Development of coloured coaching

Dave’s colour coded coaching aids were developed after observing numerous sports, such as cricket, netball, basketball and rugby league over a period of years. Concepts from these sports have been developed for rugby union and these aids are a result of that adaptation.

In the initial stages the system was used to promote the development of vision and decision making in players, with coloured balls used as a visual cue for an athlete to perform a certain task previously determined by the coach. As the system was put through its paces, an interesting by-product was the fact that the use of colours opened up a new level of communication with the players involved. Often a difficult skill to teach, communication comes naturally to the players as they identify a ball and its related activity by its colour.

The introduction of the coloured cards promotes scanning skills, broadening the vision of the players and allowing them to make decisions more realistic to their sporting environment.

In keeping with the theme of teaching progression, the coloured bibs are introduced to build on the previous stages. They bring more intensity and realism to ensure that all decisions are made in a match like situation - however still under the masterful control of the coach.

Coloured cones heighten the options of the earlier stages and also allow the coach to adapt their own scenarios covering other aspects of their sport.

The use of the coloured coaching system has been proven by Dave at the International Rugby Academy Player and Coaching courses and is now used throughout the rugby world by many top level and club coaches.