Sharks assistant coach Grant Bashford, in an interview with the Sharks website, has revealed that the team has been working a lot more on skills over the last two weeks than was the case at a similar stage in last year’s pre-season training program.
In preparing for the 2011 season, the Sharks brains trust devoted all of December 2010 to conditioning work only, with ball skills only being worked on starting in January of this year. While the Sharks didn’t appear to lack conditioning or fitness during this season’s campaigns, though, it would be fair to say that their skills did appear to let them down a little along the way, making this fresh approach a sensible seeming one indeed.
Not that the focus won’t be on conditioning, mind – the coaches have indicate that they’re going to come down very hard on any players who don’t stick to their plans over the Christmas break and I’m pretty sure they all understand the consequences of coming back from their holidays even a few hundred grams (or a few skinfold millimetres) over where they’re supposed to be! Bashford confirmed that there would be ” structures in place to take care of anyone who hasn’t lived up to what they need to do for the coming season. We’re going to take a hard line on that going into the new year,” which is probably every bit as ominous as it sounds.
The Sharks squad was back to its full complement this week, with those players (mostly Springboks) who’ve carried a large workload in 2011 given an extra week off to recover. You can have a look at some great shots of the Sharks at training on the Back Page Sports site over here, but remember that all photographs are copyrighted to Steve Haag and are not to be used without permission.
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“Sharks add skills to pre-season agenda” is like saying “university adds basic anatomy to medical degree curriculum”… 😉
The Marius Joubert picture reminds me of Tintin
Sharks assistant coach Grant Bashford, in an interview with the Sharks website, has revealed that the team has been working a lot more on skills over the last two weeks
Did they send him on a skill coaching course?
@Culling Song (Comment 1) : 100% i would have thought that this is the norm? Im sure it is in New Zealand and Oz. U gotta train with the ball because you play with the ball…u dont need Tim Noakes to teach u that! U can also never be too fit…
I see Jacque Fourie might not return to the Stormers in March and has been offered a lot of money to stay in Japan.
Sorry that you let Sadie go yet?
Adi might just run out for the Stormers next year after all.
@Pokkel (Comment 5) : for R22mil id also grab a bowl of noodles and stay! I wonder if Jean De Jong still remembers how to run out the tunnel instead of just walk to the bench??
Wow, Burden looks like he is in great shape compared to the rest of the guys.
@Bump (Comment 7) : I still think they should have turned Burden into a flank not hooker…hope he works on his basics this offseason.
Nothing will change with the same coaches…unless they have learnt from their skill-teachin mistakes!
@Ice agreed!
The sarcasm is strong with the bloggers this morning.
Skills work should be the norm but I’m still very happy to hear about they’re doing things a little differently from last year.
@Ice (Comment 9) : Perhaps they weren’t focusing too heavily on skills before. We could see the low level of skills displayed by the Sharks in the Currie Cup. I have seen high school boys do the basics better than the Sharks managed to this year.
@Van Martin u are of course right, but I think these reactions are due to this being something that should not have been new! Catching and passing should be non negotiables at this level – how many tries went abegging this season cause the player couldn’t catch a ball or passed it to his mate’s feet 🙁
@Sharksmad – The Blog’s Dudette (Comment 13) : I hear you but no use crying over spilled milk in my opinion. If they’re doing things differently from the past there’s at least a little hope and we can rest assured that the coaches/management aren’t certifiably insane (Rudolph Strauli excluded ofcourse, that guy is all kinds of crazy
).
they can teach those sharks donkeys all the “skills” they want, when push comes to shove in a match situation, these okes will revert to type, i guarantee you.
pdv tried in 2008 to introduce a gameplan that demanded the players to either already have superior skill sets or be willing to learn but what happened is that the “senior” players revolted and insisted on playing to their conservative abilities, 3 years down the line everyone and their gran were moaning that the Boks failed to score in a quarter-final with 60% + possession.
if Hugh Reece-Edwards is still the Sharks skills coach then they’re just pissing about, he is rubbish!
@Megatron (Comment 15) : BINGO!
This is good news, always thought that we weren’t getting maximum value from our preseason training due to our methods. Focusing on just conditioning, not even player or position specific conditioning was always our downfall come Superubgy. Hope this means we are going to play a more expansive ball in hand game.
Proof that some memebers associated to the sharks ( in whatever way) do actually follow this sit because the chorus lamenting the basics from here has been deafining..!! Well done ..rather late than never ( or december than january ).
Proof that some memebers associated to the sharks ( in whatever way) do actually follow this sit because the chorus lamenting the basics from here has been deafening..!! Well done ..rather late than never ( or december than january ).
This may explain why, in past seasons, the Sharks have appeared so inept in the skills department for the 1st few games of the tournament – remember the “humidity” excuses of the past? This astonishing admission by the Sharks coaching staff puts it all into perspective…
As a simple fan and a complete coaching “lay person” I would have thought it obvious that the team focus on both skills AND conditioning (AND other areas such as tactics, strategy, etc) BEFORE the start of the competition… How silly I was to think that!
Anywhooo. With the same coaching staff involved – the same staff who have seen the Sharks put in mediocre returns of 6th, 9th and 6th in the last 3 consecutive Super rugby seasons – I won’t be holding my breath for anything to change too soon.
Sorry to be the harbinger of doom but I am sick and tired of thinking each new season will be different. The Sharks are stuffing around in doing a good job of being mediocre, and seem happy doing it.
@Megatron (Comment 15) :
@GreatSharksays (Comment 17) :
You right. In todays Daily News article by Craig Lewis, Bashford says: “these guys have been around the block and played at a high level – most of them are Springboks – so they will have a say in what we do and how we do it”
This quote just scares me!!
Wow. Skills coaching. What a newfangled idea. Real revolutionary stuff. 🙄
@Megatron (Comment 15) :
Trying to find a reason to dispute this post… Give me a few months.
I will be happy when I see a headline, “Sharks add REAL CENTERS to their pre-season agendas”… 🙄
LMAO I find the picture of Plum on the golf cart surprisingly amuzing… 😆
Or a backline and skills coach would also make for a nice addition.
@SheldonK: comment8 :interesting comment you make there.
Wonder how mjekevu and newman are shaping ?
I wonder how this skills coaching is going?