Category: Coach education

  • UK Coaching Week — Pass it on : Building Confidence

    Confidence comes from success. If players expect success, they are more likely to try something new.
    So one way to build confidence is to include lots of small wins for the players.

    But effective learning also comes out of failure…when it is followed by review & supportive feedback, followed by ultimate success, so it is important to allow the players to experience (small) failures.

    One of a series of short video posts for UK Coaching Week 2025.

  • More clarity on how to use the CLA — what don’t we know?

    Recently, Rob Gray posted a podcast in response to an article requesting “more research-informed guidelines” to support the constraints-led approach (CLA) in coaching.

    Well worth a listen for anyone interested in what the CLA really is.

    I do share Rob’s suspicions about the authors’ (mis)understanding of the CLA.

    But I also think the paper does raise some valid questions about how to apply the CLA, especially for new and volunteer coaches.

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  • Jimmy for England — what makes a “coach”?

    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?

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