What makes the top rugby players so successful? When top players are asked about what mistakes to avoid when starting in rugby, here are some of the worst mistakes they believe a young rugby player can make:
- Ignoring your body
Your body is your vehicle for success. When you are younger you recover more quickly and injuries take little time to heal. But year after year of this sport is physically demanding and will have an effect on your body. Injuries start to take longer to heal and the time required to recover after a game increases.
This is why it is so important to start looking after your body while you are young. Start a rehabilitation program to work on every weakness you have in your body. Areas to work on include the flexibility of the hamstring, the strength of the rotator cuff, as well as various hip and ankle mobility. Whatever weakness you find, a rehabilitation program to help improve the area.
- Poor Time Management
As a young rugby player, you will have a lot of outside pressure to overcome. You will have to manage school work deadlines, time for socializing and other sports / activities that all demand time and effort. If you start working on your time management skills that will make your life much easier and much more fun. Short, effective drills can help get the most from your training sessions. Find out more about Rugby Training Drills at a site like Sportplan
When you start to play for your school/county and you have to go to national trials your time will become very valuable. Having good time management skills will allow you to enjoy and make the most of the free time you have in between your rugby and other commitments.
- Forget to develop mental toughness
A common theme among pro players is mental toughness. This does not mean that they are all the fastest, strongest or most skilled players. Mental toughness can be described as the grit to carry on when you, your body and the competition have the better of you so that you are physically tired and needing to dig deep to find something within yourself. This doesn’t mean becoming a robot but switching on something that is mentally alert and involved. It’s not enough to keep moving unless you’re doing it in a way that is still effective and competitive.
Mental toughness can help you:
get out of dips in form
develop confidence
thrive in competitive pressure
master negative thoughts and self-doubt
allows you to perform to your true potential in rugby
- Forget to enjoy playing rugby
Do not forget to enjoy it, that’s when you are at your best. It’s very easy to become focused on all the other areas that surround rugby. There will be a lot of disappointments along the road to the top, that’s just the nature of the sport. Remember to enjoy the ride. The process of getting to where you want to be able to be should be the most enjoyable part.
