About

 

Open to all primary school boys aged U12 and U13 to attend a skills development clinic held at Northwood School, over a two week period. The Clinic will run in the afternoons from 16h00pm – 17h30 each afternoon on the Lower Campus field and in our video Analysis Room.

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As a schools coach now for 13 years and about to study a degree in Psychology, there is one area I am very passionate about and that is in the area of EQ (Emotional Intelligence). I have witnessed some atrocious behaviour over the years from primary school through to Test rugby where players and even coaches are unable to manage their emotions in times of adversity which has had negative results for individuals and teams. The skill of recognising and controlling ones emotions during these challenges is vital in order to maintain personal and team discipline. For most people, emotional intelligence (EQ) is more important than one’s intelligence (IQ) in attaining success in their lives and careers. As individuals our success and the success of the profession today depends on our ability to read other people’s signals and react appropriately to them. Rugby is a team sport and as such, we are working with people all the time and occasionally like a tour or camp, we share intimate space with them, this is where EQ skills are vital so that a camp or tour doesn’t end up becoming a prison riot. Therefore, each one of us must develop the mature emotional intelligence skills required to better understand, empathize and negotiate with other people. Otherwise, success will elude us in our lives and careers. A players EQ is the level of his/her ability to understand other people, what motivates them and how to work cooperatively with them.

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Theses 5 Key Principles of EQ will be briefly introduced and discussed on the course:

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Self-awareness

The ability to recognize an emotion as it “happens” is the key to your EQ. Developing self-awareness requires tuning in to your true feelings. If you evaluate your emotions, you can manage them.

 

The major elements of self-awareness are:

• Emotional awareness. Your ability to recognize your own emotions and their effects.

• Self-confidence. Sureness about your self-worth and capabilities.

 

Self-regulation 

You often have little control over when you experience emotions. You can, however, have some say in how long an emotion will last by using a number of techniques to alleviate negative emotions such as anger, anxiety or depression.

 

Self-regulation involves things like:

• Self-control. Managing disruptive impulses.

• Trustworthiness. Maintaining standards of honesty and integrity.

• Conscientiousness. Taking responsibility for your own performance.

• Adaptability. Handling change with flexibility.

• Innovation. Being open to new ideas.

 

Motivation

To motivate yourself for any achievement requires clear goals and a positive attitude. Although you may have a predisposition to either a positive or a negative attitude, you can with effort and practice learn to think more positively. If you catch negative thoughts as they occur, you can reframe them in more positive terms — which will help you achieve your goals.

 

Motivation is made up of:

• Achievement drive. Your constant drive to improve or to meet a standard of excellence.

• Commitment. Aligning with the goals of the team or unit in the team.

• Initiative. Readying yourself to act on opportunities.

• Optimism. Pursuing goals persistently despite obstacles and setbacks.

 

Empathy

The ability to recognize how people feel is important to success in your life and career. The more skillful you are at discerning the feelings behind others’ signals the better you can control the signals you send them.

 

An empathetic person excels at:

• Service orientation. Anticipating, recognizing and meeting the needs of teammates.

• Developing others. Sensing what others need to progress and bolstering their abilities.

• Leveraging diversity. Cultivating opportunities through diverse people.

• Political awareness. Reading a team’s emotional currents and power relationships.

• Understanding others. Discerning the feelings behind the needs and wants of others.

 

Social skills 

The development of good interpersonal skills is tantamount to success in your life and career. In today’s always-connected world, everyone has immediate access to technical knowledge. Thus, “people skills” are even more important now because you must possess a high EQ to better understand, empathize and negotiate with others.

 

Among the most useful skills are:

• Influence. Wielding effective persuasion tactics.

• Communication. Sending clear messages.

• Leadership. Inspiring and guiding groups and people.

• Change catalyst. Initiating or managing change.

• Conflict management. Understanding, negotiating and resolving disagreements.

• Building bonds. Nurturing instrumental relationships.

• Collaboration and cooperation. Working with others toward shared goals.

• Team capabilities. Creating group synergy in pursuing collective goals.

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Attack Module:

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Monday

• Communication

• Rugby language

• Eye-hand Co-ordination

• Catching a rugby ball

• Passing a rugby ball

• Running with a rugby ball

• Running in support of a ball carrier

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Tuesday

• Evasion

• The Side-Step

• The Swerve

• The Fend

• Fixing a defender

• Before-Contact Skills

• In-Contact Skills

 

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Defence Module

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Wednesday

• Defensive Communication

• Tackling Confidence, Courage and Trust

• Defensive Line-Speed

• Roles around the ruck/breakdown

• Tackle tracking

• Foot-in-the-hoop principle

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Thursday

• Tackling with left and right shoulder

• Defensive foot work

• Front-on tackle

• Side-on tackle

• “Chop-Choke” tackle

• “Jam” tackle

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