The Teesra

Category: coaching

  • Telling it like it is – communication matters

    An article in the Sydney Morning Herald provoked an interesting discussion on LinkedIn about the importance of communication for the coach.

    The article featured descriptions of individual batsmen’s techniques, including in-depth analysis of (perceived) technical flaws.

    To be fair to Neil D’Costa, the Aussie coach who came in for some criticism on the LinkedIn group, the descriptions look to me to contain pretty accurate diagnostic pen pictures, highlighting diversions from the “orthodox” technical models that we all refer back to.  We could argue about the remedies proposed, but I think the potential technical issues have been clearly identified.

    Whether they have been communicated adequately or appropriately is a different matter, however.

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  • Numbers that matter – contributions that don’t show up in the averages

    An interesting question posted by Shamus Robertson to the LinkedIn Cricket Coaches Worldwide group on LinkedIn – can we quantify the intangible contributions that do not normally not show up in the averages?

    …if our top 6 all averaged 50+ would the hundreds matter?

    Averages can only tell part of the story.  Is a score of 350+ (6×50+, plus a few runs from the tail) going to be enough?  Can you score the runs quickly enough to bowl the opposition out, twice?

    More important than absolute numbers must be the context – runs scored to win (or save) a game are (should be) worth more than runs scored in a draw.

    Supporting a team mate through a long innings, and backing up in the field – not recorded in the score-book, and rarely acknowledged in match reports.  But these are the contributions that are missing from a less successful team.

    Off-the-field contributions count for a lot, too, especially away from the professional game.  Turning up on time makes a big difference on match day, and being available every week saves the skipper from wasting his week filling up the team sheet for Saturday.

    We should be recognising the overall contribution of our players, and not just the runs scored and wickets taken (important as these are).  But how to devise a contribution scale that combines the quantitative (averages, aggregates, results) with the qualitative?  Does it even need an objective component? (more…)

  • “Four tent pegs” – twist

    Very interesting blog post from Steffan Jones (former County player/coach (Somerset CC, and Derbyshire CC, ECB Level 3 & UKSCA Certified) and a Strength & Conditioning expert), on the “four tent pegs” drill, as expounded by Ian Pont.

    “Drop step and block” (go on, buy the book!) certainly feels like a very dynamic start to an explosive delivery, and the whole drill offers a solid set of basic principles for bowling fast.

    But the video highlights one challenge I have to the tent pegs, and that is the transition from “tent peg 1” (essentially, back foot landing) to “tent  peg 2”.

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