Nemanja Babić

I am an IRB Accredited Level 3 Professional Rugby Coach from Belgrade, Serbia, most recently coaching overseas in Serbia, Italy, England, Romania, The Nederlands and National Coach for the countries Austria U18 2012/13, Serbia U18 2013-2016. I have been involved in Head coaching roles with club teams (15’s and 7’s) including Premier Senior Men’s, Women’s, Development, Regional and National teams, squads and the Academy. I tutoring club and regional coaches and have been a development manager for both club and school unions. These roles have included all aspects of coaching, implementing programmes and strategies for player growth and working with all levels of club, school, sporting and media organisations. In 2013 I lead the club in Romania to winning the Transylvania Division Championship U16 and U18 and was awarded 2014 Club Coach of the Year in Serbia . My coaching attributes relate directly to my qualifications and rugby knowledge, technical/tactical and specialist abilities, proven history, philosophy and personality being developed within the Rugby Unions High Performance Coaching Academies(Italy, UK, The Netherlands). Complimenting this has been a successful overseas experience at Club, The Academy and National level and playing career domestically and overseas, representing Premier and Division as a coach and player. Past 2 years was the biggest challenge and step up in my coaching career. I was one of leading coaches at the rugby academy in Nederlands( ZWRA) with focus on developing and billing a whole new program and planning to bring up the new generation of players who are now one of the best in National team squad U18, U20. During this period I was also involved in the rugby club Delft RC as a director of rugby. This role was the first time open at the Delft RC, simply because the club started growing up with numerous player throughout all groups and teams in the club. At that time, Delft had 400 registered players from U5/seniors and 15 coaches. I start with progress on developing coaches and training senior sides( 2 teams). After 6 months we got 700 members and 30 coaches. The club was dedicated to the plan and program and now Delft RC is one of the biggest clubs in the Nederlands.
I am a player centered coach and believe the coach is the main catalyst and motivator for the team displaying astute on and off field rugby knowledge, leadership, loyalty, pride, discipline, support and encouragement along with the ability to build strong relationships. As a coach I utilise new training techniques, update and study advances in sport science, provide a dynamic, variable and competitive learning environment but believe paramount to progression and development is reinforcing the basic fundamentals, principals and key factors in essential core skills and decision making abilities in non-pressure and reality pressure situations. Complimenting this is creating a unique team spirit, high achievable standards and a team culture based on visions, club and individual goals, pride and history, enjoyment and preparation. I have also been responsible in implementing and facilitating new and innovative programmes, coordinating management roles and responsibilities, talent identification, creating accurate and informative game plans, individual, unit and team profiling, performance profiling and monitoring. Pivotal to this success was my ability to work with existing squads and/or selecting a balanced squad of players in combination with a focused, cohesive and productive management team with defined roles. This team use structured processes, implement comprehensive development plans, share team objectives, create successful team strategies, performance targets and outcomes all within a challenging environment creating an atmosphere open to player input, idea sharing, providing information and open communication for the betterment of the team. Although a specialist forward
coach, I coach all positions and excel in team generic and specific core skill development, attack and defence systems.
I have been coached and tutored by many of the premier coaches and specialists in Europe and have an astute understanding of game planning and team/opposition analysis, patterns of play, positional depth and requirements, seasonal planning, key factor analysis, camps, trial and selection processes, team bonding, player management and strategic training based around quality rather than quantity. I provide players advice on general fitness, strength and conditioning programmes, pre and rehabilitation, nutrition and hydration requirements and psychological development. I am also therefore aware of the pressures imposed by the modern game and thrive under them through strong administrative, communicative/interpersonal, people management and problem solving abilities. Primary to my success have been my planning, realistic goal setting, methodology, consulting, time management, self-belief, sense of humour and holistic approach. Many of my personal strengths include maintaining excellent health, being approachable and available at all times, being focused but flexible, having a positive enthusiasm, am imaginative, adaptable, disciplined and value and respect all cultures and traditions. I have strong personal pride, presentation, confidence and principles with a passion and a genuine interest in player development and input with a desire to succeed through the team’s successes for the individual, team, club and country. Further major strengths include my work ethic, code of conduct and my coaching philosophy that I trust will give you an insight into my coaching direction, values and standards. My system is based on educating and developing myself within and outside of the IRB systems, so that the game of rugby can be delivered to my team in a knowledgeable and creative manner. Modern technology I have utilised has included various video analysis systems, laptops, copy white boards, projectors, microcellular link communication, DVD recorder with delay, camera and tripod filming normal, wide and end view of games and trainings. Philosophy: Input+ = Output+ To educate and develop myself in both traditional and innovative ways from a wide variety of sources, working professionally and closely with my management team, specialists and players creating a collective and positive optimal learning environment, so individual players and the team have the best opportunity to reach peak performance, success and ‘true’ potential on the field. I was previously involved in senior amateur and professional teams in 15’s and 7’s as a player, player/coach and coach including having coached many high profile players, giving me the understanding of eligibility and availability, competition structures and changes in playing environments domestically and overseas.. I am very aware of the ‘extras’ that make a team successful including the support strategies, use of specialists, statistical information, debriefing, individual and team goal setting, safety, medical, exchange opportunities, modern/changing laws, multi learning techniques, club history, knowledge sharing, supporters, financial and contractual obligations, seeking and encouraging strong working relationships with board members, sponsors, match officials, media and key stakeholders, constituent bodies, schools, and complying with policies and open communication with professional, overseas and domestic players. I believe modern rugby is a continuously evolving sport tactically, technically, physically and psychologically and although very much a hands on coach, I adapt my coaching methods relevant to the team’s needs and empower players and the team to success