Custom Bats Cricket Forum
General Cricket => Cricket Training, Fitness and Injuries => Topic started by: SOULMAN1012 on June 22, 2021, 05:05:59 PM
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So just wanted to get the views of any coaches out there on a view I’m starting to formulate on how young players are coming into senior cricket.
Iv seen on multiple occasions this year young players about 14-16 who are mainly batters come in and there techniques seem totally drilled to facing bowling machine in half volleys and nothing else. They chew up lots of delivers and seem to play nothing else but a drive or forward defence and that’s about it.
Prime example if the last two Iv seen turn up in there full county age group kit and can’t hit a ball off the square. We play against some of the big prem and div 1 clubs in our league and they all have young players in there 2nd teams but they seem so annoyed with themselves when they get 10-15 off say 10 overs or get out playing an expansive shot because they seem incapable of rotating the strike or doing anything to put the bowler off a length.
So what’s happening with coaching, is it to much bowling machine driven coaching and so wrapped up in technique as opposed to actual game situation??
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You are going to need to break down their technique and approach to get the to reset where their scoring areas are.
Away from a bowling machine.
I start with under arming balls at the players chest and get them to pull them. Working hard on their ball striking is a good start.
Then feed them balls in more realistic league areas, short of a length and get them to work out what their scoring areas are going to be.
Then it is a case of what are the strike rotation options.
It doesn't take that long.
Finally there is the mental aspect, what are they trying to do are they working out what the bowlers are trying to do.
When batting it is key you don't get two youngsters batting together if you can help it. You need a senior pro to talk them through it.
It is depressing how few half vollies outside the off stump I get when I play. 😂
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I had the honour to bowl to an eleven years old. And I bowled like 45 minutes to him. Off side shot he played, were just wonderful! Very relaxed and fluent.
Is weak on the leg but within that time he showed improvement.
It's the talent and the will that account! He's been coached from the start, that's a big advantage! And I'm very sure he'll make one hell of a batter! If he keeps his motivation and hard work.
He said he's a bowler too, wants to be a good all rounder. I asked him to bowl, and he turns out to be good bowler, his first delivery after that long batting just spot on! Asked about his fielding, he said, that's not that good.
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I asked his dad what number he bats, he said, at 4. Reason being he wants to bowl as well. Then I try tried to convince him to let his son bat as an opener one week and lower next. Before we left, he said, actually I will bat him as an opener and see how that goes.
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I think this is where the sidearm tool comes into it's own. Bowling machines are great at drilling a specific shot or area but the sidearm provides a bit more variety.
It has been a while since I've been involved in coaching but I think it's important to go beyond technique and look at mentoring as well. By this I mean sitting down with players at the end of the game/coaching session and going through what worked well and what could be improved on. You have to be realistic with the people you are coaching, they might see ABD hit one out of ground and think "I can do that" but it's how you tell them that they most probably can't but this is what they can do instead (placement/running between the wickets).
Any practice that you do has to have a purpose even if it is a case of today we are working on playing the ball late and running singles against a bowler who is limiting the scoring. I see far too much practice for the sake of hitting a bowling machine ball.
Technique is important but a holistic approach to coaching that looks at the development of the player/person is how I would prefer to be coached. Any player needs a mentor or someone they can talk to about the game. The hard part is finding good mentors with the players/club at heart.
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One thing I like to do is match situation training, if I have use of an old Strip i'll get the batsmen in and just under arm him some balls to start, place cones where a normal type field would be set and get them to try and hit the gaps, then I'll get one of the younger lads to bowl at him with the instruction as if it was a match and you were defending 15 off the last over, this helps both bat to think about the shots he's playing and work it around and bowler to think about how to bowl in pressure situations.
I'll then bring in another bowler etc... I don't believe facing a different bowler every ball as you do in nets is realistic but it's a necessary evil when club netting. But when I can I try and get 6 balls off the same bowler.
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I’m not sure about anyone else’s club, but I find the most frustrating thing regarding youngsters is fielding.
We have a couple of lads who play county age group and their fielding is (No Swearing Please) hot as they’re always on their toes, walking in etc.
But the ones who aren’t are pretty much always on stand-by mode. They don’t walk in, they don’t even focus on the batsman and seem surprised every time the ball comes near them. We have one in particular who is away with the fairies and costs us runs every week.
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I’m not sure about anyone else’s club, but I find the most frustrating thing regarding youngsters is fielding.
We have a couple of lads who play county age group and their fielding is (No Swearing Please) hot as they’re always on their toes, walking in etc.
But the ones who aren’t are pretty much always on stand-by mode. They don’t walk in, they don’t even focus on the batsman and seem surprised every time the ball comes near them. We have one in particular who is away with the fairies and costs us runs every week.
Ha plenty at my club do this and they don't even have the excuse of being young!
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My personal favourite is the ones who walk in, then when the ball gets hit their way, they stop and wait for it to come to them. Defeats the entire point of walking in 🤦🏻😂
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Bowling machines are great for drilling a shot but like Buzz said.. start with under arms and progress up
Most clubs just use machines in lieu of any actual coaching or training and just let people (nt just kids) Bash balls with no real aim
obviously as amateurs we won't have 'all the shots in the book' but you still try and train as many all round shots as you can. Then with the player, assess which they like playing (because lets face it.. enjoyment is the key thing!) and which they are good at, not so good at.. then work on the mental side .. aka.. look to play their strong shots, put the weaker ones away until you're on 50 etc etc.
Kids I've found have lovely looking shots but have zero ability to adapt to the game or willingness and while people will say 'they are young'.. it's kinda the mark of a good player if they adapt their game to suit the situation, the pitch.. the bowler etc.
Realistically though, most kids just want to have fun so whatever as a coach you do.. keep it fun. After all, our games really don't matter and if it isn't fun, they will walk away sooner rather than later and the game loses out
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I’m not sure about anyone else’s club, but I find the most frustrating thing regarding youngsters is fielding.
We have a couple of lads who play county age group and their fielding is (No Swearing Please) hot as they’re always on their toes, walking in etc.
But the ones who aren’t are pretty much always on stand-by mode. They don’t walk in, they don’t even focus on the batsman and seem surprised every time the ball comes near them. We have one in particular who is away with the fairies and costs us runs every week.
A lot of this comes down to confidence....its hard for some of us old gits to remember the nerves of playing senior cricket for the first time and in particular the perceived pressure of league matches. the captain also needs to get the fielders in the right place. Just because they are young they are not all going to be gun fielders or prepared to throw themselves at the ball. No Nasser Hussain style cap throwing when miss fields happen - we all miss some from time to time. They also appreciate more the importance of fielding as they get more experienced.
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Every winter I deconstruct a players batting no matter what age or ability. During the season a player will always fall into bad habits whether it is footwork, balance, bat plane etc and rebuild form the ground up. Over time we progress onto the bowling machine to repeat and grove a pattern. Session by session we slightly modify length and line before then moving to the Side arm approx. 6 weeks before the season starts, this allows much more variation into what comes down at the player.
Bowling machines have their place at any time however can be relied on too much.
Regarding fielding, ALL group session start with 20-30 minutes of fielding drills. Just yesterday I was working with our Under 11's, they're all nailing it. I outline the importance of fielding on a regular basis to all groups whether it be under 9's or 1st XI.
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I’m not sure about anyone else’s club, but I find the most frustrating thing regarding youngsters is fielding.
We have a couple of lads who play county age group and their fielding is (No Swearing Please) hot as they’re always on their toes, walking in etc.
But the ones who aren’t are pretty much always on stand-by mode. They don’t walk in, they don’t even focus on the batsman and seem surprised every time the ball comes near them. We have one in particular who is away with the fairies and costs us runs every week.
One of my sons team didn't show up last match, so he ('keeper) had to bowl 2 overs and field one over. It was immediately apparent that he was much more "switched on" than his team mates. When I thought about it though- it made sense. He has to expect every ball to come to him as a keeper, and prepare for it every ball. The normal fielders might have been stood there for 20+ minutes without the ball coming near them. It's very hard to maintain that level of concentration and intensity- especially when you know it's going to be wasted the vast majority of the time. That said, it also isn't trained as much as it should be- with a focus on nets to improve batting and bowling.
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I was talking to the current club chairman about juniors getting into 1st and 2nd XIs. He said that in club meeting he raised this point and told them that as club we're failed in doing this! Having 1500 juniors. Reasons being they lose interest in the game, not prepared to train more frequently, they start another sport.
This is from a man who's played 30 plus years for the club, played Surrey Premier league!
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You have over 1000 juniors and they're not regularly making it into your Saturday league teams? We've just got over 100 for the first time this year and last weekend we had 6 current/former junior players in the 1st team, plus more playing in the 2s and 3s. Think you've got a bit more going wrong than just kids wanting to do something else with their Saturdays...
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You have over 1000 juniors and they're not regularly making it into your Saturday league teams? We've just got over 100 for the first time this year and last weekend we had 6 current/former junior players in the 1st team, plus more playing in the 2s and 3s. Think you've got a bit more going wrong than just kids wanting to do something else with their Saturdays...
Might be that they're not as much talented as, might be that they're being over coached, even their parents are coaching them, might be that the coaches are not capable, because anyone can be a coach, only needs to get diplomas.
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Might be that they're not as much talented as, might be that they're being over coached, even their parents are coaching them, might be that the coaches are not capable, because anyone can be a coach, only needs to get diplomas.
With 1500 juniors I think it's a stretch to claim that lack of talent, overcoaching, parental interference or poor coaches can be to blame for none of them stepping up to first or second team cricket. Failure on that scale to get young players through the system sounds like a cultural failing of the club and the youth system.
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With 1500 juniors I think it's a stretch to claim that lack of talent, overcoaching, parental interference or poor coaches can be to blame for none of them stepping up to first or second team cricket. Failure on that scale to get young players through the system sounds like a cultural failing of the club and the youth system.
Yes my man, this is what that guy told the club!
And that makes huge part of their income!
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I am working with U9s this year and for the love of God can't get some of them to bowl straight, any tips or videos will be most appreciated.
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No amount of coaching in the world will ever make up for kids not being able to regularly watch cricket on fta tv.
I received zero coaching when I was a kid, I learnt by watching test matches and playing games with my mates. I still scored my first competitive adult 50 when I was 14.
How many *totally uncoached* kids today do that?
I coach kids today and without any more natural ability or time being coached, the 10% whose parents have sky sports are just SO much better than the ones who don't.
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In addition to the helpful comments so far I suggest encouraging as many of them as possible to come down for a while on club match days to watch the seniors....not to learn bad habits :D but again watch and understand the game more. Plus if you have nets or spare space they can play games like one hand one bounce etc. for hours. It all helps.
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Agree on watching, I am going to find YouTube highlights and send to parents.
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We need to teach them to score runs, not be a good net batter. Use appropriate drills to practice turning the strike over with a single. Focus on backing up and running between wickets. Teach hitting zones or gaps in field. Mix it up with targeting leg-side zones and offside bowling, hitting zones while freezing their feet to make a late adjustment with the hands, etc. Do you coach hitting over the top? Can they do it consistently?
Agree with all!
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Watching tele doesn't make a better cricketer.
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Watching tele doesn't make a better cricketer.
well it can. You can learn a hell of a lot by watching pro's play . Obviously expecting to be able to consistently perform the hitting side of things at amateur level is absurd as we just aren't good enough and expecting team to play like ea pro team is also absurd as people aren't going to be happy wandering in and swinging from the hip and paying ££ for that but still.. you can learn a lot
As always, mix it in with skills and drills but if you over drill.. you create a robot and eventually.. they get bored of nets/drills and drift away
IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE FUN... make amateur cricket fun to play and shock horror.. people will actually want to play it in numbers. Make it too 'professional' with drills, long warm ups etc etc.. shock horror.. people walk away
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well it can. You can learn a hell of a lot by watching pro's play . Obviously expecting to be able to consistently perform the hitting side of things at amateur level is absurd as we just aren't good enough and expecting team to play like ea pro team is also absurd as people aren't going to be happy wandering in and swinging from the hip and paying ££ for that but still.. you can learn a lot
As always, mix it in with skills and drills but if you over drill.. you create a robot and eventually.. they get bored of nets/drills and drift away
IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE FUN... make amateur cricket fun to play and shock horror.. people will actually want to play it in numbers. Make it too 'professional' with drills, long warm ups etc etc.. shock horror.. people walk away
👍
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We need to teach them to score runs, not be a good net batter. Use appropriate drills to practice turning the strike over with a single. Focus on backing up and running between wickets. Teach hitting zones or gaps in field. Mix it up with targeting leg-side zones and offside bowling, hitting zones while freezing their feet to make a late adjustment with the hands, etc. Do you coach hitting over the top? Can they do it consistently?
I get what you're saying and agree with most however adjusting the hands and hitting over the top at 9 years old? NO! A child of this age needs the confidence of scoring runs not getting out every over ball. As kids develop and they all maturate at different times which you need to take on board then you can coach this skill however even then some are not able to do this or don't have the physical strength.
The best thing to do is to enhance the natural ability and refine slightly when required.
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well it can. You can learn a hell of a lot by watching pro's play . Obviously expecting to be able to consistently perform the hitting side of things at amateur level is absurd as we just aren't good enough and expecting team to play like ea pro team is also absurd as people aren't going to be happy wandering in and swinging from the hip and paying ££ for that but still.. you can learn a lot
As always, mix it in with skills and drills but if you over drill.. you create a robot and eventually.. they get bored of nets/drills and drift away
IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE FUN... make amateur cricket fun to play and shock horror.. people will actually want to play it in numbers. Make it too 'professional' with drills, long warm ups etc etc.. shock horror.. people walk away
Lets get this right, when children see and advert for a new computer game, they want it equally when they see an exciting advert for playing sports it will perk the ears of those who are interested too. Being able to watch the game being played will enhance their knowledge and even listening to the commentary at time will teach them or at least prompt a question or too. The facts are that with the demise of FTA TV in the UK the participation numbers have dropped massively whilst football which is also in hardly ever on FTA TV has grown exponentially. So is this really the only answer?
I coach a lot of kids, in-fact I have a business created just for this coaching children aged 2-8. The drills we do are fun and have an element of competition which although is not totally important at this age you do see those with a little more about them. the kids leave with a smile on their face already looking forward to next week, drill are important but need to be done in the right way.
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Lets get this right, when children see and advert for a new computer game, they want it equally when they see an exciting advert for playing sports it will perk the ears of those who are interested too. Being able to watch the game being played will enhance their knowledge and even listening to the commentary at time will teach them or at least prompt a question or too. The facts are that with the demise of FTA TV in the UK the participation numbers have dropped massively whilst football which is also in hardly ever on FTA TV has grown exponentially. So is this really the only answer?
I coach a lot of kids, in-fact I have a business created just for this coaching children aged 2-8. The drills we do are fun and have an element of competition which although is not totally important at this age you do see those with a little more about them. the kids leave with a smile on their face already looking forward to next week, drill are important but need to be done in the right way.
Mate, football is always on fta tv. There are like 3 games a day on at the moment. You can't escape from it.
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Mate, football is always on fta tv. There are like 3 games a day on at the moment. You can't escape from it.
plus it's an easy game for all schools , clubs and break/lunch times to play. Football isn't loved it's just super super easy to provide facilities for. Cricket.. not so much sadly
apart from that.. Butters is right, Participation won't come back until cricket is FTA.. streaming is doing wonders but the benefit won't be seen for years and needs to reach the younger people.
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Mate, football is always on fta tv. There are like 3 games a day on at the moment. You can't escape from it.
This happens every 2 years!
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This happens every 2 years!
FA Cup, Europa League knockout, Champions League knockout all regularly available on FTA as well remember.
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FA Cup, Europa League knockout, Champions League knockout all regularly available on FTA as well remember.
FA Cup yes (shared with BT Sport) but European games all now on BT Sport. The reason that the FA cup is on it because of the list protected by the government...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ofcom_Code_on_Sports_and_Other_Listed_and_Designated_Events (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ofcom_Code_on_Sports_and_Other_Listed_and_Designated_Events)
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Watching tele doesn't make a better cricketer.
Totally disagree with this statement. I spent ages in my teens watching cricket when it become big around 2005 and from watching the Bell cover drive, trott defence I would find myself shadow batting and just watching the slow motion replays and that really helped me become a much better player over the next few years.
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So thanks for all the comments and thoughts arranged to take a small group of our more talanted younger players who play hard ball for 90mins this Friday and on last weekends strip we are going to train in the middle instead of the nets and see if I can put into practice some of the ideas and thoughts shared on here all around scoring options and positions.
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Totally disagree with this statement. I spent ages in my teens watching cricket when it become big around 2005 and from watching the Bell cover drive, trott defence I would find myself shadow batting and just watching the slow motion replays and that really helped me become a much better player over the next few years.
You've used the right to disagree 😃
I learn glance shot from Javed Miandad, as I liked that shot.
I didn't have any sort of coaching av, so that was the only way at that time.
But that didn't mean I became a better batsman just because of that shot.
Civet drive is a shot, in my opinion, every good batter will have from the start in the armory.
Defensive play is a mental attitude.
And if I was coached, I'm sure I'd would have been much better cricketer 🙂
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plus it's an easy game for all schools , clubs and break/lunch times to play. Football isn't loved it's just super super easy to provide facilities for. Cricket.. not so much sadly
apart from that.. Butters is right, Participation won't come back until cricket is FTA.. streaming is doing wonders but the benefit won't be seen for years and needs to reach the younger people.
We used to play cricket at school in break time, all you need is a cricket or tennis ball and a cricket bat, prop a bag up to use as the stumps. Its not difficult at all and required zero adult oversight!
The difference was - we all saw cricket on FTA tv and thus felt inspired to play.
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We used to play cricket at school in break time, all you need is a cricket or tennis ball and a cricket bat, prop a bag up to use as the stumps. Its not difficult at all and required zero adult oversight!
The difference was - we all saw cricket on FTA tv and thus felt inspired to play.
My lads school have banned cricket bats during breaks....they improvise using a shoe! They are lucky as their head of PE plays cricket so they get to have sessions during PE and nets after school once a week - unusual for a secondary school these days as other local schools play no cricket at all.
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We used to play cricket at school in break time, all you need is a cricket or tennis ball and a cricket bat, prop a bag up to use as the stumps. Its not difficult at all and required zero adult oversight!
The difference was - we all saw cricket on FTA tv and thus felt inspired to play.
good luck getting schools to allow people to smash tennis balls around the ground.. Could have someone's eye out... Elf and safety :)