Decision Making in Sports 1: To Pick and Pop or To Hit and Rip

I attended a USA Rugby Coaching Development Program clinic this past weekend in order to reassure young rugby players' parents that it's okay when I yell at their children. Something's got to come with that certification.

One of the online modules I was tested on (and passed with flying colors I may add) was the rugby player's personal decision making during play. As a player, I'm faced with a number of possibilities when I'm carrying the rugby ball. The decision tree can be found here: Download file You're welcome, you are now an expert at the game of rugby.

Success in rugby is dependent on keeping possession of the ball, a term coined as continuity. Theoretically it is possible for a team to have only touched the ball once, at the kickoff, and for the other team to have completely dominated the first team by stealing the ball, keeping possession of the ball for the entire game, then scoring at the last second. While this makes for a completely boring matchup, the strategy is pretty clear that if you have the ball, you can score with it. When you don't, you gotta get it.

As a coach, a practical application of this chart in Decision Modeling involves taping a rugby game, then assessing the situations in which players were put, recording how they react, then creating statistics for how they should have reacted. I could design drills in which these decisions become more of a reflex, or in coach-speak, a skill. In effect, I could more efficiently teach my student-athletes how NOT to make decisions. And win more games.