Otago Rugby Union eNewsletter

Editorial

Good afternoon Otago supporters!!!

There is plenty going on so check out the articles below for more information on Southern Small Blacks & Rugby Smart Registration and Course dates, 2022 Premier Competition Law Changes, Coaching guru Aaron Callaghan's blog Coaches Corner and an exciting opportunity to come show us what your made of at our Otago Rugby Fitness Testing for Potential NPC, Under 19s & Development Players.

We are super excited to be gearing up for the 2022 rugby season and have created a little tool box to help get you started. Check out our links below for all things Community Rugby!

TOOLS FOR YOUR 2022 RUGBY SEASON

Want to see the latest Community Rugby Updates
Or looking for those Forms and Documents
Check out all you need to know for Junior Rugby
What about brushing up on Laws & Education
And to find your nearest club and contacts head to our Club Directory

Let’s be honest, coaching is a tough gig!

People are often quick to judge and rarely offer to lend a hand or provide any solutions. You’re expected to wear many hats, the technical tactical expert, the psychologist, the fitness trainer, nutritionist, referee and sometimes even the taxi driver.

For any group, organisation, or team there will be a certain culture, this can be constructed by conscious design or left to chance. If you’ve got the right personalities and leaders within the group a great culture may evolve organically.

Fingers crossed sustained success is just around the corner, but what happens if you’re not consistently seeing the behaviours you want? What can you do as a coach to create a culture of success and high performance?

Role model the behaviours you want to see, like parenting your actions often speak louder than your words.
Give your playing group some autonomy!

Here is a quick 3 step process that can be used to help shape your team culture

Define what success looks like, this will be different depending on your specific situation, i.e. the answer may look very different if you’re coaching a Prem side v U8. There’s no right or wrong answer, but understanding what success looks like from your players point of view is an absolute game changer. This gives you a framework for session structure, communication, insures there is a collective narrative and helps with motivation.

Once you understand what success looks like you need to drill down on what behaviours are needed to make the success you defined come alive. Take time on this step, build detail and clarity. What I’ve seen work well in the past is to split your squad into small groups, each group puts some ideas on paper, come back together and look for commonalities.

The final piece of the puzzle is to ensure accountability, this is the responsibility of the group not just you, if you do need to step in this framework makes the conversation easy and impactful.

Coach: “Everyone in”

Coach: “At the start of the season you said A,B and C are important for us to have a successful season. Are we staying true to what we said? Can we do better?”

This whole exchange should take less than a minute, no yelling or detail needed. I guarantee the change in focus, intensity and performance will be profound.

Alternatively, you could put it on the players…

Coach: “Jog to the posts, have a quick chat around what we decided as a group success looks like. You’ve got 30s. Go!”

You may want to check in throughout the season with the group. Are we still on track? Are our thoughts on what success looks like still the same? Are the behaviours that we listed taking us towards success?

Establishing the right environment early on will increase the enjoyment for players and coaches alike.

I’m sure we could have a good discussion around what is more important the technical tactical aspects of the game or creating the right environment, but we’ll leave that for another day.

Let me know your thoughts.

Keep up the awesome work.

Azza

How To Register

Step 1: Complete an online coaching form

Step 2: Upload your My Vaccine Pass

Step 3: Select a course to attend on your registration form (when dates become available)

Step 4: For Rugby Smart coaches only, your registration includes an online learning quiz (Allow 10 - 15mins).

Step 5: Attend a workshop from the dates in the calendar below

**Course dates may change due to Covid-19 situation**

Please also visit our Coaching page on our website for more information

Any questions email: aaron.callghan@orfu.co.nz

Otago Rugby Premier Competition Applicable Law Changes for 2022 (WRLV/EDSLVs)

As previously advised last year, New Zealand Rugby (NZR) is enhancing the safety and appeal of the sport in 2022, with an expansive range of Experimental Domestic Safety Law Variations (EDSLVs) being rolled out in school and club rugby next season.

The changes, which were approved by the NZR Board in late August, were developed following a series of trials and workshops in 2021, and are part of NZR’s ongoing commitment to improving participant’s experiences, safety, and the appeal of the game.

Click here and scroll down to see the Otago Rugby Premier Competition Applicable Law Changes for 2022 (WRLV/EDSLVs) that will be used in Metro, Southern and Central Premier Competitions from 1 January 2022.

R80 SPECIAL OFFER

Our good mates at R80 Rugby have got a special deal on offer for us just in time before the club season kicks...

New Zealand Rugby's 2022 community rugby volunteer recruitment campaign "Reffing Rewards" focusses primarily on referee recruitment but also with a secondary focus on coaches and volunteers.

This campaign aligns with the “Big Little Moments” theme that carries through all NZRs Community Rugby campaigns, and has a goal of getting new referees, coaches, and managers to register for the 2022 season, and encouraging people to ‘put their hand up’ to support their club or school. This ‘Rewards’ campaign celebrates the contribution of referee’s/coaches/volunteers by showing how rewarding it is both for the individual, and for the community.

To find out more click here: https://bit.ly/3wbAkY6