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There
are many situations in a game that my isolate
the ball carrier. It is as much the responsibility
of the of the ball carrier to find support as
it is for the support to find the ball carrier,
but the reality is that occasionally players
cannot help becoming isolated when they're carrying
the bal. The ball carrier may be isolated when
they're put through a gap, and they may have
only one player to beat in order to score. At
times like these they will have to rely on different
ways of beating a defender. Pure speed is probably
the best and easiest way of beating a defence
but sometimes the defender is in a position
that makes it difficult for the attacker to
use speed alone. Also, your team will not always
have the fastest or most elusive runner, therefore
you need to coach your players dodging and evasion
skills.
Besides
pure speed, basic evasive skills consist of
changing pace, swerving and side-stepping. The
ability to run at speed while moving on and
off a straight line makes it difficult for any
tackler to line up a tackle. This type of running
is difficult to develop and players need to
have basic agility. If not, you might consider
encouraging them to play other sports such as
basketball or work with groups in confined spaces
and use a series of running and basic evasion
practices which encourage changes of speed and
direction and the use of peripheral vision to
avoid contact. The coach might also consider
playing tag and dodge games within the groups
to develop evasive running skills.
A
player who can beat a defender by speed and
agility or a combination of both is an asset
to any team. Such players have the ability to
change games. They can be encouraged to break
out of their own 22-metre area to set up an
attack or take on the last defender or breach
even the tightest of defences to create opportunities
for others. To help you get the most from your
players and equip them to select the best options
for a given situations we have included how
to coach the basic skills of changing pace,
the sidestep and the swerve and offers drills
to help you develop these running techniques.
All
players in the team should practice evasion
skills irrespective of their position and body
type. As with all practices, it is best to start
with a passive defence to develop the skills
before adding pressure from the defence. Make
sure your players dominate and control the defender
at all times. At times when the defence has
closed off certain areas of attack your players
must be able to change the point of attack to
re-establish continuity and the attacking advantage.
There
are 4 basic ways to beat an opponent
Your
players may already possess the agility vital
to rugby, or you can develop this agility by
constant practice against a defence that gradually
exerts more and more pressure. The players can
use this agility as part of the way to beat
the defence. Although most footwork skills are
done while running quickly, they are most easily
performed when running at a speed at which the
player can control their balance. Focus on timing,
on keeping under control and on making strong
moves to evade the defender. The coach must
always check the Key factors to success and
continually modify them.
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