Quote: milopolly "Well I have to disagree with you about coaching in the past.
I coached throughout the 70's/8O's and early 90's.
I certainly coached how to tackle head on/side on etc.
How to receive and carry the ball, how and when to fend and change ball carrying arm.
How to pass accurately from ground , static and on the run often using a hoop or goal post to hit.
It is not a problem from time immemorial or we would not have produced past legends of the game who had all the skills.'"
It is a problem and always has been but more so now than ever!
Notice I said too many coaches and not all, I know there are some excellent coaches who develop the skills of their players but unfortunately they're the exception and not the rule.
Going back to the 60s 70s and 80s, kids played out and went to any decent sized grassed area to have a game of Rugby, football, cricket or whatever. You had kids of 6yrs playing against kids of 16yrs and they learnt how to catch pass tackle evade etc..
For that reason you still got lads who were amazing players, especially those who also played for Eastmoor or Sharlston or any other community club.
That hardly happens at all today which means the skill set of many (not all) kids at 15 and 16 is nowhere near developed enough.
In one capacity or another, I've been part of and worked in youth rugby since 1975 and the problem has always been there.
