|
By Alex Goff (Patty Magie photo)
Players looking to make age-grade national teams such as the U20s or the High School All Americans, or coaches who want their players to make those teams, have some work to do in order to make sure tryouts are successful.
High School All Americans coach Scott Lawrence and USA U20 coach Ray Lehner, both former national team players, spoke with RUGBYMag.com to discuss what they want to see in their players, what information they need from their coaches, and where some are slipping up.
Athleticism
“We are looking for athletes who are excelling now or have genetic pedigree to excel,” Lawrence told RUGBYMag.com. “We have specific size and speed requirements for different positions, and it’s important that players only try out if they meet those requirements. Rugby is a sport for all shapes and sizes, so some players may decide, based on those requirements, that they want to switch positions.”
“The first thing I often hear is that a player is a great guy, or has a lot of heart,” said Lehner. “Well I hope so, but I get the feeling that if that’s the first thing a coach says about a player, then he’s not up to it athletically. We expect good character, but we want to hear what his 3K time is.”
Both coaches say players need to arrive at camp physically fit, and aware of what they’ve been eating and drinking. An understanding of proper nutrition helps any player.
Personality and Behavior
Players need to be aggressive on the field, and aggressive off the field as well, in the sense that they need to take charge of their training and their education.
Lawrence said he likes self-motivated players that are self-coaching … learning about the game by themselves.
Lehner added that he’d like to see players take more responsibility for their actions.
“It’s frustrating to try to contact a player to discuss coming to a national team camp and not have him call you back,” Lehner said. “We talked to all the players about that. If you are serious about this, then check your voicemail and return calls. Make sure your voicemail isn’t full. And have a decent email address – something that’s not embarrassing. These are little things, but if a coach is making a decision based on little things, it might come down to who calls back first.”
Basic Skills
Every player needs to know how to catch and pass. You never know what a coach will do about what position you play.
Players should check best practice DVDs and film coaches send them to know best body positions in the scrum, how to lift and jump (all lineout jumpers should know how to lift, too, said Lawrence).
Hookers need to be able to throw the ball in the lineout. “No exceptions,” said Lawrence.
And all players need to know how to tackle, how to go into contact, and the basics of body position and approach in the rucks.
Both coaches agreed that the breakdown is a key area where young American players can improve. Although, it’s worth pointing out that in the last three years the way the senior Eagles have been taught to ruck has changed three times.
Players can always work on honing their skills, said the coaches, and there is a wealth of practice techniques that need only three people to get the job done.
And Finally
Be honest and accurate. Players need to know their height and weight and should not embellish those stats to their coaches. Coaches need to be sure the information they are giving national team staff is correct. If you say he is 6-4, he better be 6-4. If you say he runs a 4.4 40, he should do that.
"Anything to the contrary just puts the kid at a disadvantage and the staff wary of recommendations in the future from that coach,” said Lawrence.
To help national team hopefuls, a website has been set up at http://public.me.com/usarugby. There players can see standards for skills and strength and conditioning.
“The idea here is to show skills taught by American coaches, and standardized for the USA,” said Lawrence. “Many of the drills and examples we have can be done with three players. So get a couple of buddies and you can work on these things together.”
The Age-grade national teams have made this publicly available so that players and coaches know what the expectations and standards are.
|