Prodigy Coach Forum

Guru · Pro Joined: 26 Nov 2007 Posts: 50

You can still see even professional scrum halves (let alone other positions) fighting shy of passing off their "weaker" side in contests. I saw it done in a Heineken Cup match just last weekend.

So how can you help guys build up that side of their game without endless hours spent just throwing out pass after pass off the "wrong hand"?

1. Get them to practice visualization. Remember the better "engineer" they are in front of that big video editing console, the better the resulting mind-body interventions.
2. Get their or your own access to a long mirror (or any kind of reflective device). They need to physically see the mirror image of themselves passing off the "good" hand. This will cement the visual anchor for them, because as they look at the mirror image they can see themselves passing really well off what appears to be their weaker side.
3. With that visible "reality" in place you can now get them to visualize passing off the weaker side.
4. Test how good their progress is in reality.
5. "Hard Test" them in practice drills and game situations off the "weaker" side. This will show you their acquired level of confidence in using their improved skills. It will show you how soon they will integrate using the skills in matches.

Their rate of improvement and skill acquisition should improve by at least 15-20%. But confidence might take a little longer!

(There is another enhancement which I have not yet tested out, but I may be able to effect it shortly. This involves sliding anchors to improve the kinaesthetics of the mirror image. I will post as soon as I have some results.)

PW