Enhancing Player Development & Coaching Efficiency with Keith Brooking from Exeter Chiefs Academy.

Can you briefly describe your coaching background and your role at Exeter Chiefs Rugby Academy?

I’m a level 3 RFU accredited coach, now known as RFU Advanced Level. I have been coaching or involved in the running of teams since I changed to a player coach near the end of my career over 18 years ago. My role at Exeter Chiefs is Academy Coach, that helps develop players from U15’s through to U23’s mainly focusing on those players from U18’s down. 

What were the main challenges you faced in managing player performance and development before using Strive?

The main challenge was time with the players. In an area where players are spread over two counties. To give the players feedback, work-ons & goals on a one on one basis was difficult in the limited time we had with them, especially with time on the pitch at their age sometimes a bigger priority.

How did these challenges impact your coaching process and the overall performance of the players and the team?

As a team we had to look at more generic performance goals without having any data to back up how the players felt, apart from the individual IDP forms they compiled. As for the players because of our limited time with them as well as their educational needs, more time was spent on generic skills rather than looking at the individual and what they needed to work on.

How did you learn about Strive, and what made you decide to give it a try?

I learned of Strive at the RFU Advanced Level coaching course. As a group at Exeter Chiefs Academy we were looking at something to help streamline our own player IDP’s into one format rather than each individual coach having their own template and ideas.

Can you walk me through the implementation process of Strive within your coaching routine?

We use Strive with 3 of our age groups U16’s, U17’s & U18’s. We start at the U16’s level with a basic IDP with the players letting us know how they rate their basic rugby skills as a way of an introduction to the coaches. They will then get two more phases during the season, the 2nd phase will then have more of the terminology introduced over the first part of the season. The 3rd phase will then be focused on all of the elements introduced over the season.

When the players move to the U17’s we keep adding to the on-field IDP with more detail as well as adding a separate phase for the gym. The U17’s group also get 3 phases each adding more detail as they go through the season. The U18’s group get the on-field & gym phases as well as a 3rd phase for the off-field activity as we learn about them more and more. Again there are 3 phases over the season. This then builds a great picture of the player especially if they have been in our system for the full 3 seasons. We ask the players to rate themselves per age group, so a 10 would be an Elite rugby player at U16’s level, U17’s level & U18’s level and not as a senior player ETC.

Once the players & coaches have completed the phases this then allows the open one on one discussions from the results.

How have you customised Strive to meet the specific needs of your coaching style and your players' development plans?

I don’t think my coaching style has changed with Strive, what has changed is my knowledge of the individual players and their perceived strengths and weaknesses as a player and as a person as we go through our phases. The use of Strive helps the players & coaches focus on what their strengths & weaknesses are and allows us to set them tasks and skills away from us to complete and help them develop.

What features of Strive do you find most helpful in addressing your previous challenges?

As an online platform we can set the phases and the players can complete it as and when they can. This gives the players time to actually think about their answers rather than sitting in a room with them and putting them on the spot. This in turn allows us as coaches to complete the players phase in our own time and again allows us time to actually think about the individual and even go back and review certain aspects of their game before scoring those elements. This then means when we get to sit down face to face with them the discussion points are already laid out on Strive.

Can you share any quantifiable improvements or results you've seen since implementing Strive, such as time savings, player performance improvements, or better communication between players and coaches?

The main benefit is being able to reach the players remotely on a platform that both players and coaches can access as and when they want and see visually instantly any major discussion points. It is a massive time saver, with limited time the one on one discussions now have a starting point for all of the individual players and we talk about improvements & goals rather than just catching up. 

The player improvement is seen as they go through the age groups as they become more aware of their strengths and weaknesses and start to work on those before we even discuss it. With the ability to add comments as well also allows us to prompt certain discussion points the next time we see them at training.

With the addition of the team wheel & scores we can now see an overall team area that might need to be worked on and as we build the data over the years see if there is a theme as they go through the age groups and if there is a trend as the move from levels of rugby.

How has Strive influenced the way you approach player development and performance management?

It has made me think about the individual a lot more and how we can help develop them away from the session with us. 

The ability to give the player feedback at different parts of the season even when we don’t see them that often is a great asset and helps keep those coach – player relationships developing and growing

Can you provide specific examples or anecdotes that demonstrate the impact of Strive on your coaching and the players' development?

As we go through the phases and age groups we can see those individuals that have a negative outlook on their ability compared to the coaches. The way we use Strive through the age groups we can see this trend both on and off the field. We have players rating themselves low on certain categories and as coaches we rate them highly. There is also the reverse where they rate themselves at the top when in reality the coaches see them differently.

We have used Strive to identify individuals who need a little but more encouragement & ‘arm around the shoulder’ type approach as well as some confidence building and ensuring the player knows their ability and potential. It has also helped us identify those players who may be the best at club level and are being put on a pedestal and when they go through the levels of rugby may begin to be found out but are unaware.

We have also used the data to build our season’s coaching structure to focus on certain elements of the game earlier in the season as there is a trend in the overall weakness of those skills.

What feedback have you received from your players regarding their experience with Strive?

The players at these age groups don’t express themselves that much and if you ask them their opinions they normally give you a ‘good’ or ‘OK’, however, when we ask them how they found the process the majority of them tell us it made them think a little bit more about the relevant subjects. 

Would you recommend Strive to other coaches or sports clubs? If so, what key benefits would you highlight?

I would definitely recommend Strive to all levels of coaches and clubs. From grassroots age groups and senior teams, to Academy & representative levels. The ability to get gradings and insight into how the players see themselves & the players ability to see how the coaches see the players is a massive tool and a great on going two way discussion point between players and coaches. The bonus of being able to do this in your own time, either on your phone or laptop, when you have a spare 5 – 10 minutes and then go back to it if you haven’t finished it is great.

Having coached at club level and knowing the lack of time at training to focus on everything, getting this feedback from the players would have certainly helped plan the structure of pre-season as well as in season sessions. Plus the ability to give feedback and work-ons to players during the season without elongating their time commitment on a training night or sacrificing precious training night time to sit down with all the players would have been a huge benefit.