The Teesra

Category: Games based learning

cricket games-based learning

  • Hit the reset button! Introducing learning opportunities (for batters) in games-based practice.

    I have been catching up with the winter programme of iCoachCricket Live, the webinar series for ECB Coaches Association members. Not all of the presentations resonate with me, but there are some nuggets amongst the chat.

    In the course of a discussion about the ECB CA’s new “Unleashing Potential” framework, there was some mention of how coaches might make better use of “games-based” practice by modifying the playing conditions to challenge the batters’ tactical (and technical) development.

    Of most interest (to me) was the concept of the “reset button” — if a pre-specified shot or tactic fails and the batter is dismissed, she can “press the reset” and have another go.

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  • Coach as “learning consultant” — can we help players to learn how to learn?

    Coach as “learning consultant” — can we help players to learn how to learn?

    Barney Ronay posted this, typically insightful, article on the recriminations after England’s latest Ashes drubbing — Not all failings of England’s Test team can be blamed on County cricket.

    One line stands out, for me.

    “Root’s complaints about not replicating exactly the conditions of Test cricket in advance are the words of a sports person who has been cosseted through a system from boyhood, who feels it is an oversight not to be spoon-fed the perfect prep…”

    Not, perhaps, that players expect to be spoon-fed, but that they perhaps don’t know how to learn if they are not spoon-fed?

    This might be key, beyond discussion of central contracts and what the England coaches actually do, beyond CAG & Academy pathways and inclusion, right back to how young players are first introduced to the game.

    So the question might be — do coaches know how to teach young players to learn?

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  • I like games…but it turns out I have misunderstood the video game approach to designing practice activities

    Fascinating to hear more from Amy Price speaking on iCoachCricket about her video game approach (VGA) to designing practice activities.

    Back in 2018 I tried to devise a couple of vga-inspired games, but, working way below the “high performance” level, I was looking for games-based activities that teach players how to play cricket, not how to play the games.

    In truth, my games are really gamified drills, and lack the strategising amd meta-cognitive elements that are clearly central to Amy’s conception of VGA.

    What follows are some initial thoughts on modifying Amy’s game (you will need to watch the series of videos on iCoachCricket) to support my notion of “purposeful” cricket practice, whilst introducing more of the “thinking about thinking” that is key to VGA.

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