Coaching and running
We had the kids out for the first training session last night. I had about twenty U16s which is pretty good as the high school season hasn't finished yet and most of the boys have exams too. They are a good bunch; very keen but we really have a lot of work to do. The general level of basic ball handling skills is really pretty low and I'm not expecting to see much better when we move onto tackling. Still, it's very early days and they seem prepared to work hard on the basics even if it is a bit repetitive.
I spent a bit of time with some of the U14s too. Boys that age mature not only at different rates but in different ways. Some stay 'athletic' as they grow while others become 'floppy'. I was working with one lad last night trying to show him how to maintain a body position that was safe and powerful. He was really struggling. The idea is to get shoulders and hips in line with one's back straight so that one can bend the knees and drive forward. It all turns on keeping one's spine straight. He kept dropping his head so that his spine began to curve. This is really dangerous because it exposes the neck and makes it likely that the player will jack knife head first into the ground. It also makes it impossible to transmit any power from the legs. I saw some of the other U14s taking similar positions at the breakdown. It's something we are really going to have to work on.
For myself, I'm still a bit sore from Sunday. I rode my bike to training last night which involved a pretty steep hill and that went OK. I ran fairly gently for twenty minutes this morning and that was OK too but my quads are very tight and sore. Generally I'm feeling much fitter though.
I spent a bit of time with some of the U14s too. Boys that age mature not only at different rates but in different ways. Some stay 'athletic' as they grow while others become 'floppy'. I was working with one lad last night trying to show him how to maintain a body position that was safe and powerful. He was really struggling. The idea is to get shoulders and hips in line with one's back straight so that one can bend the knees and drive forward. It all turns on keeping one's spine straight. He kept dropping his head so that his spine began to curve. This is really dangerous because it exposes the neck and makes it likely that the player will jack knife head first into the ground. It also makes it impossible to transmit any power from the legs. I saw some of the other U14s taking similar positions at the breakdown. It's something we are really going to have to work on.
For myself, I'm still a bit sore from Sunday. I rode my bike to training last night which involved a pretty steep hill and that went OK. I ran fairly gently for twenty minutes this morning and that was OK too but my quads are very tight and sore. Generally I'm feeling much fitter though.