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Hi,

For the coaches, we have some tips on getting things done quickly. For the players, we have a guide to trigger moves and strike rotation. For the spinners we talk about getting more spin.

Have a good weekend,



David Hinchliffe



The Frantic Club Coach’s Guide to Better Cricketers

You probably don't have time to read this article.

 

But it’s worth carving out a moment to read on this time.

What with all the running around, raising players for the next Under 13 match, trying to wrangle a bunch of distracted kids in a net, dealing with parent queries and wondering if it will rain anyway, real cricket coaching is a long way from the utopian world you were told about on your coaching course.

What you need are some quick, practical and simple ways to help players develop without the need for a deep understanding sports coaching theory.

So here are two things you can do straight away that will instantly start the process of improve those pesky kids.

Ask questions

When we were kids, coaching was about telling us what to do. Play straight, “brush your ear”, don’t forget a long barrier.

These days its more about questions.

Questions are useful because there is very little fixed technique any more. There is no copybook. Different things work for different people. That means the only way to find out what works best for you in by experimenting.

So, telling a young player to “brush their ear” when bowling might seem sensible advice if they have a low arm, but it might just lead to other issues that confuses further. Remember, Malinga never needed that advice!

Instead, ask questions to tease out a solution from the player.

You can ask a kid things like, “how high is your arm when you let go of the ball?”, “How accurate is your bowling when you get tired and your arm drops?”, or more directly “What can you do to get your arm at 11 o’clock when you let go of the ball?”.

Questions like this are designed to get the playing thinking about - and trying - different ways of getting what they want (hitting the ball, bowling straight and so on).

Of course, your input is still valuable too. You know more than the kid about technique generally so you can throw in suggestions that fire up the problem-solving part of their brain to see how it goes.

But there is a problem with this way.

Despite being more effective, it’s also more frustrating to ask questions.

Some kids do not engage with the questions, saying “I don’t know” or “what do you think?”. Others see it as a test they need to pass by giving the “right” answer. It can be frustratingly slow to inspire some people.

That doesn’t mean you give up and just tell the girl with the “poke” drive to have a higher back lift. If you feel that temptation, remember she will be a lot better cricketer if you can tease a solution out that works for her rather than hoping she will be the female Brian Lara.

You might be desperate for a win in your next cricket match but, in the long run, more enjoyment through better understanding of their own game will keep kids coming back far more than a W in an U13 game.

Put cricket in context

Speaking of enjoyment, kids are motivated (and as a result improve quicker) when you meet their needs and wants.

One of the best ways to do this is to put everything into a context that sparks that motivation.

(And as a consequence, one of the worst ways is to try and fit cricket into kid’s lives in the same way as it fits yours; it’s rarely the same)

That means pitching all games and training in a way that fits the kid.

A 15 year old who is playing senior cricket and has ambitions on getting into the first XI will be motivated by techniques and tactics they can apply to get them wickets to get in contention.

An 11 year old playing their first season of hard ball cricket probably just wants to run around with their mates and have a fair turn.

A coach giving them a bunch of instructions about the “right” way to play is a recipe for disengagement.

But a coach who helps a player feel confident and comfortable enough to try - because it will help the child have more fun - is tapping into almost bottomless reserves of energy.

It’s all about setting the right context and letting the power of cricket work its magic.

I realise these seam subtle things that are not easy to see working. Persevere. By asking questions, being patient and remembering why kids come to the cricket in the first place, you stand a much better chance of keeping them coming back and building a team of passionate, motivated and skilful cricketers in the long run.



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Discover and Hone Your Best Batting Trigger Move
 

“I just try to stand still”

 

The young batsman had told me he was having trouble working out his pre-delivery movement, or trigger.

He is a thoughtful player and during the season had tied himself up in mental knots trying different triggers with no change to his batting performance. He knew it was time to get to the bottom of it.

The trouble with triggers

Back in the day, there was no such thing as a trigger move. You stood still and watched the ball. This method still has plenty of supporters today, but there is a problem.

Standing still doesn’t work for everyone.

Some people need a trigger. So, if you are one of those, “just standing still” is holding you back. But that’s a fact unknown to the guys who like to stand still.

Nonetheless, you see pre-delivery movements all the time in professional cricket for a reason. Triggers are effective at priming your body and mind for action. They help with rhythm and timing.

When they work.

And that’s the other trouble. Triggers are extra complexity and easy to get wrong. You might think you trigger like a pro but when you look on the video you end up almost tripping over your own feet.

Which brings us back to the lad at the start of this article.

Where are you now?

I threw a few balls for the player, asking him to just bat with no focus on triggers or anything else. After a dozen or so deliveries we reviewed on the PV/ONE video replay.

Despite his intention of standing still and watching the ball, we could see he was making an unconscious step towards the ball regardless of length: His trigger was a plant.

(A plant is when you respond to every ball by stepping forward the same way, regardless of length)

It was clear his body wanted to move, but it was also clear a plant was cutting off a lot of shots, especially off the back foot.

Listen to your body

We knew we needed to stop the plant, so I proposed we try and integrate a forward movement into a deliberate trigger move. I was hoping this would feel natural to the player and would click with him quickly rather than trying to force a difficult change on him.

The key point here is that you need to listen to what your body is telling you.

Standing still might work for you, or it might lead to an issue. Back and across could be the answer, or a forward press, but you can’t be sure until you try it and see how you respond. Usually, if it feels right, it works too.

After some underarm and overarm drills, some experimenting and some dead ends, we settled on a two step trigger move that echoed the plant. The difference was he got the front front movement done before the ball was bowled.

This allowed him to be ready to move forward or back again, while not locking him in to playing forward.

Once he got the timing of the movement right, I could see a marked improvement in his back foot play against bowling.

More importantly, it felt natural to do this. It was a simple timing adjustment, not a change of footwork. He started doing it right away.

And this is the ultimate goal of a trigger.

Do whatever you need to do to be ready to move in response to the ball.

For the player I was coaching, this was a small movement and slight pause as the ball was released. For you it might be to stand still or something else.

Experiment with it in nets and see what you can discover.

You’ll know quickly what feels right. Then work with it.



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Cricket Show S8 Episode 39: Impress the Coach
 

Sam Lavery and David Hinchliffe get into the cricket chat of the week. The discussion starts about how a new coach can impress a head coach. Then, there are questions about braced front leg for fast bowling and bat speed against spinners and seamers.

Remember to follow PitchVision Academy for free bonus content.

Listen for the details.

How to Send in Your Questions

If you want to win a cricket coaching prize, you need to send in your burning questions to the show. If your question is the best one we give you a free online cricket coaching course!

Send in your questions via:

Or you can call and leave your question on the Academy voice mail:

  • +44 (0)203 239 7543
  • +61 (02) 8005 7925

How to Listen to the Show

Just click the "play" button at the top of the show notes.

Or, the show comes out every Friday and you can listen to it on your phone or tablet every week automatically. Simply choose your favourite podcast player and do a search for the show:

Or subscribe manually with the RSS feed. Right click here, copy the link and paste it into the appropriate place for adding new feeds in your podcast subscription software or RSS reader.

You can also download this show onto your computer by clicking the play button at the top of the article, or clicking on the mp3 to download.

 



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How to Hit an Annoyingly Accurate Bowler off a Length
 

We have all been there; the nagging bowler who doesn't give you anything to hit, and just keeps plonking the ball on a length.

Time after time, while the runs dry up.

You fear being called too defensive, so you try hitting it and end up caught. Your game ruined.

What can you do?

It's simpler than you think, it just takes a little practice.


Read More...
 
How to Coach More Spin into Spinners
 

Where does spin come from?

Ask any spinner or any coach this question and you can get a huge number of answers ranging from the pivot of the foot, through to the angle of the delivery stride.

This is largely to do with the open question. A better question is,

"which part of the body has the most significant role to play when generating spin?"

Here's what I think.


Read More...
 

About PitchVision Academy
 

Welcome to this week's guide to playing and coaching better cricket.

I'm David Hinchliffe and I'm Director of the PitchVision Academy team. With this newsletter you are benefitting directly from over 25 Academy coaches. Our skills include international runs and wickets, first-class coaching, cutting-edge research and real-life playing experience.

 
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Issue: 482
Date: 2017-10-13