Cricket Coaching

LESSON PLANS
Coaching Notes

OVERVIEW

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IMPORTANT ...

Please read these Coaching Notes BEFORE you begin the LESSON PLANS!

In these COACHING NOTES, we discuss ...

START WITH ACTIVITY

Players don't come into a coaching session because they want to listen to 5 or 10 minutes worth of instructions – they come into a coaching session because they are eager to start playing!

SESSION FREQUENCY

For sessions to be effective, players need time after each session – at least 3 to 4 days – for the brain to absorb the information presented during the session.

BOWLING MACHINES

I discuss:

why I prefer the use of a bowling machine;
the way in which a bowling machine should be used during the coaching sessions; and
the advantages and disadvantages of bowling machine use.

START WITH ACTIVITY

SESSION FREQUENCY

BOWLING MACHINES

COACHING NOTES

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One of the most common questions coaches have is ...

"HOW DO WE GET OUR

PLAYERS READY TO LEARN?"

The answer ...

START WITH ACTIVITY!

Activity

START WITH ACTIVITY!

START WITH ACTIVITY

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Coaches need to realise that, players don't come into a coaching session because they want to listen to 5 or 10 minutes worth of instructions – they come into a coaching session because they are eager to start playing!

One of the first rules of coaching and The Number 1 Pro Tip I can give you is to make sure you start each session with activity!

If it's the player's first session, then get the player hitting a few balls so you can assess the player's skill level– for example: how they move, react, setup after each ball (shot quality is unimportant at this stage).

If it's a carry on session, begin with a delivery that reinforces a skill from the previous session – regardless of what it is, get the player hitting some balls!

Experience shows (every time), that players will always be more receptive to 'being coached' after they have hit some balls.

With this in mind, each of the Lesson Plans in this Program, begin with the player hitting balls.

Session frequency

SESSION FREQUENCY

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There are 10 Lesson Plans in this program making up the first 5 hours of training.

To ensure maximum player focus and understanding, each Lesson Plan is designed to be delivered in 30 minute training blocks (utilizing the Chunking coaching concept - as discussed in the COACHING PRINCIPLES module).

It may be tempting to try and complete the 10 sessions as quickly as possible – please resist the temptation to do this!

For sessions to be effective, players need time after each session – at least 3 to 4 days – for the brain to absorb the information presented during the session (the term for this is 'assimilate').

It is therefore recommended, that only 1 x 30 minute (specific skills training) session be undertaken, on any single day, with a maximum of 2 skills-focused sessions in any 7 day period (with at least 3 to 4 days between sessions).

With this is mind, you should look to complete the first 5 hours of training in around 6 to 7 weeks as a minimum and up to 10 weeks if focusing on 1 skills development session per week.

BOWLING MACHINES

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To implement this program, I highly recommend the use of a bowling machine! The key is for the delivered ball to be consistent in terms of speed, bounce and accuracy.

In this section, I outline why I prefer the use of a bowling machine, the way in which a bowling machine should be used during the coaching sessions and I discuss the advantages and disadvantages of bowling machine use.

CONSISTENCY

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A predictable and consistent ball delivery is required, by beginning players, in order to obtain the repetitive skill practices required to build up confidence with each technique.

I have experimented with various ball delivery methods and have found that only a bowling machine is able to deliver the quantity and consistency of deliveries that new players need.

Therefore, in order to implement this coaching program effectively, use of a bowling machine is highly recommended to enable you to provide the ball consistency required for developing each shot.

I am aware there are advantages and disadvantages regarding the use of bowling machines ... click the below link to read more.

Bowling machines

Advantages &

Disadvantages

BALLS PER SET

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I have found, through experience, that 22 to 24 balls per bucket of balls is the most effective number of deliveries (concentration and focus starts to run out after 24 balls).

Each bucket of balls takes about 5 minutes (including shot play, coach talk time and ball pick up).

NOTE: People view picking up the balls to be a waste of training time and can be tempted to use more balls per round or to continually fill the bucket without a pause – do NOT do this – the break between sets is necessary for the player's mind to rest before the next set (a small amount of brain-coding happens during these mini-breaks as well).

Each 5 minute set delivers a certain piece of information and allows practice to consolidate concepts or techniques.

Approximately 4 to 6 buckets of balls are delivered in a 30 minute session.

Quality of training is important in the early phases of skill development (NOT quantity)!

BALL CHOICE

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For the development of some shots, it may be necessary to use a tennis ball or softer ball rather than a standard bowling machine ball. This is often the case when introducing shorter pitched deliveries for back foot shots.

Some (beginning or very young) players are naturally more worried about a rising harder ball and a tennis ball will provide a safe bounce at lower speeds than you can achieve with a bowling machine ball.

I will often, for instance, use a tennis ball with beginning players while developing the Pull Shot as the ball is delivered over a leg stump line and beginning players are uncomfortable with a harder ball directed towards the line of their body.

Whereas, I generally use a bowling machine ball for Cut Shot development (in cases where I can get sufficient bounce) as the ball is delivered wide of off-stump and causes no real threat to the players body.

If a tennis or softer ball is used (for any shot development), make sure the correct contact points and technique movements are still practiced.

OPERATION OF A BOWLING MACHINE

OPERATION

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NOTE: It is important that you know how to setup, operate and feed balls into a bowling machine to deliver the correct ball for the shot being developed (line, length and speed) and in accordance with the capability of the player you are working with.

If you are inexperienced with the use of a bowling machine, it will be worthwhile becoming familiar with the operation of the machine BEFORE you attempt to coach a player.

Each lesson plan indicates the appropriate setup of the bowling machine for the skills being developed.

Bowling machines

Bowling machine alternatives

BOWLING MACHINE ALTERNATIVES

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If you don’t have access to a bowling machine, then other methods for delivering the ball will need to be used ...

Drop balls and batting tees can be useful (to a degree), however, I think it always best for the player to have a ball moving towards them (as would be the case if they were facing a bowler). Therefore, if you don't have access to a bowling machine, I would recommend using a hand-delivered ball. REMEMBER that it is the consistency of the delivery that is important – be sure to practice first!

For further explanation of a hand delivery method, click on the link below:

Hand delivery method

SUMMARY

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If you have followed the program in the sequence provided ...

you understand the COACHING PRINCIPLES

you know how to provide EFFECTIVE FEEDBACK

you have learnt about the 20 ESSENTIAL CONCEPTS

the ESSENTIAL SKILLS provided you with the key movement components providing you a Frame of Reference for your coaching

you are aware of the recommended session duration and frequency from the COACHING NOTES

... you are NOW ready to begin implementing the LESSON PLANS with your player!

LESSON PLANS MODULE

OVERVIEW

BATTING ESSENTIALS

TM