Under 11/13 – Dive Pass and More

Under 11/13 – Dive Pass / Off the Ground Pass / Falling on the Ball

DIVE PASS
The dive pass is used when the passer is in a congested area and needs to clear the ball from a position where the ball has gone loose and the passer needs to move towards it.
Importantly the dive pass puts the passer momentarily out of the game so they must regain their feet as quickly as possible.

Key Factors

1. Move towards the ball using short steps to get in to balance near the ball.
2. The player is normally approaching from the opposite side of the direction they are going to pass.
3. Lean forward in a crouch with bent knees; head over the ball; weight leaning forward; one foot near the ball & the other preparing to drive the body forward.
4. Reach down and get the hands down the sides of the ball with the strong hand reaching further under the ball.
5. Drive forward off the back leg and propel the arms forward as you dive out of the congested area.
6. Flick the wrist of the strong hand and propel the ball to the target area starting with the point of the ball aiming at the target.
7. Point the fingers at the target before using the hands to soften the landing.
8. Get up quickly.

ACTIVITIES
1-Practice the Skill
Walk and talk the skills in pairs. Each pair has a ball.
Make sure the players understand the situations when this pass might be used. Loose ball in general play; at the back of a ruck.
Build up the intensity by rolling the ball loose and the player having to run to it to make the pass.
Set up a grid and ask each player to make 5 dive passes one after another as a player rolls the balls out and the passer must get up and quickly move to the next ball.

2-Dive Passing Under Pressure
Like the grid activity above but add some players attacking the ball.
Roll the ball which the passer will head towards ready to make the dive pass.
Immediately afterwards one or two players from a couple of metres away attack the ball ready to dive on it themselves.
The pass must be made before they get their hands on the ball.
Set up a grid where the passer must make a sequence of five passes under pressure.

PASSING OFF THE GROUND
This pass is mainly used by a halfback at the back of a scrum or a ruck but every player should have the skill so that they can make this pass to keep the momentum of an attack going forward.

Key Factors

1. Move towards the ball on the ground using short steps so that you are in balance.
2. Get in to a crouched position by bending at the knees, leaning forward with head and eyes aiming towards the ball and starting to reach with the arms towards the ball.
3. If passing to the left the right foot reaches out and lands just alongside the ball close to the left end of the ball.
4. Then bend over that knee and reach for the ball with the right hand reaching to the far side and wrapping as far round the ball as possible. The left hand will be down the close side of the ball nearer the left end ready to provide balance and direction.
5. Stay down over the right knee and take a large step towards the person receiving the ball with the left leg. Point the left foot at the target which requires the hip to be opened up.
6. Propel the arms in a straight line towards the target, staying down low and passing across a bent left knee.
7. Point the end of the ball at the target and provide the spiral of the pass by twisting the wrist on the right hand.
8. Point the fingers at the target and make sure the arms are in a direct line towards the target.
9. Quickly follow the ball in to a support position.
10. If it is a close pass with a player sweeping the ball up to the runner, then the skill set is the same apart from the arm and hand action where for this pass the hands get under the ball and a sweeping action of the arms takes place. There will not be a big step towards the receiver as the arms will do the work. The feet need to be far enough apart to be in balance should the player passing need to take contact.

ACTIVITIES
1&2- Same as the Dive Pass

3-Working Both Hands
Groups of 3 with as many balls as possible for each group.
Player 1 rolls the ball slowly a short distance to player 2 who is the halfback.
Player 2 makes as many passes as balls available to player 3 who can be static or running on to the ball.
Then change the direction of the pass with player 3 receiving on the opposite side.
(One direction will quite often need a lot more work)
Swap positions so that each player has a turn at passing both ways.

4-Passing from a Congested Area
Quite often the player operating in the halfback position will have to pull the ball out of a static ruck or move backwards slightly to free themselves of feet and bodies before making the pass. Try this activity.
Place a ball inside a tyre.
The player must approach the ball, reach in and pick it out, then step back to make some space before passing.
Make sure as many passes are made as possible using both sides.
If there is no tyre place the ball under a shield to begin.

FALLING ON THE BALL
It is often necessary to claim, protect and control the ball on the ground in situations where the opposition are applying pressure to the player carrying out the aspect of play.

Key Factors
Focus on the ball.
Approach it quickly. Get in to a low, strong position. Bend knees, small steps, elbows in and ready to extend the arms.
As the player approaches the ball they should position themselves to slide towards it with their body between the ball and the opposition. Their back will be facing the opposition and the body will be between the ball and the opposition.
When sufficiently close the player will begin to slide on the hip and thigh, feet first, on the correct side of the ball.
They will go past the ball with the feet and hips before reaching underneath with the bottom arm and hand and over the top of the ball with the top arm and hand.
Cradle the ball in to the chest area initially to secure it.
Then there are a series of actions that can take place depending on the situation: pop it to a team mate from the ground; hold it momentarily and place it at arm’s length to win the ruck assuming there are players on both sides in the contact zone; get immediately to your feet if time allows and pass / set a drive / run forward.

ACTIVITIES
1-Practice the Skill
Walk and talk. Roll the ball out and the player chases and recovers it. Coach on the run.
Introduce a player with a hit shield who chases after the ball also and drives in to the player once they secure the ball and gets to their feet ready to drive.

2-Win the Contest
2 v 2 in an 8 x 8 metre grid. All players are on the same line to begin. One player rolls the ball to a point about 5 metres away. The 2 recovering the ball race out with one player taking on the recovery role. As they approach the ball the opposition two attack the ball also.
The aim is for the team recovering the ball to secure it cleanly and get it back over the 8m line from where they started by using any of the already practiced methods. (pass off the ground / stand up and drive or pass…) Use 3 in the recovery group if necessary.

3-Compete for the Ball
1 v 1 in a 5 x 5 metre grid. One player rolls the ball in to the middle of the grid. They will have an obvious advantage and should recover the ball first.
Both players take off and compete for the ball.
Each player takes it in turn and has 5 rolls. The winner is the player to secure the ball the most number of times out of 10.