Rugby Coach Weekly Dan Cottrell

In this short podcast, Dan speaks to Gary Townsend, head of rugby at Switch Rugby with a focus on developing young players, coaches and clubs. He is former RFU National Player Development Manager and Bristol Bears Junior Academy manager.They discuss how you make a U12 player more skilful and what that might look like in training.To find out more about this podcast and many others, go to Rugby Coach WeeklyAlso, tap into the library of 4,000 pages of activities, advice, tactics and t...

Welcome to the coaching knife when we cut to the root of the matter. In this episode, we speak to Callum Adam, Currie RFC Senior Mens Assistant Coach and Edinburgh University Women’s 2nd XV Head Coach.Focusing on defence we are going to cut to the root on what comes first, tackling or defenceAs well as coaching with Currie Mens and the Edinburgh Uni women, Callum has coached with the Scottish Rugby Union with their age grade development teams, plus a stint at Dundee RFC.His philosophy: To mak...

Dan welcomes Dr Kimberly Berens, founder of Fit Learning and CEO of Fit Learning Online and author of Blind Spots: Why Students Fail and the Science That Can Save Them.Fit Learning is a powerful system of instruction based in behavioural science and the Technology of Teaching, and it aims to transform the learning abilities of children, which it does in the US, Canada, Europe and Australia.To find out more about Fit Learning, go to: http://fitlearningonline.com/In the podcast, they disc...

Dan quizzes the Myths of Sports Coaching editors around how we deal with some of the muddling thinking coaches believe is true.Dr Amy Whitehead is an Associate Professor at Liverpool John Moores University, and Jenny Coe is the Performance Well-Being Lead for the Women's Professional Game at the FA.Their first edition was so good that they’ve been persuaded to do a second edition, which will be out in the autumn. In the book, they invited experts to delve into myths about learning styles, del...

Dan chats to Telegraph sports journalist Fi Tomas about where women’s rugby needs to go next. Fi has worked on the paper since 2019, was number 11 on 2023 BBC Women's Hour Power List and recently nominated for the 2023 British Sports Journalism women’s category. She is a keen advocate for a stronger voice in female sports.In the podcast, they look at:Why women want to play rugbyThe hurdles facing women in sportHow the media portrays women in sportWhat needs to be addressed in terms of la...

Ralph Knibbs, Head of Human Resources at UK Athletics and a Bristol rugby legend, chats with Samba Ceesay, Broad Plain RFC’s captain.In an extraordinary podcast, Ralph first describes his journey as a black player from a non-traditional rugby background, why he turned down playing for England twice and how his children made him more self-aware about being a role model.He then asks Samba about his journey. Coming to rugby late, Samba talks about how Broad Plain stood up for him, allowed him to...