Wet weather footy

[iigrover]

Last night I was discussing with a mate how wet it had been in Sydney this summer and what impact that may be having on pre-season training and the team's ability to play wet weather footy.

While I dont know if the stats back this up, my gut feeling is that in recent seasons the Swans havent adapted as well to wet weather footy as well as Melbourne based teams?? Therefore, this year we may actually be a better wet weather team as a result of all the rain this summer.

Does this theory have any substance?

[swansrob]

Yeah, we were horrible in wet last year; hopefully you're right!

[S120]

The big reason we have struggled for years in wet weather is we have had below average skills as a whole. The really skilled players stand out when the ball is wet as they are capable of hitting targets in any conditions and the average-poorly skilled players look even worse. For many years we have had more of the latter than the former in our side.

Longmire has said constantly that this off-season they have worked very hard on improving all the players' skills. So given it has been raining a lot over the Summer up here in Sydney, one would hope they have indeed practised a lot in the wet weather so they can see the benefits of that practice during the year when wet games roll around.

So all in all, I am tentatively hopeful of the team improving their skills in @@@@e weather this year relative to previous years. I'm not expecting miracles though.

[Cheer Squad]

Longmire has said constantly that this off-season they have worked very hard on improving all the players' skills.

So what else is new???

We've had this reputation for players with below-average skill levels for years, and the same thing about improving them gets said during every pre-season! Yet nothing seems to change!

How on earth do Geelong do it? Those are the sort of skill levels we want to see.

How about poaching their skills coach?

[S120]

I honestly haven't heard it being as much of an emphasis from the coaches/players as it has this off-season. I genuinely think it has taken up more of their thoughts than it has during just the average preseason.

[Dosser]

I remember the SCG game against Geelong last year when we struggled to pick up the bar of soap while they just made it look all so easy. When the skill execution is put under pressure then class will win out every time.

[wolftone57]

I do believe the problem is to do with the level of skills coaching not the natural ability of the players. There has been a problem for some years re disposal under pressure in any weather. There has been a problem in the wet and in the back half. Bombing the ball into the forward line probably didn't help positive disposal numbers last season but that was not at the heart of it.
I believe it is a psychological problem re pressure or presumed pressure. In other words players are rushed because they believe they have no time. This leads to sloppy disposal and bad decision making. Sometimes they do have no time but don't stay cool in a pressure situation and that too is psychological.
Skills training under pressure will help players to have confidence in their ability to cope under pressure but a bit of psych training could help too.

[Nico]

Having played footy a bit and involved with Auskick coaching and junior grade footy, I reckon that you either have it or you dont when it comes to coping with wet weather. As Wolftone says, some of it is above the shoulders. I am sure some players hate the wet and play accordingly.

What has frustrated me about our wet weather footy is the mindset of having to pick up the ball when it is akin to a cake of soap. Sinking the slipper in and gaining many metres to me is always the better option if under pressure.

At Auskick we played in the wet and practiced and taught wet weather skills. Simple stuff like picking up one handed on the run. If kids have the right mindset and understanding from a young age it stays with them. In decades gone by in interstate games Victorians always appeared far superior in the wet to WA footballers because of the wetter climate in Victoria. Nowadays grounds are in much better nick so everyone plays under the same conditions.

[wolftone57]

I agree with Nico and what you are taught young normally stays with you. The other point is that half of the matches in Victoria are played under the roof of Etihad Stadium. St Kilda who play all home games at Etihad were @@@@e in the wet a few seasons ago. When i was a kid we didn't get much rain in Broken Hill, about 275mil/year, so the chance to practice or play in rain was limited. But the coaches showed us how to play in all types of weather and that stood me well when I moved to Adelaide and had to play in the rain and mud. Kicking off the ground and knocking the ball on with the fist are good methods in the rain. Kicking the ball long it is better to try to keep it a bit lower as it will then slew forward when it hits the ground. I ended up playing on Rathmines Oval for Hawthorn YCW and that was a mud pit in the wet. Stunk like sewage and probably was due to a leak around the area. The methods taught me when i was a lad in Broken Hill worked very well on that quagmire.

The no no's in wet weather; No dinky kicks, no dinky handballs, try to kick as handball is unreliable and dangerous if in defense. When in ruck try to get a good punch on the ball don't try dinky taps as it will only end up in another ball up. When kicking, kick as long as possible as short passes can come unstuck. Keep the ball moving toward your goal. Simple really but a lot of platers and coaches are stuck to a game plan and can't change to suit the weather.

[Dosser]

I agree with Nico and what you are taught young normally stays with you. The other point is that half of the matches in Victoria are played under the roof of Etihad Stadium. St Kilda who play all home games at Etihad were @@@@e in the wet a few seasons ago. When i was a kid we didn't get much rain in Broken Hill, about 275mil/year, so the chance to practice or play in rain was limited. But the coaches showed us how to play in all types of weather and that stood me well when I moved to Adelaide and had to play in the rain and mud. Kicking off the ground and knocking the ball on with the fist are good methods in the rain. Kicking the ball long it is better to try to keep it a bit lower as it will then slew forward when it hits the ground. I ended up playing on Rathmines Oval for Hawthorn YCW and that was a mud pit in the wet. Stunk like sewage and probably was due to a leak around the area. The methods taught me when i was a lad in Broken Hill worked very well on that quagmire.

The no no's in wet weather; No dinky kicks, no dinky handballs, try to kick as handball is unreliable and dangerous if in defense. When in ruck try to get a good punch on the ball don't try dinky taps as it will only end up in another ball up. When kicking, kick as long as possible as short passes can come unstuck. Keep the ball moving toward your goal. Simple really but a lot of platers and coaches are stuck to a game plan and can't change to suit the weather.

We must be from the same era. As a backman who played for Pennant Hills, Baulkham Hills and later Macquarie Uni, we didnt have a lot of wet games, but our coaches drilled it into us that when the ball is on the ground you either kick it forward or slide in and punch it forward. Either way, the aim was to keep the ball moving at all costs.

[wolftone57]

We must be from the same era. As a backman who played for Pennant Hills, Baulkham Hills and later Macquarie Uni, we didnt have a lot of wet games, but our coaches drilled it into us that when the ball is on the ground you either kick it forward or slide in and punch it forward. Either way, the aim was to keep the ball moving at all costs.

Yeah that's it Dosser and forward is the main word, always go forward in the wet never go back! I was a kid in the 1960's in broken Hill. In that era we played with prectice balls that were harder to kick and a lot more unpredictable than the match ball due to their rounded ends. You might say the pointy ends make the ball unpredictable but these balls were not as balanced as a match ball. They were also not as well made and the leather tended to get water soaked in the wet and very heavy. This honed our young skills to another level.

[Dosser]

Yeah that's it Dosser and forward is the main word, always go forward in the wet never go back! I was a kid in the 1960's in broken Hill. In that era we played with prectice balls that were harder to kick and a lot more unpredictable than the match ball due to their rounded ends. You might say the pointy ends make the ball unpredictable but these balls were not as balanced as a match ball. They were also not as well made and the leather tended to get water soaked in the wet and very heavy. This honed our young skills to another level.

And kids these days, etc, etc... eh?

[wolftone57]

No I think the kids today get great coaching from coaches that have all been trained by the AFL. But it is system style coaching. Whoever is in charge of AFL Community Coaching sets the agenda and what is taught in the Coaching course. The other thing is that it is all non-contact until they are over 12 years of age which I think is very silly. The sort of contact in Aussie rules junior footy is very small and the tackles are tame at the best of times. They get more roughhouse in the school yard then they ever would on an Aussie Rules Oval. If it were Rugby League or Union I would say yes there needs to be a protection of kids until they reach 15 to 16 as their brains are just developing and are susceptible to injury. The chance of a knock to the head at junior level in AFL is very minute but in NRL and RU it is very high.

I think the AFL Coaching Course is quite basic or was when I inquired and didn't take in stuff around different conditions. It was a general coaching course dedicated to teaching the basics to kids such as ball hold, ball drop, handball, goal kicking etc.