The season is all but over for us and my thoughts are already turning towards the close season, next season and how we can build on what we have achieved over the last 9 months. We have achieved alot and all experienced some highs and lows along the way.
To help plan for the next 12 moths i need a little bit of help from you and that means ALL the, players 1st and 2nd team. i need some feed back on the last 9 months, i want to improve my skills and the only way to do that is to understand what works well and what does not, what you enjoyed and what you didn't.
To enable us all to talk openly about these things i would appreciate it if you could answer these simple questions. (i expect negative as well as positive feed back) i also dont know everyone on this site but will not hold anything against anyone if they have constructive critism. I would also like to have a meeting with you all to discuss the ans to my questions. This will only be really benificial if we are all there so i am not going to put a date to it but will sound out players to pick the most suitable date in may or june.
QUESTIONS:
1/ What made you choose to come training?
2/ What made you choose not to come training?
3/ What factors will influance your descision to whether you train during the close season?
4/ What did you enjoy about training last season?
5/ What did you not like?
6/ What areas would you like me to concentrate on in the close season?
7/ How can we recruit new players to the senior squad.
8/ When do you want training to restart.
9/ Anything else you would like to raise?
Gents i find this type of feed back really useful and do appreciate the time people put in to replying to the questions.
Looking forward to your replys
Andy.
Bergs
training...
I'll start off, just in case everyone else is a bit shy!
1/ What made you choose to come training?
I committed to come, It improves your game performance, it supports your team mates and improves fitness(during some times of the year)
2/ What made you choose not to come training?
other committment - work or family, injury and, if being quite honest, never a fan of it in middle of winter in mud and cold. I barely get warmed up by the time the session is over - still came where I could, but was a sturggle.
3/ What factors will influance your descision to whether you train during the close season?
Quality and relevence of training and time available to commit.
4/ What did you enjoy about training last season?
Close season - fun, fitness, lots of it, plenty of handling which helped me a lot
In season - some contact work, game drills when done
5/ What did you not like?
Small numbers in season, lack of higher quality individual skills or larger team drill and run throughs, fitness reduction during winter (more to do with small training area than actual training - we can complete all drills in a 20 m square in winter, as opposed to using nearly whole pitch in summer, you just run a lot less!
6/ What areas would you like me to concentrate on in the close season?
In May or June I'd like 4-6 weeks of touch - no training as such, but just large open touch games which will improive base fitness and handling, before actual pre season starts.
Then I'd like much more team wide game type training, including un opposed and semi opposed, and more balance between ruck and other tight work. Like to see contact work (ruck and tackle etc) put under higher pressure - we're great at swanning bags, but not so good with people, so more work on developing the technique into skills - real people tackling and trying to rob balls for example. Also, higher pressure put on other skills, handling with opponents etc.
And fitness blended with the session - works best that way.
7/ How can we recruit new players to the senior squad.
Contacts, normally. Every body knows a player or two, just getting numbers and trying to recruit. Maybe a free t shirt for every senior member you introduce who pays full subs, paid for by a new memeber one off joining fee?!
8/ When do you want training to restart.
Mid May for touch/non supervised touch etc, early July for pre season. I think we can train twice during summer, Tuesday and Thursday, because we always do well for numbers, and revise it in October when the numbers traditionally start to drop, going to once a week on a Tuesday.
9/ Anything else you would like to raise?
Players rota for helping get kit out and away would be good. And a register for training attendance - will help next years captains when working out who'd been a lot and who hasn't - also helps focus players to come if they know they'll be missed.
Some specialist forwards help for andy Andy would be good - it's hard to focus on 30 guys at once, so anybody with a level 1 or above coaching qualification should maybe step up and offer to help when they can, even if it's once a month for a specialist session with some players - I'm sure Andy could do with the help and would appreciate it.
That's it from me!
jester
1. When I was able to train (having to work is a bastard), I trained to improve my fittness and my skill level, but, just as importantly, I trained to help me to bond with the other players that are around me and see what thier strengths/ weaknesses were so that i could take them on board and accomodate them on the park on a Saturday afternoon.
Raff
Very good season de brief Paul. There is not one word i would change apart from a michspwelling of Tuesday in number 8. All very workable to continue with next year! lol
Bergs
Apologies my dear Ryan, the error has been corrected, and I've done my lines - ooh, how I love correction!
The Daddy
1/ What made you choose to come training?
I enjoy rugby and training and wanted to try and improve.
2/ What made you choose not to come training?
Lack of numbers made it boring and didnt find training benifical to what i would like to improve in my game and the teams.
3/ What factors will influance your descision to whether you train during the close season?
Only a holiday i enjoy summer training its are only chance to train as a team and use a whole pitch instead of a 20 by 20 square.
4/ What did you enjoy about training last season?
The more professional aspect to training.
5/ What did you not like?
The same drills being involved in most sessions the lack of team drills and structure as team being brought to training(not your fault andy just lack of players)
6/ What areas would you like me to concentrate on in the close season?
Team work and how we play, least we all know what happens in certain places of the park...Fitness always good also some fun im a fan of that..
7/ How can we recruit new players to the senior squad.
Better lights if i was a outside i wouldn't fancy training twice a week in the winter in a 20 by 20 box for the year. Sign down by the main road advertising the clubs home games like at shelford or even a bigger bold sign..Home games are never advertised enough
8/ When do you want training to restart.
Soon oppsInearlyswore bored would like some fun for a month then start going for it after that
9/ Anything else you would like to raise
Nope i think that will do...
Jimbo
I think your point is well made on number 7 Jakey.
As a stalwart of the club to watch the games, I find it difficult to find when / where we are playing without following a link to some obscure site that normally does not lead me anywhere, and by the time I have not got anywhere, I have lost the will to live.
So what chance does general Joe Public stand for seeing if there is a game on.
Years ago it was fairly well guaranteed that there would be a game up the field on a Saturday, but this is not the case now and I know people have said to me they have gone up, but nothing was happening, so went away.
I would think when we go to the website the first thing we should see is what the senior and junior sections are doing this week in the way of games. That would be a start.
Jim
Bergs
I agree wholeheartedly with the idea of a big board at the end of school lane advertising our games - that could maybe be paid for with some sponsors, and changed each week - would give some much needed visibility to the public, and if we also had a road sign from the bypass, that would be good too.
I tried last season to post every game on the message board, with the squad listed and home or away, but even so, casual viewers to the site looking for a game would probably like it as a banner on the home page.
Both good ideas to increase visibility and profile of the club, and not particularly expensive either.
The Daddy
Just to clear something i didn't mean on my front garden.....
