Coaching philosophy v4.2.1.7†

Create an environment where everyone you #coach falls in love with the experience of playing – and the rest is up to them.

Wayne Goldsmith, on X (formerly — and still — known as Twitter)

Just make the players love the game.

It’s a great quote, and a wonderful aspiration.

But try putting “I just want to make the players love the game” at the top of your CV and see how many interviews you get!

With the current understanding of coaching (within English cricket, certainly), “fun” & “love for the game” will get you a gig running National Programmes and “community” sessions.

Which is where I am!

But why?

Coaching philosophy — what do I believe in?

I believe

• that children learn to do most effectively by doing, not by being instructed (ecological dynamics and a strongly games-based methodology; repetition without repetition);
• that they learn best when they want to learn (Whitehead’s “romance” phase; coach as “fire starter”);
• that they need space to “own” the games they play (mastery & autonomy);
• that they are best served when they are allowed to bring their own skills and personality to the game (which is why I so liked the Create Development model formerly promoted in training for National Programmes Activators);
• that “fun” is such a difficult concept to understand (Visek’s Fun Maps) that it is often more productive to aim for engagement (my preferred E in PEAS) over enjoyment.

This is based on 10 years’ coaching experience with children, including 5 years as lead coach for groups of U5s and U6s and Chance to Shine placements, supplemented by personal study (in the absence of any relevant courses from Coach Development).

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† I have no idea what version my coaching philosophy has reached, but “v4.2.1.7” at least tries to convey the fact that it changes and evolves, constantly!