Rugby drills at home for 18 year olds

At a glance

At 18

48 rugby drills the app opens for an 18 year old work at home, across 6 skills.

How long

One home session of about 50 minutes; SSTracker never plans more than 75 minutes for an 18 year old.

How often

At most 5 training days a week, with rest days between. Organized sport in all: no more hours a week than the child's age (NATA), so at most 18 hours for an 18 year old, with two rest days a week.

What you need

Most used: cones (30 of the 48 drills), rugby ball (26), mat or soft ground (3), tag belts (3), mat or grass (2), agility ladder or chalk lines (1), gentle hill or slope (1), goal posts (1). 2 drills need nothing but space. 13 are for two, and a parent can be the partner.

Safe at home

One child and one parent in a room, garage or yard. Never tackling, contact, diving or head-first falls, no stunts or loaded lifting, and nothing that needs a coach, rink, pool or court. Stop when anything hurts.

48 at-home drills

Rugby drills for 18 year olds to do at home

Every drill below is one the app opens for an 18 year old and one that works at home: a room, garage or yard, one parent as the partner, no venue. Each drill's page has the steps, a diagram where the setup can be drawn, three ways to make it a game and a log to print.

breakdown

Breakdown

• Low Body Height HoldsAges 14 and up · 8 min
• Safe Falling and RollingAges 7 and up · 8 min
• Pick and Go at Walking PaceAges 14 and up · 10 min

catch & pass

Catch & Pass

• Passing on the Run in PairsAges 11 and up · 10 min
• Family Passing CircleAges 7 and up · 8 min
• Hands Up Target CatchAges 7 and up · 8 min

evasion

Evasion

• Change of Pace BreakAges 14 and up · 12 min
• Footwork in a CrowdAges 14 and up · 12 min
• Goose Step RunAges 11 and up · 10 min

kicking

Kicking

• Family Kick and CatchAges 7 and up · 10 min
• Grubber Along the GroundAges 7 and up · 10 min
• Knock Down the ConesAges 7 and up · 10 min

safe tackling

Safe Tackling

• Neck and Core HoldsAges 7 and up · 8 min
• Tackle Shape on Your KneesAges 14 and up · 8 min
• Shadow Tackle FootworkAges 14 and up · 10 min

A 48-minute session

A home rugby session for an 18 year old

A warm-up, 3 drills and a cool-down, 48 minutes in all. Do it up to 5 days a week, with rest days between.

1. 1Rugby Warm-Up, Ages 14 and UpA 12-minute moving warm-up for rugby players 14 and up: moving stretches, strength, single-leg control, cuts and build-up runs, then rugby moves at practice speed.12 min
2. 2Safe Falling and RollingChin tucked, roll round.8 min
3. 3Punt Drop and StrikeDrop it, do not throw it.10 min
4. 4Grubber Along the GroundKnee over, strike the top.10 min
5. 5Rugby Cool-Down Stretches, Ages 14 and UpA 8-minute cool-down for rugby players 14 and up after training: stretches for the legs, hips, shoulders and inner thighs, each held 20 to 30 seconds, never to pain.8 min

At 18

What changes in rugby training at 18

The app opens the same 48 at-home drills at 18 as at 17; the ones below are a different selection from that list.

Organized sport in all: no more hours a week than the child's age (NATA), so at most 18 hours for an 18 year old, with two rest days a week.

The week

Fitting rugby into a week at 18

At 18 the limit is 18 hours of organized sport a week. If you count home sessions against it to be safe, 5 sessions of 50 minutes is 4.17 hours, which leaves 13.83 for team practice and games. Even 5 days at the app's longest, 75 minutes, is 6.25 hours.

The research behind it

• Ages 13 to 15 are the "specializing years", after the sampling years of 6 to 12.

  Côté and Vierimaa 2014

• Organized sport should total no more hours a week than the child's age in years, with two rest days a week.

  NATA youth sport specialization recommendations

Questions and answers