Coaching and skill profiles of mini-rugby coaches and players in the Western Cape, South Africa

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT : The optimal development of mini-rugby players demands a substantiated, ageappropriatetraining programme, as well as good quality coaching and astructured methodology. However, due to a lack of qualified, experienced rugbycoaches in the Western Cape Province primary schools, South Africa, thecoaching of mini-rugby is often lacking and neglected. The first objective of thisstudy was to compile a profile of mini-rugby coaches in the Western CapeProvince, South Africa with the aim of establishing the coaches' experience inplaying and coaching rugby, their coaching education and training, and theirfeelings of efficacy in terms of developing mini-rugby players. The secondobjective was to determine the effect of a skills intervention programme on theskill level of mini-rugby players with the purpose of investigating the impact of anorganised and substantiated practice plan on the skill development of players.This thesis followed a research article format. Article one will address thefirst objective of the study. The first major finding of this study was that themajority of coaches (51%) did not have any form of rugby coaching qualification.When this number was combined with the number of coaches who only had aWorld Rugby level one qualification, which does not require any assessment, itshowed that a disturbing 84% of the coaches either did not have any form ofcoaching training or were not assessed on their knowledge of, or their ability tocoach rugby. Furthermore, a significant number of the coaches did not feelefficacious in their coaching (23%) and did not believe that they were optimallydeveloping the skills of the players (29%). The findings highlight an unfavourablesituation where untrained and inexperienced individuals coach mini-rugby, whichhas important practical implications for rugby administrators, developers ofcoaching education courses, players, as well as the game itself.Article two addressed the second objective of the study. The experimentalgroup, when compared to the control group, showed significant improvements(p<0.05) in five of the six skills (e.g. passing, catching, picking up the ball, tacklingand taking the ball into contact). Although the control group improved in three ofthe skills, the improvements were not significant (p>0.05). Considering theresults, it can be concluded that the specific skills intervention programmesignificantly enhanced the skill level of the mini-rugby players. Furthermore, the study highlighted the importance of appropriate coach education and training, aswell as the value of a well-structured and substantiated training programme in thequest for players' skill development.By investigating the coaching and skill profiles of mini-rugby coaches andplayers respectively, coaches and other relevant role players will be able to makemore informed decisions regarding the coaching of mini-rugby and thedevelopment of mini-rugby players. An obvious recommendation would be thatall coaches must be educated and trained to coach rugby and that a coachingeducation course designed specifically for mini-rugby will aid in preparingindividuals to successfully coach mini-rugby and raising their confidence to do so.Another recommendation would be that all practice plans need to be wellstructuredto incorporate age-appropriate activities, suitable progressions, as wellas the element of play and fun.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University