Jimmy Anderson’s announcement of his retirement from Test cricket was greeted with a suggestion that he should immediately be taken on as a coach-mentor with the England Test team.
Earlier in the year, Rob Key stated that he believes Andrew Flintoff could be the next Head Coach of England. And Flintoff will be Head Coach for the Northern Superchargers in the Hundred this summer.
Anderson and Flintoff are both great cricketers.
But what does the suggestion that both could be fast-tracked into senior coaching positions say about the standing of professional coaches in English cricket?
Great players ≠ great coaches
Do you think they have listened to him when he was playing?
Would the bowlers be any more able to follow his example when he is on the boundary, when they could not when he was on the pitch with them?— Andrew Beaven (@TheTeesra) May 11, 2024 [posted on X.com; account now deleted]
Coaching (or mentoring) is not (only) about knowing all the answers, but about successfully transferring that knowledge to a receptive listener, at the right moment.
Some people have the knack. Some can learn it, or develop it over time. Mostly, as with developing any skill, it takes practice.
Flintoff has “taken his coaching badges”…but does that actually mean anything, now? How much actual coaching has he done, in between boxing and filming and hospital?
Coaching & coach development — time for a new direction?
An English coach [male*] has never won an ICC tournament with England, nor has one won an Ashes series since Micky Stewart in 1987.
Danny Frankland on Being Outside Cricket, discussing the implications of the Andrew Strauss High Performance Review for coaching in England & Wales.
Coaching does not seem to have been well-served by English cricket.
Last year the ECB posted an advert for a new Head of Coach Development. Arguably, the position has been vacant for several years, so little attention has been paid to the development pathway during my time as a coach, initially as a volunteer, then part-time, latterly as a tutor for Activators in National Programmes.
The Head of Coach Development was to ensure that coaches at “…all levels of the game — Men’s and Women’s, adults and junior — can access world class learning and development opportunities.”
Making coaching accessible is key. But not at the cost of dumbing down the “craft” before it ever gets recognised as a profession.
It is vital to identify a viable development pathway within coaching. There is no point opening the front door if the internal barriers to progression aren’t removed. Barriers like the immediate promotion of former players to senior coaching positions. Only for them to disappear from the national scene after a couple of unsuccessful tours.
Also within the job description, the Head of Coach Development would “…work collaboratively with the wider cricket network to raise the profile and impact of coaching across all levels of the game.” (My emphasis).
And yet we are seeing the dilution of the National Programmes. The ambition in the original vision is being lost. “Player centred coaching” now equates with identifying skill deficits…for 5 year olds.
Activators are told that the only way to advance their coaching “careers” (I would most certainly include volunteer coaches in “career development”) is to enrol on the coaching pathway, with Foundation & Core coach qualifications…with no CPD, minimal support, little prospect of developing further.
Why are they not being encouraged to become the very best children’s coach they can be?
The old post-level 2 “Coaching Children” CPD courses were good, but were soon discontinued. Perhaps none of the pathway coaches were interested? If so, it says a lot about what ECB Coach Development really think of putting their best coaches into child development.
Further, “[t]hrough evolution of the system and embracing innovation, there will be a focus on lifelong learning, bespoke support for those with high potential and access to opportunity regardless of background.”
All very important aspirations for the new Head of Coach Development.
Applications closed in November 2023. Six months later, the position has not been filled.
Perhaps they have a supremely qualified candidate, with a long notice period to serve, lined up for the post?
Or perhaps the coach development pathway will drift along for another year.
* For completeness, several English coaches have coached England Women to tournament success, most recently Ruth Prideaux coached England Women to the 1993 Cricket World Cup, 26 years before the Men had any similar success; Mark Lane coached England Women to the 2009 Women’s Cricket World Cup and T20 World Cup; Paul Shaw coached to Ashes victories in 2013 & 2013-14; Mark Robinson repeated the World Cup victory in 2017.
What do you think? Leave a reply.