inspiring participation and maximising …...2019/06/10 · secrets to success 36 creating belief...

COACHING INSIGHT

Inspiring participation and maximising performance of cricket coaches and players

The Official Publication of the ECB Coaches Association

VOLUME 7 £5

Contents

Review of the Year

Chairman’s Welcome 02ECB CA National Forum 04How the Kia Super League Was Won 06Bradman – Technique or Method? 10Making History 142016 ECB Coach Awards 16Hitting Back 22

Areas of Coaching Focus

What Does Good Coaching Look Like? 28Shortcut to Success 30Keep Coaching Simple 32One Way to Play? 34Secrets to Success 36Creating Belief 38Understanding Players 40Thinking Aloud Through Technology 42Integrated Practices 44Keeping it in the Family 50

Welcome to the seventhvolume of Coaching Insight.

elcome to the 2017 issue ofCoaching Insight, the seventh,

and to a year that has the potential tobe significant for coaches and cricket.

In reflecting on 2016 and what hastaken place, I find myself wishing toexpress my gratitude to a number ofpeople for what they have contributedto ECB Coaches Association, not justin the past year, but also throughoutthe years.

The round of Regional Forums inMarch was the best attended of anyheld previously. Both the County CArepresentatives and invited membersof their committees were able to sharehow they are supporting members intheir respective counties, as well ashighlighting the challenges they facein doing so.

The vibrancy of the conversationsillustrated their enormous skill,enthusiasm, and commitment toproviding the best support possible tomembers. I would like to mention andthank one of these representatives,Jonathan Mears (Devon), who hasdecided to step down this year.Jonathan has always represented hiscounty and the association with greatinsight and honesty, as well as being a valuable support at events for many years.

The County CAs all met once again atthe annual national event atEdgbaston in October where we wereable to hear of the fantastic workpursued locally, to share good practiceand see the results of pilot projects.

One of the reasons for the continuedsuccess of this event is down to theRegional CA Representatives of theNational Forum who not only give theirenergy and direction to this day butalso to the work carried out nationallyby ECB CA throughout the year.

I am grateful to all our Representativesand Associations, however I would liketo make a special mention of JeremyCartwright (Cricket Board of Wales)and Peter Carter (Vice Chairman ECBCA, Kent and London Region) whohave stepped down from the NationalForum this year. They have both giventheir considerable experience, honestyand integrity to their roles, and theircontributions have been crucial in theeffectiveness of ECB CA. They, alongwith Jonathan, leave with our warmestwishes and gratitude.

I would also like to thank both DavidGallagher and John Oates for theirwork nationally, meeting with CountyAssociations, giving practical supportfor what is provided to ECB CAmembers by local CAs, and drivingnew pilot projects.

W

CHAIRMAN’SWELCOME

2 Review of the Year

The activity that has revitalised theAssociations and the energy that hasbeen created is underpinned by thequality of both David and John’s workand their commitment to ECB CA.

Mention must also be made of BettyDowd who always meets ouradministrative challenges with goodgrace and efficiency, and to MartynKiel for continuing to providemembers with resources of thehighest quality across all sports.

I must also convey my sincerestgratitude to Tim Lumb who moves to another department in ECB. Timhas given his full support to ECB CA inhis role as Head of Community Coachand Workforce Education since 2006and has expressed his belief that ECBCA is vitally important to cricketthroughout that time. His willingnessto get wholeheartedly behind ourfocus in supporting the localAssociations, especially in the lastthree years, has directly contributed to the increased activity of CAs. I amforever grateful for both his personaland professional support over the last 10 years, and he has our warmestwishes for every success in his new role.

As I mentioned at the start of thispiece, 2017 promises to be asignificant year for ECB CA and forcricket. The anticipation of a newcoaching strategy and a change informat to the National Conference willbe both challenging and rewarding.That is why my final expression ofgratitude is to you, the ECB CAmembers – your support of ECB CA,both locally and nationally, and tocoaching is cherished and important,especially so this year. So again I saythank you for all that you do and allthat you are to cricket.

John Stannard

ECB CA Chairman

3Chairman’s Welcome

ECB CA NATIONAL FORUMThe members of the National Forum will consist of:

ECB CA Chairman – Mr John Stannard

Representative – South West Region – Mr Tom Snape (Dorset)

Representative – North West Region – Mr Lee Conroy (Cumbria)

Representative – East Region – Mr David Ellis (Cambridgeshire)

Representative – North East Region – Mr Dale Kerruish (Yorkshire)

Representative – South Region – Mr David Reynolds (Isle of Wight)

Representative – West Midlands Region – Mr Ghazi Zaki (Staffordshire)

Representative – East Midlands Region – Mr Les Hall (Derbyshire)

Representative – Wales – Vacant

Selected professional staff of ECB to include:

ECB Head of Elite Coach Development – Mr Gordon Lord

ECB CA Manager – Mr David Gallagher


5ECB CA National Conference 2017

ECB CA National Conference St George’s Park, 28–29 October

Visit ecb.co.uk/be-involved/coaching/ecb-coaches-association

for the latest information

SAVE THE DATE

HOW THE KIA SUPERLEAGUE WAS WONSouthern Vipers Head Coach Nick Denning tells ushow they won the inaugural Kia Super League.

he Kia Super League was the longoverdue and quickly developed link

between the women’s domestic gameand the England women’s squad. It wasbecoming more and more apparentthat the gap between the elite playersin the country and those who had tobalance a working life with pursuingtheir desire to play the game for thelove of it was getting bigger and bigger.

For this reason, credit must be given toClare Connor, her team and ECB as awhole for forging ahead with thecompetition, and giving the women’sdomestic game a similar profile in thiscountry to sports like football, rugbyand netball.

Coaching the Southern Vipers

Firstly, it is with thanks to Bob Parks(Southern Vipers General Manager) foroffering me the opportunity to coachthe side. From the outset it wasrecognised that if this team was to besuccessful, we needed to run the sideas professionally as possible. Thismeant that once we knew what oursquad was, we would spend as muchtime together from the earliestopportunity in order to get to knoweach other, not just as cricketers, butalso as individuals.

I like to think my experience of workingin the women’s game at county levelfor 10 years gave a bit of a leg-up into

T


the role. Having seen where the gamehas come from, and with an idea ofhow to help the players develop in thefuture, it allowed me to set out where Ithought this team could go and how Iwanted them to play. I was lucky that Iwas able to bring in a number ofplayers from Berkshire, where Icoached previously, but I was at thevery least aware of the other playerswe had in the squad if I didn’t knowthem personally. Every coach needs tobe confident with the players theyhave, and knowing the majority of theplayers as I did helped massively.

Our Strength and Conditioning Coach,Jamie Cook, played such an importantpart in helping the girls understandwhat it takes to be involved in aprofessional sporting environment. Theresults he got with all the girls istestament to his ability as a coach, andalso as a person.

Julian Wood was somebody I haveseen in action and worked alongside at the Berkshire Academy for a fewyears. His concept of power hitting is very quickly becoming a necessarypart of the men’s game. However, it’snot necessarily the idea of hitting the ball hard that made me want to use ‘Woody’.

When we were aware that we would beplaying a rule of four fielders outsidethe ring after the power play, Iidentified that something the playerslacked was the confidence to hit theball in the air. The main part of mycoaching philosophy is aboutcommitting to everything you do witha 100% mindset. I felt ‘Woody’s’coaching complemented this perfectly.From an early stage (actually our firstfull squad session in May), this wassomething I started to hammer homeand it was something I reiterated everyweek and before every game.

I think this gave the squad two things.One was a belief that they werecapable of being successful in everysituation and that whichever decisionthey made, they would executesuccessfully. Secondly, the playersunderstood that the coaches backedthem, the decisions they made and theability they had to play the game andsituation as they saw it.

Another coach we asked to come onboard was James Kirtley. James’s wealthof experience in playing white-ballcricket and having been one of thebest death bowlers in the country werean inspiration for the girls. Therelationships he developed with thebowling group specifically, as well asthe rest of the squad, bridged the gapbetween the rest of the coaches(myself and Bob) and the captain as amanagement group. James helped thebowlers work out a game plan thatwould suit each individual in eachsituation they could possibly findthemselves in. Obviously, this attentionto detail is invaluable and such amassive help when you are trying towork with 15 players in the group.

Players all over the place

To work with a new group of players –a group of individuals who were usedto playing with each other in smallgroups – was always going to beinteresting. With players from Sussex,Berkshire, Hampshire and Kent, I felt atthe beginning that the biggest challengewas going to be to get the side to geltogether. I needn’t have worried. In thisarea in particular, the girls showed theutmost professionalism, and onceeverybody understood where we werecoming from in terms of a leadershipperspective, they got their heads downand worked so hard.

It helped that one of our consortiummembers was Southampton Solent

7How the Kia Super League Was Won

University, which helped us sourceaccommodation for the group to usethroughout the build-up and during thecompetition. Again, this helped thegroup gel by spending as much timewith each other as they could. It alsomade for some interesting storiesduring our celebratory fines meeting!

One of the biggest challenges of thiscompetition was trying to bringtogether a group that was spread farand wide from Kent to Devon,Loughborough to Lincolnshire, Englandto Australia and New Zealand. Thisreally was a geographically challengedgroup. In this scenario, strong and clearcommunication was vital. I think it isfair to say that unless cricketers see aninstant message on WhatsApp, tryingto get them to reply to an email in atimely fashion is like trying to getblood out of a stone. So this was afrustration at an early stage, whenplayers weren’t able to get to trainingsessions due to one thing or anotherand didn’t let you know.

I expect it was an early frustration fromplayers who were used to gettinginformation one way and were beingasked to do something new, and froma management group that expected somuch right from the word go.Eventually, these frustrations ironedthemselves out and communicationflowed much more freely the moretime we spent together.

There was another barrier that neededovercoming, which was the level ofimportance that was placed on the KiaSuper League (KSL) by the players,and where it sat in their list ofpriorities. Many of the Vipers groupwere based at Loughborough as partof England programmes. In thisinstance it can be very difficult to seewhat might be more important.However, ECB was clear that the Super

League sat between county cricket,and it would have been easier had allplayers within the group understoodwhat we were trying to do with theVipers from the word go. However, thiswas not the case and it wasn’t until thesquad was fully together for the firsttime that we were able to get themessage across. The beauty of thisgroup, though, was that once they were challenged, they accepted thatchallenge and grew by taking notice ofwhat was expected of them.

Where did the time go?

Clearly, one thing we didn’t have a lot of was time. From our first team get-together (six players, two coachesand one physio), which was in April, wehad to build our team and work outhow to make the team stronger thanthe sum of its parts. We were so luckyto be afforded access to the AgeasBowl facilities. One of the best trainingsessions we had was in June, where wewere able to get out in the middletogether for an open net session. WithJulian Wood’s help, all of a sudden wewere watching batters smash the ballinto the stands, watching the bowlersrise to the challenge of Susie Bates andCharlotte Edwards trying to dominatethem and the realisation that, for theplayers, this team was exciting to bepart of and that there were places tofight for – something most players hadnever had to do before. The level ofintensity went up a notch and playersstarted to work out how they might fitinto the side.

This made the coaches’ jobs so mucheasier. Right from the outset we said tothe girls that in order for us to besuccessful, our job was to get them tounderstand their roles in the squad, andwhen they played, what their role waswithin the 11 that went on to the pitch.By the time we got to finals day,


everyone was so comfortable with theirplace in the squad and their roles onthe pitch that there was very little thatneeded saying, other than to reiterateour 100% mindset and our belief in theplayers as a group and in their abilitiesas individuals.

Reflections and projections

I think it is fair to say that everyoneinvolved in the Southern Vipers had biggrowth experience. From a coachingperspective, I learned so much. When Ifirst started, I expected the players toimmediately buy in to how big the KSLwas about to become and the level ofprofessionalism that Bob, Charlotteand I expected. I learned thatprofessionalism needs to be taught andis not something that happens as amatter of course. How players preparethemselves needs to be taught,because what a player believes to bethe right way for them can always beimproved, especially if they are youngand think they know their game.

Another area I learned more about ishow important it is that players knowwhat is expected of them on any givenday. To simply say to a group, ‘Right,you’re in from 10am or 11am, withsquad training at 2pm after lunch’ isn’tenough. Players need structure.

For all the challenges we had in puttingthe squad together, once they weretogether they were a fabulous group towork with. We had a great blend ofyouth and experience. We had leaderswith titles, but more importantly wehad people who led by example,without feeling they neededacknowledgement for their actions.

How do we get better? Well, that’s asecret, but suffice to say we can andwill improve. We have to, because aschampions, we are now the team thateveryone wants to beat. We are not yet

sure that all the squads are going tostay the same for 2017 when it comesto domestic players, but we hope theywill. It would be great to be able to saywe will have the same 15 as 2016, butthat is something we cannot promise.What we do hope is that the ECBstarts to realise that to have goodplayers working away from centralprogrammes is a good thing, not justfor the players, but for the KSL ingeneral, the teams, and for thoseyoungsters who aspire to be part ofthe KSL in the future.

Finally, I have to say some thank yous.To everyone at the Ageas Bowl fortheir support of the side, you made usfeel welcome, and what a facility theplace is. We are all very lucky to call ithome. Thank you to the players forputting in so much hard work and formaking sacrifices for each other.Finally, to Bob Parks, Jamie Cook,Isabelle Herrick and James Kirtley forall your hard work. You made my job asHead Coach so much easier andsupported me in the biggest coachingrole I have had, and I am honoured tobe part of the team with you.

Here’s to KSL 2017.

9How the Kia Super League Was Won

The early years

When playing hisimaginary golf ball andstump games in aneight-foot space besidehis boyhood home inBowral, Sir DonaldBradman discovered away to play that wouldlead him to greatness.

Here, in his own words,Bradman explains how itall began:

‘At the back of our homewas an 800-gallon watertank set on a round brickstand. From the tank tothe laundry door was adistance of about eightfeet. The area underfootwas cemented, enclosedon three sides and roofedover so that I could playthere on wet days.

‘Armed with a smallcricket stump, I wouldthrow a golf ball at thisbrick stand and try to hitthe ball on the rebound.The ball came back atgreat speed, and to hit itat all with the roundstump was no easy task.

‘To make my gameinteresting, I wouldorganise two sidesconsisting of well-knowninternational names, andI would bat for Taylor,Gregory, Collins and soon in turn. The doorbehind me was thewicket, and I devised a

BRADMAN –TECHNIQUEOR METHOD?Former Birkenhead Parkand Cheshire cricketerTony Shillinglaw is oneof the world’s leadingBradman historians. In collaboration withBrian Hale, he published BradmanRevisited. Their work has also beensupported by coach and coach educatorDave Reynolds.

© Getty Images


system of scoring anddismissals. The open sideof my playing areacorresponded to the on-side of a cricket field,and therefore I did nothave to chase a ball forany shots on the off-side.

‘This extraordinary andprimitive idea was purelya matter of amusement,but looking back overthe years, I canunderstand how it musthave developed the co-ordination of brain,eye and muscle whichwas to serve me so wellin important matcheslater on.’

Next steps

Having assimilated thenecessary co-ordinationand synchronisedquickness of mind andbody required of his ‘Test matches’ from theage of 11, the scorebooksand the immediate andsustained manner ofBradman’s prolific run-making clearlyindicate he then simplyevolved and adapted theprinciples of his extremegolf ball and stump play directly into thecontinuous rotarybatting formula bywhich, we understand, allthose runs were scored.

Television interviewerRay Martin askedBradman, ‘Why don’tothers play like you?’ Towhich he replied, ‘I thinkit’s because they arecoached not to do it. It’sa different technique.’

The rotary method

The term rotary firstoccurred to me whenpractising and realisinghow Bradman’sdifferences stemmeddirectly from therepetitive intensity of hisboyhood games. Again,in his own words,Bradman explains: ‘Idiscovered rotation to bea required ingredient andfulcrum towards gainingthe necessary controlover a moving ball, withthe bat’s rotationinducing an economy,flexibility and freedom ofmovement, so leading toan acute ball sense.

‘In general, I think manycoaches stifle the naturalabilities of young playersby rigidly insisting thatthey do not move untilthe ball is delivered andthat they adhere to aperpendicular bat withleft-hand control. Moviestrips of me battingindicate that I started mybacklift before the ballwas delivered and thatthe bottom of my batwas approximately level

with the top of thestumps at the instant of delivery.

‘But let me hasten to saymy backlift was rathertowards second slip – notpoint as some suggest,while the perpendicularbat theory virtuallyeliminates pull shots(which can only beplayed with a cross bat)and square cuts (exceptby angling the blade,which, in turn, is a recipefor giving catches to the slips).’

The format andsequence for playing inthis manner is as follows:

1. With head and bodystill and the bowler indelivery stride, the bat and shoulderscommence rotating inneutral with balanceuncommitted buttilting evenly towardsthe toes of each foot and therefore the off-side, wherecorrect footworkpredominantly takesplace.

2. Judgement andreaction to the balldetermine shotselection, as thebatting actioncontinues its motion indirect relation to anappropriate stroke,there being no

11Bradman – Technique or Method?

prejudged movementor counterbalancing tohinder the flow. Whenplayed with purpose,this rotary action hasthe effect ofautomatically liftingthe rear foot andfreeing the wholebody as a precursor tothe production of allstrokes – off the backand, more surprisingly,the front foot also.With practice, speedof reaction and theability to move quicklyinto position whileplaying the ballbecome asubconscious andunconscious habit.

Central to these actionsare the following features:

1. Through rotation andgiven the correcttiming and motion ofthe stroke, it isimportant to establishall aspects of mind,bat and body are co-ordinated andinterwoven into asingle, continuous and adaptable batting action.

2. The timing of shotselection coincideswith the instant in thebatting process whenshoulder rotationcauses the legs, feetand body to react to

the movement of thearms in a synchronisedfashion, just as whenwalking and running.This also means thefeet move automaticallyas a response to each delivery.

3. When attacking, thebat’s rotation takesthe form of a figure 8through twocontinuous loops:

a. Loop 1 – Followinga neutral backlift,the flow passesthrough shotselection, whilefashioning eachstroke in the formof an upwards loopbefore the bodyuncoils, so closingon the ball with thebat making thenecessary contact.

b. Loop 2 – The wristsautomatically turnover with the batcontinuing its flowto form a secondloop and thecompletion of adistinctive‘Bradman-like’ free and full follow-through, with the ballautomaticallyplayed to ground.

4. In effect, it can be saidDon Bradman only

played within theframework of ‘onerepetitive andadaptable stroke’,which, from its earlybeginnings and flow,would be fashionedand tailor-made toeach delivery, whileproviding the scopefor all around thewicket scoring.

These tailor-madestrokes took the form ofthe continuous rotarybatting formula bywhich, Brian Hale, DaveReynolds and Iunderstand, Bradman’sruns were scored, and itbecomes clear that thelonger he stayed in, thebetter his method wouldwork. This is a viewsubstantiated by thefollowing observation ofMelbourne scientistCharles Davies, who inhis book The Best of theBest wrote:

‘Bradman’s likelihood ofgetting out changed inan unusual way as hisinnings progressed, quitedifferent from any otherbatsman. For scoresbelow about 15, eventhough Bradman wasvery good at avoidingdismissal, his chances ofdismissal were still withinthe range of other greatbatsmen. Hobbs for


‘No matter how you bowl, he seems to be able to place the ball just where he likes.’

Wilfred Rhodes

example was morereliable at reachingdouble figures. Once set,however, Bradman’schance of dismissalplummeted to only onethird of other leadingbatsmen and above ascore of 50 he is wayahead of anyone else inTest history.’

Bradman’s appetite forruns was insatiable. OfDon Bradman’s 338 FirstClass innings, 117 werecenturies, 37 of whichwere turned into scores ofover 200 and often manymore. When playing theseinnings, Bradman’saverage score was 173,and on only 15 occasionswas he dismissedbetween 80 and 100.While in Test cricket, hewas never dismissed inthe 90s, only twice in the80s and while scoring 29 hundreds, he averaged 185.

Bob Woolmer, ProfessorTimothy Noakes andHelen Moffet pose the question:

Why has recognisedorthodoxy survived inthe modern coachingmanuals whereas nomention is made ofBradman’s technique andhow it fails to conform to

this orthodoxy? It isimperative that weinvestigate why oneindividual was able tohave a Test average 30%better than the next bestaverage in the history ofthe game. Biologicalfactors cannot explainthis significant adifference – they do notdiffer by 30% betweenthe very best and thenext best human in anyparticular activity. In fact,a fundamental teachingin science is that it isdangerous to assume a

cause unless it has beenproven. Since we have no evidence thatBradman wasbiologically superior, we must entertain thepossibility thatBradman’s brilliancemight have been theresult of his superior and unorthodox batting technique.

13Bradman – Technique or Method?

The legacy

It must be understood, however, that no method,not even Bradman’s, is of much value without firstputting in the time required to develop the necessary hand-eye co-ordination andjudgement of the moving ball.

Should there be a Bradman secret? When playinghis difficult backyard games, Bradman was firstdeveloping and assimilating his exceptionaljudgement and control over the erratic golf ball.Having done so, and unusually, he then simplyevolved his movements directly into his owncontinuous rotary batting formula. There is ofcourse a contrast with the more traditional andhistorical practice of a batsman learning aprescribed mode of play and technique.

In the words of the great man himself: ‘Playing inthis manner has given me the best results. Haveyou tried that way? If not, it may assist you. Let ustalk it over. Perhaps between us your game can beimproved. After all, is that not the spirit of cricket?’

‘Don Bradman had a marvellous gift of getting into position quicker than anybatsman I have ever seen, played the ball very late and was never off balance orstretching out of control.’

Denis Compton

‘He’s the only batsman I ever bowled to whogave me an inferioritycomplex.’

Jim Laker

MAKING HISTORY


Emily Woodhouse

The first ECB Women’s Coaching Conference in April 2016 was ahuge success. It was great to be surrounded by so many otherfemale coaches, and share knowledge and experiences whilegaining new ideas from the coaches at the same time. It was alsoa good opportunity to create networks with people from othercounties. These provided openings for the sharing of ideas andinteresting conversation.

The various sessions that took place during the day were all beneficial, although the overall view was that the practical sessions that were delivered were morebeneficial. The classroom-based sessions were perhaps not what was expected onthe day, they explored icoachcricket and developing yourself. However, they stillprovided vital information required for coaching. The two practical sessions wereenjoyable as there were chances to get involved with the drills and games that were being demonstrated. For me, the best session of the day was the workshopled by Lisa Pagett that demonstrated a number of practices looking at technicaloutcomes. I felt it was really helpful, especially when working with children.

On the whole, the day was thoroughly enjoyable and is something that I would bekeen to attend again in the future.

The inaugural National Coaches Conference for women was held inBirmingham on 16 April 2016. The keynote speaker and two of the coachesin attendance tell us about their day at the ground-breaking event.

15Making History

Emma Boswell

Attending the Women’s Coaching Conference at Edgbaston wasa great experience for me. To have so many cricket coaches inone place was brilliant, and all of them (apart from a few) werefemale. Starting out as a female coach in cricket can often feel abit daunting, but to see that there are lots of other women outthere doing the same thing was a great confidence booster.

The day itself gave me the opportunity to speak to high-level and extremelyexperienced coaches, which is not always achievable within my own coachingenvironment. The stations that were set up gave us new ideas on how to getplayers engaged and enthused about cricket, as well as giving us extra knowledgeto improve players’ skills. Again, by doing this, it gave me confidence as a coachthat I am doing the right things. All in all, a very beneficial day.

Barbara Daniels

It was a great privilege to be asked by Cookie Patel to open thefirst Women’s Coaching Conference at Edgbaston. As I said atthe time, it was genuinely exciting to be in the same room withthat many female cricket coaches. I have been in and aroundcricket and women’s sport in general for a long time, and it isdisappointing to note how unusual it still is to be in the companyof fellow female coaches.

So I am delighted that ECB has begun this initiative. It was energising andencouraging being at the conference all day to experience the energy, enthusiasm,the thirst for knowledge and the desire to share issues, tips and practices thatemanated from the diverse range of coaches who were present. It was equallyencouraging to note that all of the coaches knew of other coaches who couldn’tcome on this occasion, but who would be interested in this kind of network being developed.

Women’s cricket is developing at a rapid rate at the higher levels and that is to beapplauded. In order to support this growth and ensure it reaches all levels, manymore female coaches are needed. We need collectively to create an environmentwhere women and girls feel that there is a positive route for development ascoaches in all aspects of the game. We need to create a network where innovativethinking and new technology ensure that women feel supported and encouraged todevelop the game and coaching in ways that will work in a changing world.

Women’s sport in general is at an exciting point where it is receiving greaterattention, support, finance and coverage. Now is the time to harness the creativeenergies of people such as the coaches who attended the conference at Edgbaston.We need strong advocates throughout the game and the chance to create a group,from which future coaches of the England women’s teams can emerge.

I talked about Ruth Prideaux at the conference as the best coach I have ever workedwith and as an inspiration to me as a player, coach and person. Ruth is sadly missed,but she would encourage us all to keep working, believing and thinking differently. Ilook forward to being part of the ongoing conversation.

nce again this summer, we have recognised, celebrated and said thank you forthe outstanding efforts and contributions that coaches make to the game. O

Name Category County

Martin Walker Outstanding Contribution Cheshire

Chris Smith Coach of the Year Cheshire

Colin Knight Outstanding Contribution Cumbria

Christopher Hodgson Coach of the Year Cumbria

David Moore Outstanding Contribution Derbyshire

Michael Ridley Outstanding Contribution Durham

Neil Robinson Coach of the Year Durham

Nigel Brown Outstanding Contribution Lancashire

Adam Grist Outstanding Contribution Lincolnshire

Gregory Smith Winner – Coach of the Year Lincolnshire

Thomas Parkinson Coach of the Year Northumberland

Barry Pearson Outstanding Contribution Northumberland

Adam Phillips Coach of the Year Shropshire

Andrew Inns Coach of the Year Yorkshire

2016 ECB COACH AWARDS


Winner of the Coach of the Year Gregory Smith


Bren Terry Outstanding Contribution Yorkshire

Mark Richards Coach of the Year Cornwall

Ashley Bridges Coach of the Year Cornwall

William Glen Outstanding Contribution Cornwall

David Gidney Outstanding Contribution Devon

Alan Graham Outstanding Contribution Dorset

Colin Justice Outstanding Contribution Hampshire

Ieuan Wathen Coach of the Year Hampshire

Christopher Lane Coach of the Year Hampshire

Robert Snell Coach of the Year Isle of Wight

Andrew Day Outstanding Contribution Isle of Wight

Kevin Clancy Outstanding Contribution Somerset

Piers McBride Coach of the Year Somerset

Andrew Lewis Coach of the Year Wiltshire

Roger Mays Coach of the Year Derbyshire

Julie Ingham-Hill Coach of the Year Devon

Neil Pack Coach of the Year Dorset

Edward Senior Coach of the Year Gloucestershire

Mohammed Qasim Ali Coach of the Year Lancashire

Stephen Chantrill Outstanding Contribution Leicestershire

Mohamed HanifGhodawala

Coach of the Year Leicestershire

Rob Arnold Winner – Outstanding Contribution Northamptonshire

Matthew Morrissey Coach of the Year Northamptonshire

Neil Dudley Outstanding Contribution Nottinghamshire

Scott Berridge Coach of the Year Nottinghamshire

Chris Dirkin Outstanding Contribution Shropshire

Neil Steadman Coach of the Year Staffordshire

Neil Groves Outstanding Contribution Staffordshire

Nicholas Evans Outstanding Contribution Wales

Lynn Childs Coach of the Year Wales

172016 ECB Coach Awards


Martin Lawrence Outstanding Contribution Warwickshire

Phil Williams Coach of the Year Warwickshire

Robert Miller Coach of the Year Worcestershire

Kevin Davies Outstanding Contribution Worcestershire

Khalid Malik Coach of the Year Berkshire

Robert Benson Coach of the Year Cambridgeshire

Christopher Fuller Outstanding Contribution Cambridgeshire

Mark Welby Coach of the Year Essex

Luke Sellers Outstanding Contribution Gloucestershire

Andrew Catherell Outstanding Contribution Hertfordshire

Kevin Clement Coach of the Year Huntingdonshire

Peter Free Coach of the Year Norfolk

Peter Coote Outstanding Contribution Norfolk

Tim Green Coach of the Year Suffolk

Valerie Gladwell Outstanding Contribution Suffolk

Graham King Outstanding Contribution Wiltshire

Lee Butterworth Outstanding Contribution Bedfordshire

Jason Wood Coach of the Year Bedfordshire

Nigel Kerry Outstanding Contribution Buckinghamshire

Keith Newell Coach of the Year Buckinghamshire

Terry Hills Outstanding Contribution Essex

Andrew Donald Outstanding Contribution Huntingdonshire

Oliver Powell Outstanding Contribution Kent

Vincent Joseph Coach of the Year Kent

Minesh Patel Outstanding Contribution Middlesex

Karl Sylvester Coach of the Year Middlesex

Susan Pearce Outstanding Contribution Oxfordshire

Shaz Khan Coach of the Year Oxfordshire

Daniel Simper Coach of the Year Surrey

Gerry Carpenter Outstanding Contribution Surrey

Alan Smith Outstanding Contribution Sussex



All our winners receiving their awards at national events



Paul Walker Coach of the Year Sussex

Jack Gibbins Young Coach of the Year Bedfordshire

Oliver Keenan Young Coach of the Year Buckinghamshire

Jake Lawrence Young Coach of the Year Cambridgeshire

Holly McCurrie Young Coach of the Year Cheshire

Jake Woods Young Coach of the Year Cumbria

Rahim Ali Young Coach of the Year Derbyshire

Amara Carr Winner – Young Coach of the Year Devon

Craig Campbell Young Coach of the Year Dorset

Laura Jones Young Coach of the Year Durham

Manish DineshkumarPatel

Young Coach of the Year Essex

Toby Mitcheson Young Coach of the Year Hampshire

Ella Waughman Young Coach of the Year Huntingdonshire

Daniel Seaman Young Coach of the Year Kent

Maddy White Young Coach of the Year Lancashire

Andrew Catherell Ashley Bridges



Stephen Cowley Young Coach of the Year Middlesex

Jason Reynolds Young Coach of the Year Norfolk

Nick Herbert Young Coach of the Year Northamptonshire

James Morgan Young Coach of the Year Northumberland

Evelyn Jones Young Coach of the Year Shropshire

Andrew Payne Young Coach of the Year Somerset

Matthew Coxon Young Coach of the Year Staffordshire

Elliot Tyler Young Coach of the Year Suffolk

Dominic Dawson Young Coach of the Year Surrey

William Burrows Young Coach of the Year Sussex

Matthew Jones Young Coach of the Year Wales

Nadia Bacciochi Young Coach of the Year Warwickshire

Lois Wright Young Coach of the Year Wiltshire

Liam Phillips Young Coach of the Year Worcestershire

Don’t delay – send your nominations for the 2017 ECB Coach Awards to your County Cricket Board today!

Holly McCurrie Vincent Joseph

HITTING BACKIt has been a dramatic 12 monthsfor James Taylor. But when onedoor closes, another opens andcoaching opportunity now knocksfor the former England star.


ames Taylor, Cheteshwar Pujara, AB de Villiers,Virat Kohli. What’s the link?

Until April 2016 they were the only active batsmenaveraging over 52 in List A cricket. Four of only sixever to do so.

The events that unfolded that month meant thatTaylor would never be able to take the field in anEngland or Nottinghamshire shirt ever again.

Unsurprisingly for a man regularly hailed as one ofthe hardest workers and biggest thinkers in thedressing room, Taylor didn’t walk away from cricket.He couldn’t. As England’s batting coach MarkRamprakash commented in April: ‘Once he is overthis, his work ethic and personality is such thatwhatever he turns his hand to, he will be verysuccessful.’

Taylor is now taking the next steps towards a long-term future in coaching, and is part of theautumn ECB Performance Coach cohort. Speakingto ECB Coach Development Manager Martyn Kiel itwas clear that he hoped this would be the start of acommitment to developing the next generation.

‘I want to get back into a team situation. It won’t beall about winning, like it was, but I look forward to itbeing about seeing players progress and being apart of that.

‘I’ve started off being a batting mentor and for nowI’m happy with that – it’s nice seeing players improveunder your watch – but I’d eventually like to workwith a whole team.’

J

© Action Images Limited/Reuters

‘The soonerplayers can learnto play the shortball, the easier itis to move onwith their game.’

23Hitting Back

As a player, Taylor assumed theresponsibility of captaincy early on. Ifthose experiences helped give him theknowledge and temperament to easeinto coaching, it’s his experiences ofbeing on the receiving end of goodcoaching that are shaping the kind ofcoach he wants to be.

‘I was very fortunate in having positivecricketing influences from the start. My coach from prep school was SteveSchofield, who I still work with now,and he brought a great work ethic outof me, he pushed me really hard. In the school holidays I’d be with him upto five days a week, doing three-hoursessions.

‘Then I had Paul Pridgeon, who hadplayed for Worcestershire for nearly 20years, before arriving at first class levelwhere I worked mainly with Tim Boon.So there were three major influenceson me, which was really important.

‘Players, especially when young, needsomeone to guide them, to beat them back down when they startgetting cheeky and to lift them whenthey’re down.

‘When I’m working with top playersI’ve also got the recent experience ofworking with the likes of GrahamThorpe, Mark Ramprakash and PeterMoores to go on.

‘The best players pick little bits thatwork for them from every coach. That’show I go about my work now, using myexperiences with coaches to guide mystyle and approach with any givenindividual.’

Such comments belie the fledglingstate of his coaching career, whileexposing someone who is far fromseeing coaching as a last resort, shouldthe lucrative world of media punditrynot work out.

‘In the brief time I’ve been thinking of pursuing coaching, and the evenbriefer time I’ve been doing it, I’vereally focused on the importance of getting players to interact with the coach.

‘The only way to get that happening, Ibelieve, is for the players to enjoythemselves. I know that’s a massivecliché but I can vouch for it. I’ve notenjoyed playing cricket at times –


Hitting Back

mainly when it’s not going well - but if you can find a way to make itenjoyable then you get them engagingwith you far more.

‘After all if you don’t have them onboard, if they’re not buying in to whatyou’re saying, then it’s not going towork very well. So you’ve got to getthem to engage. That relationshipbetween you and the player is such a key.’

However, Taylor advocates challengingand stretching players during practice rather than operating in acomfort zone.

‘Coaches shouldn’t be afraid ofchallenging individuals. I think thatchanges when you’re dealing with kids, when you should just get themgoing and only when they have learntthe basics can you challenge them,’ he continues.

‘For players higher up the ranksthough, challenging them is hugelyimportant, so they can make mistakes.Yet, in my experience, it isn’t doneenough. And if they don’t makemistakes, they’re not going to learnfrom them. That’s how you move from past experiences, how you move forward.

‘The best players are the ones thatlearn the fastest. So your number one

goal with a new player is enjoyment,then once you’ve got them engaged,you’ve got to challenge them, allowthose mistakes to come out.’

A consistent scorer in First Classcricket, with an ODI average of 42.23including a century against Australia,what are James Taylor’s cornerstoneshe looks at when coaching batting?

‘The fundamentals of batting, for me,revolve around dealing with extremepace and extreme spin. With pace, youhave to first of all be able to handle theshort ball. There’s nothing worse thanseeing someone shying away from theshort ball, as that then takes so muchaway from the full ball because you’reworried about it coming in short.

‘That’s something I’ve particularly taken from working with (NationalLead Batting Coach) Graham Thorpe.The sooner players can learn to playthe short ball, the easier it is to moveon with their game.’

For many coaches that’s a case ofeasier said than done. Telling someplayers that they’re going to have ballsthrown at their heads for half an hourbrings a response more commonlyseen in the corner of a pub than to theside of a net session. For Taylor though,overcoming the fear of pace – andresulting injury – is too important to

‘I got it drilled into me from the age of eight, understandingthe need to not be afraid of the ball. Getting a grip on(bouncers) opens the way to freeing up your feet forplaying the fast, full balls.’

25

shy away from for politeness’ sake.Instead, it’s your responsibility to find away to make it work for your charges.

‘Learning to play the short ball can,and should, be really fun. Make sureyou’re using soft balls so it’s not goingto hurt and just make games out of it.Even when I reached professional levelI used soft balls for training againstshort-pitched bowling.

‘When I went on my last tour withEngland, to South Africa in 2015/16, wepractised with the yellow, soft-ish,Kookaburra balls. When you got hit, itstung, but you could do your drillssafely and face a high number of shortballs at 95mph.

‘That then gave you the confidence togo into the middle and be able to dealwith Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel,because you’ve put the hard work in.

‘I got it drilled into me from the age ofeight, understanding the need to notbe afraid of the ball. I certainly wouldn’tput a minimum age on it, as long asyou’re making it fun. Getting a grip onthat opens the way to freeing up yourfeet for playing the fast, full balls.

‘There are players now, in First Classcricket, who haven’t learnt this, andthey stand out like a sore thumb. That’s always made me cringe,because you don’t want to be thatperson who has that constant questionhanging over them.’

Once you’ve worked out a short-pitched session that even themost wary of tail-enders will partake

in, delivering mock-bouncers is easyenough. Ideally, the body then doesthe rest.

Concentrating on judging length –when to play and when to duck –focuses your attention away fromfootwork and co-ordination, allowingthem to develop and improve withoutthe batsman really being aware of it.This can only be a good thing when it comes to training them up to faceTaylor’s other point of focus: extreme spin.

‘With spin it’s all about getting thefootwork correct, which is ultimately atechnique thing, but with youngplayers I’d just expose them to a lot ofspin and let them deal with it.

‘Then as they get older you can getmore technical, as the player getsbetter. When you’re starting outthough it should just be about beingout there, facing and hitting balls.

‘I’d rather see a young guy whacking itover cow corner than be technicallysound but not be able to hit the ballcleanly. And I was that guy, the onewho couldn’t hit it straight but couldreach cow corner easily.

‘With those players, you know you cancoach technique into them at a laterstage, but without that hand-eye co-ordination you won’t make it veryfar. That’s why it’s so useful to do drillslike throwing the soft balls at theirheads, because you’re getting theirfeet moving and having a knock-oneffect on their co-ordination.’


Hitting Back

With this opportunitythrust upon him earlierthan expected, Taylor’sfuture in coaching isgoing to be a uniqueone. He understands that there is no magicformula to hisdevelopment but he isenjoying his time on the ECB PerformanceCoach programme.

‘The course has solidifiedin me the need forpositivity, in terms ofworking with a player. Iwant to look more atwhat they can do thanwhat they can’t.

‘I think often you canfocus on what they dowell and just deal withthe negatives on the way,rather than trying to naildown something that aplayer is doing wrong. If you make the strengths they’ve got a super-strength, then on the way you can pickup their negatives andwork gradually on them.’

Positivity andextraordinary strength:somehow it’s not asurprise that those aretraits James Taylor wantsto bring out of others.

He’s got them in bucketshimself.

27

Players experience high levels of success

Failure is an important part of the learning process

Players have

repetitionsrepetitionsrepetitions

lots of Energising and inspiring language“

New and

ideasappropriate

Very little down time

Enjoyable and

tasksappropriate

SAFE

Players learn skills which help them to play the game

“Coaches feedback on performance and e�ort

Players leave wanting more next week

Players solve simple problems

“High levels of praise

WHAT DOES GOOD LOOK LIKE?

28 Areas of Coaching Focus

COACHING CHILDREN

Inspire • Support E

Players practise skills that are directly applicable to them playing

the game

Appropriate challenge

Opportunities for competition

Players have fun “Feedback

on their performance and their e�ort

specific skillsDevelopment of

Maintain their love of the gamevia long-term engagement

“Specific performance-related individualised praise

Relevant and appropriate activity

Social“interaction

29What Does Good Coaching Look Like?

COACHING YOUNG PEOPLE AND ADULTS

• S Develop • Enhance

30 Coaching Insight Volume 6


SHORTCUT TO SUCCESS?

layers’ initialexperience of the

game will often shapetheir future behaviours.As coaches we all hopethat a love of the game is ignited, a wide varietyof skills are developedand a lifelong association ensues.

With that in mind how fitfor purpose are thecurrent formats,equipment, pitch lengths,boundary distances andteam sizes for youngcricketers? How relevantand appropriate arethese elements toensuring playersatisfaction and playerdevelopment?

For a number of years ithas been suggested thatpitch lengths in juniorcricket are too long andthat this has adetrimental impact on achild’s experience andtheir learning. Theshortening or scaling ofpitches beyond currentguidance offers manypotential benefits.

A collaborative studybetween the ECBPerformance Group andLoughboroughUniversity, supervised byDr Mark King, involvingcounty u10 and club u11fixtures in the EastMidlands area identifiedthe impact of shorteningpitches from 19/20 yardsto 16 yards.

Follow-up analysis of u10and u11 seam bowlers inthe National CricketPerformance Centre atLoughboroughUniversity confirmed thaton a shorter pitch stockdeliveries were bowled

‘into’ the pitch more, theball being released at anangle more like adultseamers. This meansmore bounce andmaking it more likely thatthe ball will ‘dosomething’ off the pitch.

A genuine short deliveryalso becomes an optionin the bowler’s armoury.The shortening of thepitch does mean thatbatters have a little lesstime and therefore needto focus on the bowlers’actions more, but theanalysis showed that thebowlers didn’t bowl anyfaster on the shorter pitch.

P

Martyn Kiel, ECB Coach Development Manager, and MikeHarwood, Loughborough University, explore the issue of pitchlengths in junior cricket.

‘The trial has been an absolute unrivalled success. I have witnessed a vast improvement from thosewho participated during these matches in theirbowling, batting, fielding, wicketkeeping and thegame as a whole.’

Mark Lomas, Junior Co-ordinator, Etwall Cricket Club

‘I was very, very sceptical when the idea was firstput forward but, having witnessed it first hand overthe season, I can definitely say it has made a majordifference to the standard of cricket that our squadhas played.’

Roger Bolstridge, u10 Boys Manager, Derbyshire Cricket Board

31Shortcut to Success?

16 yards

19/20 yards

Bowling

Fielding

Running

in playable deliveries in club matches

• Club u11: double/triple bouncers reduced (from 19) to 9 per 100 balls

• Negligible change in number of full toss no balls

• In-game observations also suggested players bowled straighter

in back foot shots played to short balls – improved perception-action coupling

• Club u11: from 9 per 100 balls to 19; County u10: 69 to 75 per 100 balls

• Wicketkeepers had a better chance to catch the ball, rather than juststopping it on the ground

in shots fielded at mid-wicket, so other fielders are involved morefrequently

• Club u11: 16 per 100 balls (compared with 29); County u10: 19 comparedwith 26

in running between the wickets

• Club u11: 27 ‘running events’ (1s, 2s, 3s, byes) per 100 balls compared to 22;County u10: increased to 35 per 100 balls (from 25)

• More fielding opportunities, including more backing up, plus fielders neededto be alert, and captains needed to think more about field placement

‘It's like a proper match. When isthe next one?’

a player

‘Best match and spectatingentertainment I've seen in years,including adult matches.’

a spectator

‘The skill levels and quality of thematches have improved tenfoldfrom last year.’

a parent

Have an opinion? Share it on the ECB CA Forum at icoachcricket.ecb.co.uk

Batting

Next steps

With a faster paced and more engaging game, shortening pitches can make a realdifference to the way children experience cricket in future. Better bowling, an increase inplayable deliveries, more appropriate shot selection, more running between the wickets,increased ground fielding and catching can only lead to an enhanced game of cricket forall involved.

SIMPLE.NATURAL.BRILLIANT.As Joe Root and Ben Stokescontinue to dominate oppositionsides, what advice have they gotfor coaches wanting to developthe next generation?


Joe Root

Despite all the years of coaching I’vehad – all the net sessions and videoanalysis – what I’ve benefited from themost is simplifying things.

The further a young kid goes in cricket,the less you want to feed them loads ofinformation, just give them bite-sizetargets to improve by. As much as youcan, allow that natural, inner player todevelop and really encourage it.

Once you get to a certain level as aplayer, it’s about uncomplicating thegame as much as you can. As a coach,you need to allow your players to goand express themselves. Strip the gamedown to its bare basics if you’re battlingto help a player get out of a rut.

I get so much information externally,people coming up to me andencouraging, advising, letting me knowthat they’ve spotted something while Iwas batting in my last match.

But the majority of the time, a playerhas just got to remember what they’regood at. You can either remind yourselfof that as a player or have someoneelse tell you. That’s where the coachcan be really useful, by being the personwho injects a fresh boost of confidencewhen you’re low, pumping up yourtyres, reminding you of your game andwhat got you to where you are.

Ben Stokes

In my career, I’ve never gone far fromwhat I know works. If there’s beenthings that I need to practise then I’lldo that, but first and foremost, I’ll dowhat I know works for me. Justbecause things aren’t going well for atime doesn’t mean that you need tochange your whole game.

I’m all about keeping the sport assimple as possible, as black and white.That’s the page I want coaches to beon when they’re dealing with me.

33Keep Coaching Simple

For more, visit the Kitbag on icoachcricket.ecb.co.uk

ONE WAY (OR ANOTHER)

If you distilled playing cricketto one thing, what would it be?Three current Englandinternationals give us threedifferent views.


Eoin Morgan: Technique

It’s all about techniquefor me. The wordtechnique is, in Englishcricket, looked onnegatively. I don’t thinkit should be. You don’thave to use that word,you could call itmethod or style, butwhen you peel it back,you’re talking abouttechnique.

Let’s look at the mostcomplicated techniquein the world and themost simple: ShivnarineChanderpaul and JoeRoot. Joe keeps it verysimple, stays very stillat the crease, gets backand forward very well.Shiv excels at exactlythose things too, onlyeverything beforehitting the ball isdifferent. That’s twoopposite techniques,practised to perfection,that are both hugelysuccessful.

Joe Root: Unique

If you can reallyembrace that X factorwithin each player thatmakes them unique and try and encouragethat, you’ll be successfulin cricket.

We’re seeing it moreand more in theinternational game.Guys like Lasith Malinga,or Glenn Maxwell with the bat, do non-traditional thingsbut have the ability towin you the game.We’ve got to encouragethat. It’s so unusual to play against and ittakes time to adjust to.

That’s one of thebiggest challenges tocoaches now: to get thebasic structure intoyoung players but givethem the freedom toexpress themselves atthe same time.

Jos Buttler: Learn from mistakes

What’s really importantfor coaches, and forparents as well, is tryingto express that it’s OKto make mistakes andtry things. Go out andgive it a good go – have fun!

The best way of lookingat it is that, when you’relearning the game, there should be no right or wrong. You can be successful in anumber of differentways and you’ve justgot to find what yourway is. I think that’swhat the role ofcoaches is increasinglygoing to be, to helpyoung cricketers findout what their way toplay is going to be.

35One Way to Play?


I DON’T LIKECRICKET, I LOVE IT!Those at the top of the men’s and women’s games areclear: keep what you’re doing in perspective and yourplayers actually improve as a result. England Testcaptain Alastair Cook, Director of England Women’sCricket Clare Connor and England Head Coach TrevorBayliss share the secret to success.


Alastair Cook

Cricket is hard work and it’stough; we’re playing againstgood cricketers and it’s notalways fun. Players, and coaches,must remember though that forthe majority of the time, itactually is fun. Just being able toget that across better hashelped us relate to the public alot more and I think people haveenjoyed that.

Clare Connor

Cricket always needs to be fun – lifeneeds to be fun! The emotional rollercoaster, the being in love with thegame, it should never become a choreor a duty. It has to be something wewant to do.

Whatever age we’re at, there’s alwaysgoing to be enough in life that wedon’t want to do. There is going to beenough that challenges us in hardways, ways which aren’t fun orenjoyable. If cricket ever loses thecomponent of fun then the sport, theplayers and the coaches will suffer.

Trevor Bayliss

I think a lot of times we forget whywe started playing: for the love ofthe game, because it’s fun. Whenwe get back to doing that, it’s not acoincidence that players have a lotof success.

37Secrets to Success


The coach’s view

Put simply, it all boils down to the enthusiasm you –the coach – have for the game. When you’recoaching young players, it is absolutely fundamentalto have that energy and enthusiasm, and that carrieson through every level you are coaching. If a playercan see you’re enthusiastic, you’re keen and you’rethere for them, then they’ll want to learn from you.

It doesn’t just have to be vocal either. Sometimes thebest sessions are where you say absolutely nothingat all, but you encourage, you make it fun andexciting. That’s where your enthusiasm and passioncome through.

The players buy into that and want to give it a go.The more you can do that, the more chance youhave of making a success of your coaching.

DON’T CURB YOURENTHUSIASM!How do you, as a coach, developconfidence and belief? England AssistantCoach Paul Farbrace and Mark Wood givetheir unique perspectives on how to getthe best out of players.


The player’s view

We want to know wehave the backing of ourcoach. We want to knowwe have their trust – thebelief that we can playour own game. If we geta duck, so be it.Likewise, if you go for80 runs but you’redesperately trying to geta wicket for the team,then fair enough.

When all’s said anddone, if you’ve got thatsort of backup in yourhead to know you’ve gotconfidence from yourteammates and thecoach, that sort offreedom to expressyourself, then that’s amassive help.

The more you canproduce thatenvironment as a coach,and let your playersshow that freedom, the better.

39Creating Belief


EMBRACE THE INDIVIDUALHow do you, as a coach, getthe best out of individuals?Here, three England playersoffer their advice to thoselooking to maximiseperformance levels.

Adil Rashid

Coaches have got to know the individual player. When I’mscoring runs, what am I doing well? When I’m struggling,what am I doing wrong?

You’ve got to be able to say to one player: ‘Just look to playstraight early on, keep the bat close to you,’ then move toanother and say: ‘Go out there first ball and if you see it, hitit for four, hit it straight through cover.’

It’s so important for coaches to know a player, to know how to control him and how to work with him to develop his strengths.


Eoin Morgan

We’re all kids atheart: coachesshouldn’t forget that,even at our level ofthe game. You’vegot to encouragethat childlikeindividuality to comeout becauseeveryone wants to

be different, they don’t want to bemoulded into someone else.

I’ve learnt from my experience coachingchildren that you have to do a bit of giveand take: we’ll do 20 minutes of drillsthat I know the kid needs, but heprobably doesn’t. Then the remaining 40minutes is his time. He’s a 13-year-old kidand he says: ‘I want to hit sixes like youdo.’ So great, let’s practise that. After all,he’s not going to turn up at a match andjust hit sixes, so it will be coaching worthdoing. I’m keen on reassuring players ofany age that they have an opinion that’llbe listened to, and that they’re allowedto be different.

Ben Stokes

As a coach, I guarantee you’re going to get someone likemyself who is pretty laid-back and just wants to be hittingballs and bowling balls and catching balls. But then you’ll get some guys who want to be technical. So you’ve got towork out what kind of person you’re working with.

It shouldn’t be hard: you can usually find out just byspeaking to them. So from a coaching point of view, it’s just about making sure you’re doing the right things by theright person.

41Understanding Players


THINKING ALOUDTHROUGH TECHNOLOGY

Have you ever watched players performing and questioned whatwas going through their head? Dr Amy Whitehead at LiverpoolJohn Moores University looked at performers in golf and cycling tofind out.

The ‘think aloud’ process uses technology to gather ‘in-play’thought processes around decision-making from athletes andcoaches. By asking the performer or coach to verbalise theirthoughts during a task, the results can be used to develop athletesand inform coaches.

Golf

Players went out on thecourse fitted with amicrophone and wereasked to verbalise theirthoughts during theirround. I was able toidentify some keydifferences between thedecision-makingprocesses of higher-levelplayers and novices.

It was interesting to findthat higher-level golfersspent significantly moretime planning their shotsand thinking about theirexternal environment,whereas beginnersthought much moreabout technical aspects,such as their grip andstance.

When using this as anapplied tool withprofessional golfers, itwas intriguing to findthat when they thought

technically, there was ahigher chance of themproducing a lesssuccessful shot (egslicing or shanking theball).

It was evident from onepro golfer’s ‘think aloud’transcripts that therewas a relationshipbetween his uncertaintyand his shot outcome.When he wasn’t 100%sure which club to use,as he didn’t trust hisown judgement abouthis environment (wind,distance, gradient of thecourse), he would bedisappointed with theoutcome.

He stated: ‘Thinkingaloud enabled me toidentify negativethought patterns andany relationshipsbetween my thinkingand my performanceoutcome. I have since

been able to work withmy coach and learn tocommit to each shot andbe more confident inthat commitment.Although I don’t alwaysthink out loud when I’mplaying in a competition,I still go through the“think aloud” process inmy head as it keeps mefocused on the shot I’mplaying and keeps me inthe moment.’

My research has alsoidentified how, whenplaced in a competitiveenvironment, higher-level performersmay revert back tothinking moretechnically about theirperformance. This canincrease the likelihood ofchoking under pressure.

It’s interesting to seehow thought patternschange between apractice situation and


the more stressfulenvironment ofcompetition.

This sort of feedback isextremely valuable forcoaches, as once they’veidentified what theirplayer is focusing onduring the intensity ofcompetition, they canrecommend appropriateinterventions to redirecttheir thought processes.

Cycling

Successful performancein endurance events likecycling requires anappropriate pacingstrategy. Many cyclistsselect strategies that aretoo intense or tooconservative, ultimatelyhaving a detrimentaleffect on performance.

By using iVue cameraglasses that pick up bothvisual and audio footage,myself and my teamwere able to collectcyclists’ decision-makingdata during a real-lifetime trial.

Cyclists from ValleyStriders cycling clubwho were part of a timetrial series in theYorkshire Dales werekeen participants. Theywere asked to verbalisetheir thoughtsthroughout the event

and were able to reviewtheir own video andaudio files afterwards.

Not only did all cyclistsreport the benefits ofbecoming more awareof their decision-making,pacing strategies andthought processes, theyalso saw how theyfocused on verydifferent thingsdepending on the stageof the race. During theend of the race, cyclistsverbalised much lessabout fatigue and moreabout their distance tothe finish line.

Those who wereachieving their desiredtimes verbalised more

positive, motivationalthoughts, whereas thosemissing their times werenegative. One cyclistreflected: ‘Thinkingaloud made me moreaware of what I wasdoing and thinking. Ifound myself worryingabout the next hill andfeeling negative before Ieven got there. It mademe realise I need to staymore in the moment. Ifelt like I was beingwatched and monitored,which made me less lazyand put in more effort.Sometimes I tend toswitch off.’

Try it yourself with aDictaphone or yoursmartphone!

43Thinking Aloud Through Technology

This feature was previously published in magazine.EDGECOACHINGEdited for publication inCoaching Insightby Martyn Kiel.

© Action Images Limted/Reuters

Golfer wears a device on their waist

INTEGRATED PRACTICES –EARLYInspire a lifelong love of the game.

Integrated practices create an environment withinwhich players are able to holistically learn about anddevelop their own game. At the early stage, anintegrated practice should provide players with:

• fun

• simple skills

• learning through games knowledge

• a range of opportunities.

Organise group into several teams of five or sixplayers.

Two teams participate in Mini game with theremaining teams rotating around the stations.

All teams visit all activities.

Remember Coaches Matter Issue 23 – players have lots of repetitions, players learn skills that help them play the game,very little downtime and players leavewanting more next week.


Mini game

Roller ball Beat the fielder

Cone strike

45Integrated Practices (Early)

For more information, examples of integrated practices,and to design your own integrated practice, visiticoachcricket.ecb.co.uk

Available now on mobile, tablet and desktop

INTEGRATED PRACTICES –BASICBuild on ignition, expand individual and team skills.

Integrated practices create an environment withinwhich players are able to holistically learn about anddevelop their own game. At the basic stage, anintegrated practice should provide players with:

• technical and physical skills

• strategies and tactical understanding

• experience of a range of playing roles

• a broad range of competitive opportunities.

Organise group into pairs.

Four or five pairs play Pairs cricket with remainingpairs rotating around the stations.

All pairs visit all activities.

Remember Coaches Matter Issue 23 –appropriate challenge, players solve simple problems, very little downtime and players leave wanting more next week.


Pairs cricket

At the stump relay

Hitting the space

Landing zones

Test bowling

Round the clock – bat slide


47Integrated Practices (Basic)

INTEGRATED PRACTICES –ENHANCEDBuild on development, advance specialist skills.

Integrated practices create an environment withinwhich players are able to holistically learn about anddevelop their own game. At the enhanced stage, anintegrated practice should provide players with:

• an understanding of their own needs

• purposeful practice for individual and team

• physical and athletic progression

• a broad range of competitive opportunities.

Organise group into batting pairs for Run a ball.

Players then rotate around the activities that meettheir needs and that are relevant to their role.

Remember Coaches Matter Issue 23 – relevant and appropriate activity, social interaction, development of specific skills and opportunities for competition.



Yorker

Bouncer

Length

Run a ball

Hit the gaps

Extreme catching

Bouncer, length, yorker

Partner chase, pop and go

Ball chase and run

49Integrated Practices (Enhanced)

KEEPING IT IN THEFAMILY – CLUB20


ational insightsuggests that 73% of

women are more likely toplay if their friends andfamily play, 68% ofwomen describingcricket as sociable and95% wanting coaching.Locally, the insightindicated 75% of womendescribing cricket associal and a huge 98%considering coaching tobe important to theirenjoyment.

In the spring of 2015,Sara Begg, a Finchleymember and formerMiddlesex Cricket BoardDevelopment Officer,asked us to trial a newformat of the game –Club20. It’s a six-a-sidegame, five four-ballovers, ie 20 deliveriesper innings using anIncrediball. A quick-fire,quick-turnaround game,each match takes around30 minutes. This formatwas originally devised tomeet the needs of 17clubs that signed up toplay in a charity dayback in 2009. How tooffer a one-daycompetition for somany? Club20 was born.

Initially the programmewas aimed at mums,offering a fun, sociableand flexible opportunityto play cricket. Operatedon a pay-and-play basison Friday evenings rightthrough the summer, bythe end of the firstmonth, 25 women andolder girls had signed up.They played intra-clubIncrediball matches rightfrom the start and learntcricket skills as they went along.

By the end of May theywere so enthused thatthey asked if they couldplay matches againstother clubs! Middlesexhad started a new leaguethat year – the MiddlesexWomen’s CricketChampionship – so Saraand I had a chat anddecided to enter theminto the competition. Iwent back to them all thefollowing week and said:‘Well, ladies, do you wantthe good news or thebad news first?’ They allopted for the good news!So I told them that theywere going to be playingin the new league, theywere thrilled.

51Keeping it in the Family

N

At Finchley Cricket Club in North London theyare lucky to have a thriving women and girlssection, which is encouraged by the rest ofthe club. But, like all clubs, they are alwayslooking to get more girls and women playingthe game. Dee McLean explains more.

The bad news was that it was a hard-ball competition. They turnedvisibly white and one mum piped up:‘But we need equipment!’ ‘That’s OK,’ Isaid, ‘I have dug out all our spare stuffand it’s in the trolley over there underthe trees. Go and try it on!’ I left themto supervise the juniors and came backhalf an hour later – they were all fullykitted out like gladiators and smackingthe hard ball around the ground! Theyplayed their first match and the teamwas made up of mums and theirdaughters, with sons helping out. Itcouldn’t have been a better outcome.

They had the best summer and haven’t looked back. The eveningscreated a greater sense of communitywithin the club, more families camealong on a regular basis and the bartakings increased.

Following on from this, there were twomajor unexpected benefits. Several ofthe mums volunteered to help with thegirls’ section, they felt confident, nowthat they understood and could playthe game, so we now have femalesquad managers at all age groups.

Four of them also signed up for CoachSupport Worker during the winter andone of them has now gone on tobecome a qualified coach. This is ofhuge benefit to the club, as havingfemale coaches and managers not onlyprovides easier logistics re childwelfare but also excellent role modelsfor the girls. We also used it as aformat for the various girls’ schoolsthat came to the club for sessions andthey all enjoyed and benefited from it.

Year two, 2016, saw us run it again onFriday evenings. Previously, the coachhad been paid half of the evening’stakings, but this year, we employed acoach for the two-hour sessions. It waswell attended, but we didn’t cover ourcosts. The club, however, was happy tocover these as they see it as part ofclub development. The mums havebuilt their confidence playing not onlyin the Middlesex Women’s CricketChampionship (MWCC) matches butalso with Finchley Gunns Seconds inthe Women’s Cricket Southern League.I am thrilled to say they won theMWCC this year!

Going forward, the younger mums whocurrently aren’t playing say that theyenjoy their quiet couple of hours at theclub watching their girls play but arestill interested in getting involved, sowe will be looking at ways to engagethem. We are looking for a mum totake ownership and run theadministration for Club20, and one ofthe senior women has stepped up andvolunteered to run it next year. Thedads have expressed an interest inClub20 for dads so we will beexploring this option over the winter as well.

Because of the success of thisprogramme, Middlesex has now rolledthe format out in all areas of the game,calling it B20.


© ECB Coaches Association, 2017

Cover photo © Getty ImagesAll photos © ECB unless otherwise stated

ECB Coaches AssociationSupport CentreWarwickshire County Cricket GroundEdgbastonBirmingham B5 7QX

Telephone: 0121 440 4332Email: [email protected]: www.ecb.co.uk/be-involved/coaching/ecb-coaches-association

Acknowledgements

The ECB Coaches Association would like to thank everybodywho has contributed to this volume of Coaching Insight.

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