The Teesra

Category: coaching

  • Adapting jail-break cricket for YPA

    On Saturday I attended an ECB CPD workshop, Training & Interventions for Young People & Adults (YPA).

    As part of the workshop, we each had to devise a training intervention.  I came up with this – derived from the jail-break cricket game.

    For a group of U17s, moving from 20 over to 40 over (or longer) format; challenged by the need to bat for longer periods of time without sacrificing scoring opportunities.

    Batting in pairs, batters have a limited number of “lives”; lose them all, and the innings is over; gain more lives by hitting the ball to a designated target zone (analogous to the JBZ). (more…)

  • It ain’t what you say, it’s what gets understood.  Or “coaching lessons from three year olds”

    Fascinating little video clip from @CoachLisle, which beautifully illustrates the perils of (mis)communication for coaches.

    Top listening skills from the player, great learning opportunity for the coach!

    There is a lot to be said for all coaches spending time young players and beginners – to refine their communication skills, and the identify the core, non-negotiable elements of technical skills.

    If you were teaching a three year old to hit a ball, where would you start?  Grip, stance, back-swing?

    Or “look at the ball, swing the bat back and whack”? (more…)

  • How to Introduce Javelin to Young Athletes – from Coaching Young Athletes

    If this works for teaching javelin (and I’m sure it does), perhaps there is something here for bowling?

    I often see young cricketers struggle with “bowling from base” – they miss the all-important rotation from a basically side-on base to front-on release when there is no inherent forward motion – and the step-by-step approach might help to get them through this.

    I’ll have to try this out – perhaps starting from “withdraw & throw”…with a straight arm, of course!

    Darren Wensor's avatarCoaching Young Athletes

    Coach Young Athletes to Throw a Javelin in 6 Simple Steps

    The following sequence can be used to introduce the javelin to beginners using either modified javelins (e.g. Turbojavs) or the real implement. I have used these teaching steps with class-sized groups of up to thirty children within a thirty minute session and with smaller groups and individuals.

    Group Organization & Supervision

    When teaching a throwing skill to large groups, ensuring the best use of the limited time available is vital. Maximizing activity time and organizing smooth transitions between activities is important if a throwing session with large numbers is to be productive. To ensure the athletes receive the maximum number of attempts, I aim to provide as many implements as possible. Therefore with a group of thirty participants, if I have fifteen implements, I will arrange it so that the athletes work in pairs, with fifteen of the group…

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