BATTING ESSENTIALS
TM
Cricket COACHING SYSTEM
COACHING FEEDBACK
Techniques
​2 simple, yet effective, TECHNIQUES to provide EFFECTIVE Feedback
So now that ...
the 2 Sources of Feedback have been explained
some examples of INEFFECTIVE Feedback have been provided
the 6 Components of EFFECTIVE Feedback have been explained
... we can now look at TECHNIQUES, we as coaches can incorporate into our coaching sessions, to provide players with more effective feedback.
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Providing effective feedback is about ensuring that most, if not all, of the 6 Components of EFFECTIVE Feedback are present each time feedback is provided by the Coach.
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To help improve feedback quality, there are 2 simple, yet effective TECHNIQUES that can be used to provide a player with higher quality feedback that is going to be of use to them - 'I LIKE' LANGUAGE and the FEEDBACK SANDWICH.
'I LIKE' LANGUAGE
FEEDBACK SANDWICH
By incorporating 'I LIKE' LANGUAGE and the FEEDBACK SANDWICH techniques into your coaching , the quality and effectiveness of the feedback, you can provide to players, can improve dramatically. All it takes is a bit of conscious practice to develop these techniques and make them an automatic part of your coaching process.
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Also, make sure to be consistent with feedback!
EFFECTIVE Feedback TECHNIQUES
'I LIKE' LANGUAGE
'I LIKE' LANGUAGE is a really simple and effective TECHNIQUE allowing specific and useful feedback to be provided to the player.
EXAMPLE: Player attempting the Front Drive
START with a positive comment by acknowledging the effort and what was good about the attempt –
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"good shot", "good effort" or "well done" (this is isolated encouragement – positive, but NOT useful)
FINISH with –
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“I LIKE the way you held your balance and kept your front elbow high”
The 'I LIKE' LANGUAGE immediately reinforces to the player that the shot was successful because of the great balance and high front elbow – the player immediately infers that this is desirable and should be repeated.
NOTE:
Additional PRESCRIPTIVE Feedback can then be added to the 'I LIKE' LANGUAGE for even more effect (if required).
FEEDBACK SANDWICH
The FEEDBACK SANDWICH is one of my favourite ways to provide feedback – it is a very effective and easy to implement TECHNIQUE.
The FEEDBACK SANDWICH incorporates all of the components of providing EFFECTIVE feedback into a single feedback block or statement.
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With this technique, the feedback and corrections are 'sandwiched' between positively phrased comments:
POSITIVE
FEEDBACK
POSITIVE
EXAMPLE: Player attempting the Front Drive
START with a positive comment by acknowledging the effort and what was good about the attempt –
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'Well done, that was a really good effort'
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'I liked the strong step and turn and the way you bent into the front knee'
The NEXT STEP is to provide feedback and a solution –
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“I noticed, though, that your front elbow collapsed at impact causing the bat face to close, resulting in the mis-hit you felt” (this is DESCRIPTIVE Feedback – say this with a demonstration if possible)
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“What I want you to do next time, is to hold your front elbow high at the point of impact and keep your hands moving through the ball as you the complete the shot” (this is PRESCRIPTIVE Feedback – say this with a demonstration if possible)
FINISH with a positive comment about what was good and repeat the PRESCRIPTIVE Feedback for how the player can improve –
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“I really like the way you are stepping and turning and putting your weight into your front knee – and for this next shot – let's get the front elbow nice and high and both hands through the ball”
Immediately provide the player with an opportunity to action the feedback in the next delivery.
You can see that, even in this short exchange, by using the FEEDBACK SANDWICH technique, the player has been provided with feedback that is:
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Positive
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Timely
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Specific
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and has:
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received 'I LIKE' Language
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and been provided an immediately actionable solution
