The Teesra

Category: cricket

  • Batting slumps and other losses of form — what to do next?

    I suspect that most of us who have played cricket for any length of time will have experienced a run of poor scores.

    Often for no apparent reason — not down to any obvious technical failings, or over-confidence, or excessive diffidence.

    That next run can seem a very long way away, as you take guard for another innings.

    But as with any challenge, in sport or in life, a bad run can be the opportunity to re-group, re-define goals, and move on to better things.

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  • That is “over”

    And “good riddance” to 2020.

    Last year was almost a write-off for coaching, for me. A busy 10 weeks pre-lockdown, including a very hopeful day learning to tutor new All Stars and Dynamos Cricket Activators, but nothing else for me since early March.

    I’ve not been shielding, but with my parents both in their 80s to look out for, it makes sense to avoid the risk of infection by giving a wide berth to crowds — schools, and public transport, have been off the schedule.

    One regular coaching venue did manage to re-open for (some of) the autumn term, but (sensibly) their draft Risk Assessment explicitly stated “… staff…requiring difficult journeys on public transport will be kept away…”. No work, there.

    But, to be honest, I really haven’t missed coaching during first lockdown, nor since. The hours spent travelling, carting a kitbag on trains, for just a couple of hours coaching, had become a chore.

    But what to do in 2021?

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  • Attrition in junior membership numbers — can we encourage “drop-ins”?

    Really interesting from Professor Catherine Woods of University of Limerick in her presentation “Youth Sport Dropout: Prevention is Better than Cure” at the iCoachKids (virtual) Conference on 2nd December 2020.

    Professor Woods’ main focus was on ways of keeping junior players engaged with sport as they get a little older (see below for a link to the presentation).

    But something else she said really chimed with me — some sports seem to get a second intake of “drop-ins”, with junior participants transferring in from another sport.

    Dropout does not have to mean STOP. Sport specific dropout does not have to lead to sport general dropout.

    Professor Catherine Woods, University of Limerick

    But this begs the question — what can cricket do to facilitate “drop-in”?

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