Getting Ready for Tackle/Contact

Okay, the time is finally here, the one the older kids have been waiting for: contact.

I stress to parents: our first priority in this club is players' safety. We have gone three full seasons without a single injury, and I intend to prolong this record as long as possible. We do that by stressing safety at all times.

There are two components to this: a player's physical maturity and approach, and his mental maturity and approach.

We are not playing football, where just about all forms of contact are permitted, and any player on the field is eligible to be hit at any time. The terms of contact in rugby are much more specific, even constrained, for the purposes of flow of the game and for players' safety. We aren't wearing any pads; we cannot go crazy with tackling and contact, we cannot throw our bodies around as if we were protected head to toe by foam and hard plastic. If we do so, our players and opponents are going to get hurt.

Our coaches will observe and evaluate all players and their progress in contact training. If our club is not ready to play tackle rugby, we will not until we are ready. If an individual player is not ready to play tackle rugby, he will not be permitted to do so until the coaches consider him ready. This is physical as well as mental, having learned the vital aspects of contact taught at practice, and having demonstrated them to the coaches.

Physical discipline is important here. The object of the tackle is to halt an opponent's forward movement, and to bring him to the ground for the opportunity to gain possession of the ball. We do not measure yardage, so there is no point (except at the try line) of standing a player up and driving backwards; all that matters is to bring the player down, and quickly. Extra effort in a tackle is wasted effort; play is continuous for a 25-minute half, so over-exertion in every contact is not wise.

We also will train players in emotional discipline. There is no reason to think of contact with an opponent as a "hit." It's just a tackle. There should be no emotion involved. They will tackle us and we them, because that's the nature of the game. So to become angry at or as a result of contact is counterproductive, even selfish, taking a player's mind away from the game and away from useful contribution to his team. The referee will deal with foul play; all other contact is simply part of the game.

So, players and parents, let's start tackling, but in control.
Coach Dacey