Key National Themes - Overview

KEY NATIONAL THEMES

OVERVIEW 2011-12

KEY NATIONAL THEMES - OVERVIEW

Season 2010-11 saw the launch of the restructured male player pathway which will place greater emphasis on increasing the skill development and physical competency of players at Under-14 to Under-15 level, through the delivery of Key National Themes and the forthcoming national curriculum.

The Key National Themes will be delivered to S1, S2 and Under-15 coaches in clubs and schools through a programme of local and regional coaching updates delivered by Development Officers, supported by quality coaching resources, leading up to the regional pathway skills camps in April each year, for players nominated against entry criteriaconcerning performance of Key National Themes and physical competencies.

BACKGROUND / RATIONALE

In the 2004/05 season it became obvious that age grade rugby in other countries was becoming much more structured, with our competitors working to structures in team play supported by an application of superior individual skills. At that time our age grade teams tended to play to a structure set by whoever was head coach at that time. As a result our professional coaches looked to identify an agreed game structure that would help develop our players and challenge our competitors at all levels. They identified the key individual skills or themes that would be required to:

1. Have the option to attack using the whole width of the field

2. How to speed up the contact area when we were tackled

3. How to speed up general play when we were on our feet playing in front & in-between defences

4. What was the most important aspect of Defence that we could focus on

Four Key National Themes were highlighted:

1. Hand Catch / Grab

2. Ball Presentation

3. Offload

4. Individual Tackle

From 2006 the Performance Development Team were tasked with producing supporting resources and incorporating these themes into local & regional pathway, workforce development and coach education programmes. The Key National Themes were reviewed again in 2008 and all National and Pro coaches agreed that the same small list was absolutely relevant; a view echoed by Andy Robinson in 2009 upon his appointment as National Head Coach.

WHY NOW?

Season 2010-11 saw the implementation of the new male pathway structure which includes the new regional skills camps replacing the former playing / selection programme at U14 level through U15 level. The development of the new national rugby curriculum and associated quality resources is also well underway with a focus on the crucial S1 to under-15 stage. The opportunity is there now to help S1,S2, under-15 players and their coaches, to acquire and develop these key skills in preparation for the skills camps.

BENEFITS TO PLAYERS

The purpose of the Key National Themes is to help young players understand, acquire and develop key skills which will help them improve as individuals. With an increased level of individual skillsall playerswill:

Be better prepared to play a bigger role in games for their club or school;
Have greater opportunities in games to use, improve & develop their skills and influence;
Better promote themselves in games thus assisting in selection processes;
Be able to adapt to various styles of play in schools, clubs and age-grade programs;
Enjoy the resultant increased pace and competitiveness of games.

The delivery of the Key National Themes is part of a shift towards a more individual player development focus, designed to help players develop to their fullest potential, helping improve player development and retention at all levels, from schools and clubs through to age grade programs and pro rugby.This is in line with Scottish Rugby’s Long Term Player Development (LTPD) strategy.

BENEFITS FOR COACHES

By incorporating the Key National Themes intoyour coaching (alongside team and unit skills) you will be enhancing the development of individual skills. This will challengeyou to be a coach who:

Is focused on technical detail;
Is able to observe and analyse critically;
Is able to provide high quality individualised feedback againstspecific key factors;
Is able to correct faults as a result and highlight good practice.;
Is more successful at implementing and developing your oryour club’s/school’s style of play/ethos;
Develops more skillful, successful and fulfilled individual players.

If you look at the Principles of Play in Attack / Defence & align them to the KNT’s you can see how important they are:

Attack

Gain Possession – (Handcatch)
Go Forward – (Handcatch / Offload / Ball Presentation)
Support – (Handcatch)
Continuity– (Handcatch / Offload / Ball Presentation)
Pressure & Points

Defence

Go Forward
Support
Apply Pressure (Individual Tackle)
Regain Possession (Individual Tackle)
Attack (Handcatch)

As a result of this challengenot onlywill your individualskills coaching benefit, you will develop your "coaching eye" for detail in other facets of the game and will enableyou toeffectivelyidentifyindividual/unit/team strengths and weaknesses. As aconsequence ofyour increased knowledge ofindividual player capabilities,this will therefore inform the way you want to play (your game plan and coaching ethos) and ultimately help you innovate and plan your coaching programme to achieve this.

BENEFITS TO DEVELOPMENT OFFICERS

Since 2006 the network of development officers have been central to the growth in rugby participation across Scotland, leading the (re)establishment of rugby teams and competitions in many schools and clubs. DO’s have also been central to the successful roll-out of UKCC and other Coach Education programmes.

Whilst there is still great scope to grow participation in many clubs and schools, there is now an opportunity to put more emphasis on how we support our coaches in developing the individual young players that we have attracted into the sport. The roll out of Key National Themes presents just such an opportunity to receive quality training from RAC’s and Coach Ed supporting your own development as a coach and DO; quality resources to disseminate to your club(s) and schools; lead the improvement in individual player skills in your club/area;supportcoaches; improve elite young players; and help to raise standards overall.

BENEFITS FOR PERFORMANCE RUGBY

The KNT’s of handcatch, ball presentation, offload and tackle are absolute fundamentals for rugby players at any level. During the Regional Programmes players who can perform the KNT’s consistently and accurately will be obvious to the coaches, selectors and Regional Academy Coaches.

If you were to ask any performance coach what they want for a starting point to work with it would be players who can perform the basic skills of rugby (run, pass, tackle) consistently well under pressure. Although not an exhaustive list, players will be identified based on their competency in executing the KNT’s during the early stages of our Performance Programme. The quicker these skills can be mastered the quicker their progression into more complicated techniques andthe quicker they can simply be applied in the game context.

During the regional skills camps we will be looking to see that all players have had an introduction and basic development of the KNT’s so that precious development time with potential performance focused players can be better utilised. Players who are developing the skills of catching the ball cleanly in their hands consistently, who can pass the ball when in contact with opposition (offload), who can control themselves and the ball when tackled to the ground (ball presentation) and who can win the ball back by bringing their opponents to the ground quickly (individual tackle) are the platform any team can be built upon.

Simple Message “ If you want to increase your chances of being considered as a potential performance rugby player or you want to increase your players’ potential of being selected in our performance squads it is imperative that you / they are familiar with and be able to perform the Key National Themes consistently well under pressure in a game context.