The Teesra

Category: philosophy

_why_ we coach; why we coach the way we do

  • Where did you learn about coaching?

    Over the summer, a Twitter correspondent asked me how I learnt about coaching.

    Fair question.

    I do (probably too often) post quite definitive statements to Twitter of what I believe to be the reality of coaching. I am happy to express an opinion on subjects “way above my pay grade”. Even when those “opinions” are dressed up as questions, it’s easy enough to spot what I think the answer should be.

    So what are my coaching qualifications?

    I have an old level 2 coaching badge (2011) and quite a lot of hours actually coaching.

    And I have so much CPD on my CV that I need to prepare an edited version, or it looks as if I spend my life on courses…

    But I’m not sure how much of what I believe about coaching has been learnt from gaining badges or formal (and informal) CPD, and how much has been shaped by prior experience at “the University of Life”.

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  • Belonging — at the very heart of “inclusion” and “diversity”, surely?

    Cricket in England* is facing an existential crisis of a series of racism scandals and widespread criticism for the lack of diversity across the game.

    There has been a lot wrong with the game, but hopefully some good will come out of the reviews and Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) initiatives.

    But there surely needs to be more to EDI than statements of intent, and training, and disciplinary sanctions. A former coaching colleague, Ollie Rae, made what I thought was a very perceptive observation.

    You can not have inclusion and diversity without people feeling like they belong.

    https://twitter.com/ollierae14/status/1504752485218590722?s=21&t=CHGvpdo14rHnC4Rmsauqow

    What does “belonging” mean? What could a cricket club (the wider game) do to encourage those “outside cricket” to come inside?

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  • Pedagogy & philosophy — ECB National Programmes getting it right

    This post relates to the National Programmes prior to 2022. Changes to the training programmes for Activators in 2023 and 2024 have rather changed my opinion.

    In a recent post I mentioned how, in my opinion, the ECB’s National Programmes have more to say about learning to play (by playing “games” to learn; repetition without repetition) and player behaviours (the multi-ability model, developed in collaboration with Create Development) than the mainstream coaching programmes.

    I ran All Stars sessions for three years, pre-lockdown, and have delivered training for National Programmes Activators for a couple of years, now, and the more I see the more I am convinced by the underlying pedagogy and philosophy of the National Programmes.

    Pedagogy — the method and practice of teaching

    Philosophy — a theory or attitude that acts as a guiding principle for behaviour

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