Academy assistant manager Tosh Askew – a former England Under-19 coach and a National Academy Skills coach – presented the second of the club’s Coach Education sessions, using a group of Academy players to demonstrate attacking play.
The session was entitled ‘Catch & Pass, how to beat a defender’ with Askew passing on advice from his work with some of the best young talents in the game as well as the experience gained as an RFU and IRB Level 3 Coach Educator.
More than 40 coaches from clubs and schools watched the session, taking tips back to their own players.
Peter Haskell and Bob Truswell, both from Mansfield Rugby Club, were among the group and enjoyed the opportunity to learn some of the techniques used in Tigers training.
“We coach at a very young level at the moment but we’re always looking at the core skills and it was good to hear from Tosh about those skills being the most important part, as well as seeing the detail that goes into Tosh's coaching,” said Peter, a Level One coach.
“We’re already thinking about how we can use what we've been talking about with our players and the little variations you can use with your own groups.”
Bob added: “It’s the first time we’ve been to one of these sessions and I was very impressed. There was definitely a lot to think about and to take back to our players.”
The goal of the Tigers Coach Education programme is to help coaches in the development of their own players and teams at any level, including seniors, by taking the successful programmes from the Tigers Academy back to the clubs.
Feedback from the opening session of the season, entitled ‘An Extended Warm-up, the principles of movement literacy’ showed that a lot of the professional knowledge has gone directly back to the grassroots game at clubs and schools.
There are further Coach Education sessions planned for the new year which will focus on ‘The Scrum’ and ‘Preparation & Post Match’ which will include an explanation of how to prepare players and post-match analysis of a live Academy fixture.
Places are available on both remaining sessions, price £25 for 'The Scrum' and £30 for 'Preparation & Post Match'. For dates and details, as well as the chance to book a place on any Coach Education Session, click here.
And don't forget to pass the word around at your club.
