Building a house of C.A.R.D.S. The practice structures of coaches in a professional rugby union academy

This chapter provides insights into the practice structures used by coaches of the Newcastle Falcons Rugby Union academy. It shows how training session activities are organised and adapted to purposefully develop creativity, awareness, resilience, decision-making and self-organisation (C.A.R.D.S.) among players aspiring to compete professionally. The chapter set out to create opportunities for every player in the Newcastle Falcons academy to explore the boundaries of their capabilities and adapt to the changing nature of the game of rugby union by developing C.A.R.D.S. skills. It draws on a range of concepts from dynamical systems theory, representative design, non-linear pedagogy, constraints-led coaching and games-based approaches. Making frequent amendments to the constraints of training activities is itself a form of adversity, as players need to remain aware and quickly adapt to respond to the new challenges posed. Self-organised players will have ‘the skill to use information to effectively coordinate themselves’.