Check out this video about the New Zealand All-Blacks scrum coach, Mike Cron. Good video and great site. Check out other videos while you are there.
Click here for the video
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
New Referee Grades Announced
Below is a newsletter sent out from the national office that you have all probably seen if not, you need to make sure your CIPP reflects your status as a referee! Let me take a moment to help you understand better what this means to us in the Midwest. I will start by going through the announcement:
Local referee grades are now "L" followed by a number. L3, 2, and 1 correspond to C3, 2 and 1. L4 is recommended as the terminology for a beginning, unrated, referee.
This is the first noticeable change that starts 1 January. Our beginning referees will now be designated as L4 and rise up through to L1 the old D and up through C1]. The conversion factor is straightforward, and if you were a C2 last year, you are an L2 this coming year. This should not be too confusing and is a change in naming only.
There is a single territorial grade known as T. All current B3, 2 and 1 referees will be members of the T Panel as of the New Year. At the USA level are the National Focus Group, National Panel, and International Panel. The performance criteria for earning L1 and T were made slightly more difficult than the corresponding criteria for C1 and B3 in the old system, by moving some of the Elements down a notch. However, any reports written through the end of 2009 showing above-grade performance for a C2 or C1 referee by the old criteria will still be considered valid as above-grade reports towards promotion in the new system for L2 or L1 referees.
The impetus behind this change arose at the budget meeting of the R&L last July. The requirements for getting promoted through the B grades were essentially impossible to fulfill at the local and territorial level: the requisite-level games were all national appointments. You almost had to somehow earn national panel status in order to be assigned the games necessary to earn national panel status. Mike Cobb led a working group comprising Don Morrison, Peter Watson and Tom Coburn that considered the ramifications and developed the procedures for implementing such a system.
Merging the territorial grades increases opportunities: it allows any T panel referee to show above-average performances on games that are available to be assigned territorially. The T Panel is now a college in which you don't automatically move up, but neither do you have to spend a minimum number of years there. High scores on a series of reports will bring you national appointments and opportunities for graduate work. Territories are of course free to rank-order their Panelists if they wish, based on the scores achieved on Evaluations. These rankings may be public or not, and ways may be found to acknowledge and commemorate landmark appointments that constitute advancement within the Panel.
Impact to the Midwest B panel referees will be that they ALL will now be considered “T panel referees”. There will be a transition for making assignments…. In the past, higher level matches were usually given to B panels based on their B level: B1 highest level matches, B2 next highest, etc. This will eventually change to assignments that will be made based on the history of evaluation scores. The concept is to transition to an assignment process based on performance and not based on longevity at a particular level. As mentioned above, it may be a bit harder to get into the T panel, but once in, getting matches at the higher levels will not depend on making it up through three levels of B panels, with ‘required’ longevity at any particular level. Assignments will be based on performance and consistency of performance over time regardless of past performances or how long you have been a T panel referee. Over the next several seasons, as we get more and more evaluation scores based on the new element definitions, we will be able to transition into such a performance based assignment system.
One more change was implemented to avoid confusion over the term 'L2'. Until now we have had Level 1 and Level 2 reports written on referee performance. The old Level 1 reports are now called Coaching Reports and the old Level 2s are now simply Evaluations.
This should be self explanatory; let me know if you don’t understand the difference between a Coaching Report [no score] and an Evaluation [scored].
Local referee grades are now "L" followed by a number. L3, 2, and 1 correspond to C3, 2 and 1. L4 is recommended as the terminology for a beginning, unrated, referee.
This is the first noticeable change that starts 1 January. Our beginning referees will now be designated as L4 and rise up through to L1 the old D and up through C1]. The conversion factor is straightforward, and if you were a C2 last year, you are an L2 this coming year. This should not be too confusing and is a change in naming only.
There is a single territorial grade known as T. All current B3, 2 and 1 referees will be members of the T Panel as of the New Year. At the USA level are the National Focus Group, National Panel, and International Panel. The performance criteria for earning L1 and T were made slightly more difficult than the corresponding criteria for C1 and B3 in the old system, by moving some of the Elements down a notch. However, any reports written through the end of 2009 showing above-grade performance for a C2 or C1 referee by the old criteria will still be considered valid as above-grade reports towards promotion in the new system for L2 or L1 referees.
The impetus behind this change arose at the budget meeting of the R&L last July. The requirements for getting promoted through the B grades were essentially impossible to fulfill at the local and territorial level: the requisite-level games were all national appointments. You almost had to somehow earn national panel status in order to be assigned the games necessary to earn national panel status. Mike Cobb led a working group comprising Don Morrison, Peter Watson and Tom Coburn that considered the ramifications and developed the procedures for implementing such a system.
Merging the territorial grades increases opportunities: it allows any T panel referee to show above-average performances on games that are available to be assigned territorially. The T Panel is now a college in which you don't automatically move up, but neither do you have to spend a minimum number of years there. High scores on a series of reports will bring you national appointments and opportunities for graduate work. Territories are of course free to rank-order their Panelists if they wish, based on the scores achieved on Evaluations. These rankings may be public or not, and ways may be found to acknowledge and commemorate landmark appointments that constitute advancement within the Panel.
Impact to the Midwest B panel referees will be that they ALL will now be considered “T panel referees”. There will be a transition for making assignments…. In the past, higher level matches were usually given to B panels based on their B level: B1 highest level matches, B2 next highest, etc. This will eventually change to assignments that will be made based on the history of evaluation scores. The concept is to transition to an assignment process based on performance and not based on longevity at a particular level. As mentioned above, it may be a bit harder to get into the T panel, but once in, getting matches at the higher levels will not depend on making it up through three levels of B panels, with ‘required’ longevity at any particular level. Assignments will be based on performance and consistency of performance over time regardless of past performances or how long you have been a T panel referee. Over the next several seasons, as we get more and more evaluation scores based on the new element definitions, we will be able to transition into such a performance based assignment system.
One more change was implemented to avoid confusion over the term 'L2'. Until now we have had Level 1 and Level 2 reports written on referee performance. The old Level 1 reports are now called Coaching Reports and the old Level 2s are now simply Evaluations.
This should be self explanatory; let me know if you don’t understand the difference between a Coaching Report [no score] and an Evaluation [scored].
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Invictus Outing Pictures
Here are all the submissions for the Invictus Outing Contest. Congrats to the Cleveland Rovers for winning the contest! They will receive 10 balls from WorldRugbyShop.com and be featured in the upcoming WRS magazine.
Cleveland Rovers Rugby Club
Xavier University Rugby Team
Wittenberg Men and Women's Rugby Teams
Wright State University Rugby Team
Indian Springs Jets High School Rugby Team
Westerville Worms Rugby Team
Cleveland Rovers Rugby Club
Xavier University Rugby Team
Wittenberg Men and Women's Rugby Teams
Wright State University Rugby Team
Indian Springs Jets High School Rugby Team
Westerville Worms Rugby TeamThursday, December 17, 2009
Why the Need for Coaching Education?
This is an article from the OHSAA.
Why the Need for Coaching Education?
What makes the interscholastic sports program unique from all other levels of sports is that
it seeks, above all else, to be a part of the educational experience for its participants.
While the performance of any sports team depends on well designed plays, the structure of
educational athletics demands that our young people not only hone their athletic skills, but that
they also develop the tools educational athletics provide: skills like hard work, team work,
ethics, integrity, respect, sporting behavior, citizenship and critical thinking skills — tools that
will serve our participants in the next level of their lives.
We need to remember who we are, what we are and why we play the games. We’re educational
athletics, not big-time event promoters. We’re the builders of tomorrow’s community
leaders, not farm clubs for college and professional teams. We’re an after-school activity, not
intended to be a year-round endeavor. Our programs should allow “kids to be kids.” There is
nothing wrong with striving to be the best. But we must seek to develop all the students who
want to participate to be their best — their best as individuals, as students, as teammates, as
members of the communities — and not just their best as athletes. No one individual figures larger in this equation than the coach, and the closest link to the student-athlete is the teacher-coach.
The teacher-coach, whether or not a school faculty member, is the ultimate delivery system
of the real message and meaning of high school sports to young people. It is critical that
teacher-coaches have the correct philosophical approach to educational athletics instilled in
them first, or the only message the kids will hear will be about Xs and Os, wins and losses and
playing at the so-called “next level.” It is also critical that teacher-coaches have an approach to
the game that is philosophically in step with the mission of school sports and that they believe
educating young people comes ahead of wins and losses. Additionally, teacher-coaches must
serve as role models and not engage in unsporting behavior toward someone on the other team
or an official, and they must remember they are educators every time they go to practice or a
game.
Teacher-coaches make the difference in school sports. They affect young lives in a way no
one else can. They can be the strongest part of our extracurricular activities if they do everything every day in every way to teach our young men and women what’s truly important about interscholastic athletics.
The teacher-coach with the correct philosophical approach to school sports is the coach
who seeks to develop each participant’s character — to be their best as a person first, a student
second and an athlete third. These are the coaches who are long remembered by their former
players — from those who were the stars to those who barely remember the final scores of their
games — as the ones who had the most influence on their personal growth. In other words,
they’ll remember the relationships and the life lessons learned, not the championships.
Developing the teacher-coach and ensuring that our high school sports programs remain
unique from all other levels of sports is a huge challenge in today’s day and age. That is why the
time is right for Ohio to require that its coaches take the National Federation of State High
School Associations’ Fundamentals of Coaching course. The course will ensure that our
teacher-coaches are delivering the right message about school sports and that our participants
are receiving that message in order to continue interscholastic athletic programs as we know
them in the future.
The privilege of participating in educational athletics should be one of the most exciting
experiences of young people’s lives. It is imperative, then, that teacher-coaches be given the
proper tools to work with their student-athletes since they are the single most important person
in determining the experiences our young people receive.
Why the Need for Coaching Education?
What makes the interscholastic sports program unique from all other levels of sports is that
it seeks, above all else, to be a part of the educational experience for its participants.
While the performance of any sports team depends on well designed plays, the structure of
educational athletics demands that our young people not only hone their athletic skills, but that
they also develop the tools educational athletics provide: skills like hard work, team work,
ethics, integrity, respect, sporting behavior, citizenship and critical thinking skills — tools that
will serve our participants in the next level of their lives.
We need to remember who we are, what we are and why we play the games. We’re educational
athletics, not big-time event promoters. We’re the builders of tomorrow’s community
leaders, not farm clubs for college and professional teams. We’re an after-school activity, not
intended to be a year-round endeavor. Our programs should allow “kids to be kids.” There is
nothing wrong with striving to be the best. But we must seek to develop all the students who
want to participate to be their best — their best as individuals, as students, as teammates, as
members of the communities — and not just their best as athletes. No one individual figures larger in this equation than the coach, and the closest link to the student-athlete is the teacher-coach.
The teacher-coach, whether or not a school faculty member, is the ultimate delivery system
of the real message and meaning of high school sports to young people. It is critical that
teacher-coaches have the correct philosophical approach to educational athletics instilled in
them first, or the only message the kids will hear will be about Xs and Os, wins and losses and
playing at the so-called “next level.” It is also critical that teacher-coaches have an approach to
the game that is philosophically in step with the mission of school sports and that they believe
educating young people comes ahead of wins and losses. Additionally, teacher-coaches must
serve as role models and not engage in unsporting behavior toward someone on the other team
or an official, and they must remember they are educators every time they go to practice or a
game.
Teacher-coaches make the difference in school sports. They affect young lives in a way no
one else can. They can be the strongest part of our extracurricular activities if they do everything every day in every way to teach our young men and women what’s truly important about interscholastic athletics.
The teacher-coach with the correct philosophical approach to school sports is the coach
who seeks to develop each participant’s character — to be their best as a person first, a student
second and an athlete third. These are the coaches who are long remembered by their former
players — from those who were the stars to those who barely remember the final scores of their
games — as the ones who had the most influence on their personal growth. In other words,
they’ll remember the relationships and the life lessons learned, not the championships.
Developing the teacher-coach and ensuring that our high school sports programs remain
unique from all other levels of sports is a huge challenge in today’s day and age. That is why the
time is right for Ohio to require that its coaches take the National Federation of State High
School Associations’ Fundamentals of Coaching course. The course will ensure that our
teacher-coaches are delivering the right message about school sports and that our participants
are receiving that message in order to continue interscholastic athletic programs as we know
them in the future.
The privilege of participating in educational athletics should be one of the most exciting
experiences of young people’s lives. It is imperative, then, that teacher-coaches be given the
proper tools to work with their student-athletes since they are the single most important person
in determining the experiences our young people receive.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
National Youth Conference Underway
The National Youth Conference on the Game is underway and spreading some great information. The conference serves to review the past year, look to the coming year(s) and distribute some of the new items from USA Rugby. It is also a great opportunity to share information with other organizations.
Indiana, Colorado, California, Virginia and Oregon are all in a position of full time staff and professional youth organizations. These groups are taking huge leaps forward, much like Ohio, to grow the game, make it more consistent and safe and put a new, fresh face on the sport of rugby.
Much of the information from this conference will be available at the state meeting on January 24th in Columbus.
Indiana, Colorado, California, Virginia and Oregon are all in a position of full time staff and professional youth organizations. These groups are taking huge leaps forward, much like Ohio, to grow the game, make it more consistent and safe and put a new, fresh face on the sport of rugby.
Much of the information from this conference will be available at the state meeting on January 24th in Columbus.
An amazing Rugby Story
Check out this video. It is Hyde Rugby in Washington, DC playing rugby with a deaf school. An amazing story.
Click here for the video
Click here for the video
Monday, December 7, 2009
Invictus Movie is exactly what we need!!!
I had the privilege of seeing a pre-screening of the Invictus movie tonight. In addition to great stars and a good story line, the movie really did showcase rugby. Nearly the entire second half is all rugby!
HOW YOU CAN HELP:
I brought a ball with me and immediately after the movie people were asking all kinds of questions. Make sure you wear a jersey and bring a ball when you go see this movie and people will approach you. When they ask questions make sure you finish up your conversation with a point of access for them; i.e. 'Our website is www.xyz.com' or 'there are all ages of rugby being played in the area, check it out'. Make sure you drive them to a rugby source and get them involved.
I was at the theater about 20 minutes after the movie let out just chatting with interested people!
Keep it positive, highlight the good parts, give them an access point for the game and share your passion with the viewing public. This movie will bring people to our sport!!!!!!!!!
HOW YOU CAN HELP:
I brought a ball with me and immediately after the movie people were asking all kinds of questions. Make sure you wear a jersey and bring a ball when you go see this movie and people will approach you. When they ask questions make sure you finish up your conversation with a point of access for them; i.e. 'Our website is www.xyz.com' or 'there are all ages of rugby being played in the area, check it out'. Make sure you drive them to a rugby source and get them involved.
I was at the theater about 20 minutes after the movie let out just chatting with interested people!
Keep it positive, highlight the good parts, give them an access point for the game and share your passion with the viewing public. This movie will bring people to our sport!!!!!!!!!
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Successful Conference Adds Rookie Rugby to Schools
I attended a conference this past week that brought together hundreds of PE teachers, health professionals, professors of College Education programs, and many others. The Ohio Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance hosted their conference at the Columbus Convention center December 3 and 4.
Immediately upon showing up on the first day, it was evident this even would produce many leads. Rugby was definitely the new kid on the block and many teachers and attendees wanted to know more about us.
We had 70 teaches sign up to bring rugby into their PE programs!!! These teachers were interested in bringing a new, fun and fast paced game to their PE classes. They are always looking for new ways to engage the kids and found Rookie Rugby as a great option for them.
In addition to teacher, I met with the professors from many Ohio Universities and colleges. They are interested in teaching rugby as part of educating the next generations of PE teachers!
After two long days, it was clear the benefits of being part of the main stream education systems. I was really impressed by some of the organizations who are out there 'doing it right' already, such as USA Tennis and Speed Stacks (the cup stacking organization). I learned a great deal from these other groups and how they engage the teachers, kids and public.
Immediately upon showing up on the first day, it was evident this even would produce many leads. Rugby was definitely the new kid on the block and many teachers and attendees wanted to know more about us.
We had 70 teaches sign up to bring rugby into their PE programs!!! These teachers were interested in bringing a new, fun and fast paced game to their PE classes. They are always looking for new ways to engage the kids and found Rookie Rugby as a great option for them.
In addition to teacher, I met with the professors from many Ohio Universities and colleges. They are interested in teaching rugby as part of educating the next generations of PE teachers!
After two long days, it was clear the benefits of being part of the main stream education systems. I was really impressed by some of the organizations who are out there 'doing it right' already, such as USA Tennis and Speed Stacks (the cup stacking organization). I learned a great deal from these other groups and how they engage the teachers, kids and public.
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Great new Podcast about USA Rugby
Click Here to go to Ruggamatrix, the new podcast about rugby in the USA and internationally. Interesting stuff!
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
IRB new online Strength & Conditioning resource
FROM THE IRB STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING DEPARTMENT:
Click here for the IRB site
Dear colleague,
We are delighted to announce that the IRB Strength and Conditioning web site is now fully available to you once you have completed the Rugby Ready online test.
On this site, you will learn about the basics of Health and Safety, Exercise Instruction, Gymnasium Induction & Environment and via our online learning system you can start on the pathway to achieving Strength and Conditioning accreditation, as recognized by the IRB.
This exciting format connects basic exercises to the dynamics of the Game. The learning process uses the written word along with video demonstration and real time international game footage, as shown opposite and below.
Modular additions will logically be provided on a quarterly basis followed by the Level 2 qualification in September 2010.
I wish you well in your coaching,
Mark Harrington
Click here for the IRB site
Dear colleague,
We are delighted to announce that the IRB Strength and Conditioning web site is now fully available to you once you have completed the Rugby Ready online test.
On this site, you will learn about the basics of Health and Safety, Exercise Instruction, Gymnasium Induction & Environment and via our online learning system you can start on the pathway to achieving Strength and Conditioning accreditation, as recognized by the IRB.
This exciting format connects basic exercises to the dynamics of the Game. The learning process uses the written word along with video demonstration and real time international game footage, as shown opposite and below.
Modular additions will logically be provided on a quarterly basis followed by the Level 2 qualification in September 2010.
I wish you well in your coaching,
Mark Harrington
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