The Teesra

Category: coaching

  • Last man standing – another game for the coaches’ kit bag

    One of the games we play with the Colts at our Club is ‘Last Man Standing’ (not to be confused with Last Man Stands). It’s a lot of fun, with batters and fielders fully engaged, and in spite of the very simplistic rules there are a number of learning opportunities embedded in the format.

    Batters come to the crease in rotation (as in racing/relay/carousel cricket) – if they get to the bowler’s end without being dismissed, they return to the line of waiting batters to have another go; if they get out, they join the fielding team; Last Man Standing is the winner.

    Players quickly come to appreciate that there is more to batting than a perfect forward defensive or a reverse sweep.

    [aside – no, I don’t directly coach either stroke.]

    • Placement into gaps and fast running are as important as technique, very often more so.
    • Players have to develop (and refine) tactics – do they block and run, or hit out for the open spaces? The latter can work well early on, when there are fewer fielders; less so as the outfield fills with a dozen or more of their team mates plus coaches and parents.
    • The game introduces competition (and can be brutal – we generally play ‘if you are out, you are out, no ‘first ball grace’, no ‘three chances’).
    • Fielding can be especially fierce – fielders enjoy trying to dismiss their teammates, and, with no penalties for overthrows, players are encouraged to (try to) throw down the stumps from any angle.

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  • “Knock ‘em down” & “Lock ‘em up” — first attempts at ‘video game’ style activities

    I have been trying out the ‘video game based design’ approach to cricket practices over the last month — aiming to create games that are easy to learn but hard to master, and where learning achievement (acquisition of skills)  is rewarded by the opening up of new and more challenging ‘levels’ in the game.

    I have settled on a couple of games that seem to meet some of the key criteria — I give you “Knock ‘em down” and “Lock ‘em up”. (more…)

  • Lock ‘em up — ‘video game design’ pt 2

    In ‘lock ‘em up’, the batting team earn ‘upgrades’ (more open spaces to hit the ball into) by ‘locking’ fielders into disadvantageous fielding positions by successfully hitting the ball into designated target areas.

    It is, in many respects, a gamified version of the old ‘Lord’s game’.  I have played it only with a front foot drive, but I can see no reason not to adapt it to for other attacking strokes.

    This game has developed from an idea shared by @imsporticus , modified to include concepts from @davidhinchliffe and @ianren21 — thanks to all of my fellow coaches for the inspiration, and also to @AmyPrice_10 et al. for the theoretical underpinnings of sports coaching informed by digital game design.

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