. We had a rough game today, against a very well coached, physical team. After the game today, which was our 2nd consecutive blowout, the team was very down on itself. I reminded them that every team we are going to play is made up of 3 and 4 year players, and it is everyones first year playing rugby. I told them that if they keep working hard in practice, and keep recruiting players, that by the end of the season we will be able to steal a victory from someone. This was met with mixed reviews. A couple of the guys realized that was the case, which made them feel better. However, some of the players looked like they were already tired of hearing that schtick. One thing is for sure, the players will be motivated in practice. I am glad that nobody is happy with getting blown out, and even though our team doesn't fare well on the scoreboard, our guys show the most heart every game. I can tell that the team is becoming a lot closer-knit with every week that passes by. Nicknames are starting to emerge, which is always a positive sign that the team is cohering, (as long as the nicknames aren't derogatory of course). It is tough coaching this team, because we never have as many players as the other team, and there is only so much that I can do with the limited number of players we have at every practice. Every team we play has at least 7 subs on their roster, many have enough players to do a full 15 on 15 scrimmage in practice. We on the other hand, are lucky if we have 15 guys show up to practice. This puts me in an awful spot, because the players know that I can't use playing time as a motivator, because we barely have enough guys to field a team, so everyone gets playing time no matter what. Normally the most powerful extrinsic motivator is playing time, and if the players know they will play no matter what, it takes the added incentive away. After each game, I ask the players what worked well, and what didn't. This helps them analyze their performance, and points out what they need to work on in practice. It also helps them remember exactly how they played in the game, which can be tough if they do not receive feedback as close to the game as possible. I make sure to provide them with what I noticed about the game as well. One thing that is very encouraging about these post-game feedback sessions, is that the players and I are usually on the same page as far as what needs to improve and what went well. This means that the players have an understanding of the game and what it takes to be a successful team. Even though we are still winless, I can take pride in the fact that I have educated 16 completely new players on rugby strategy.

This past week we played against the Southtown Saints, which is a feeder program for the South Buffalo Men's team. I really thought we were going to win today, but we had tackling issues, as well as a couple injuries at key positions. We had to borrow a player from the opposite team again, because we had 2 guys go down with injuries. This loss stung pretty bad, especially because we were unable to score, even though we had a couple good chances. It seemed like every time we got close, our team would have something go wrong for them, and we never got our points. The guys were really bummed out after this loss, and I knew I could not give them the same song and dance about being first year players, so this time I reminded them that they are laying the foundation for years and years of Canisius High School Rugby to come, and to take pride in that. This put some much needed wind back in my guys sails, as we head into the bye week next week. I can tell that morale is falling with each loss. It really takes a lot out of the players to play their hearts out every week, only to lose every time. I am going to bring in a game for them to watch and take notes on in lieu of a day of practice. The guys are all beat up, and may feel like they are falling into a rut. The film study will serve a few purposes. First, it will break up the monotony of the season thus far. We do not have a lot of players, so I am very limited in the games and drills i can set up for these guys. We have been running basically the same games and drills for the past month now, and you can tell the guys are getting a little bored. I try to incorporate new and fun things into practice as much as possible, but sometimes we only have 10 people show up at practice, and the numbers simply arent there. Second, the film session will give the guys an opportunity to see how rugby should be played. Most of my guys haven't seen a high level rugby game, because they are only available in some cable packages. Third, the film session will give the guys a much needed day to rest. Hopefully the guys like film study so much, that I can use it as a motivator for them, since I can't use playing time.

We did not have any games this week, and only a short week of practice, because of Easter. practice attendance this week was unacceptable. We only had 4 guys show up to practice on Tuesday, an all time low. I would give anything to be able to bench all the guys who didn't bother to show up right now. Until our team has the numbers to be able to sit players, our practice attendance is going to be lackluster. Instead of using the bye week as an opportunity to gain an edge on their competition, my guys decided to take the week off from practice as well. I feel like I am running out of ways to motivate these kids, because no matter what I do I am in a predicament. I can't bench players for not coming, because we don't have the numbers. I can't force the whole team to do extra conditioning, because that only punishes the players who show up to practice, thus making them less likely to come to practice. If I do less fun drills, I run the risk of boring these kids, and making them not want to come to practice. The only option is to plead them to come to practice, with their friends, which is something coaches should not have to do.