CCA State Coaching Seminar The Club Coach Paul Montgomery August 2011
OUTLINE Coaching a Club is more than just knowing cricket, but it helps Coaching a Club is more than just leading from the front The Ten Commandments of Coaching a Senior Club
Setting the Scene Amalgam of my views and views I have come across in my coaching experiences Whilst the majority of my experience is at Premier level, these commandments are still transferrable to all levels The weighting or focus of these may alter depending on the level at which you are coaching, but all are relevant They are in no particular order and could be in any order depending on the club
Commandment 1 Thou shalt know your environment Know where the club is at (SWOT analysis) Know where the Club wants to be (speak to the officials) Know your own vision for the Club and ensure it consistent with what the Club wants Have plans on how to get there (development plans, game plans, etc)
Commandment 2 Thou shalt know who thou are Know who you are as a Coach (SWOT analysis) Ensure you are looking to develop and learn yourself Avenues to learning Coach Accreditation Courses Coach Seminars Websites/Books Other Coaches (other sports?) Professionals (psychologists, skill acq, biomechanists, etc) Your players These may be areas outside actual cricket skill knowledge
Commandment 3 Thou shalt surround thyself with great people Get quality people you can trust in supporting roles Be prepared to delegate and empower these people (you can t do it all on your own) Getting people whose strengths are your weaknesses is a definite added bonus In most occasions, quality without quantity will be better than quantity without quality Look to continue to develop your own leaders, and leadership in all players
Commandment 4 Thou shalt know thy players How do they learn? What is their personality type? What do they do away from cricket? (work/school/family/wifehusband/girlfriend-boyfriend/kids etc) Take an interest in them, and look to develop them, not just as cricketers The best players understand themselves and their own game. Assist them in doing this where you can Set up an environment where they are looking to constantly improve and develop
Commandment 5 Thou shalt be organised Be planned and organised Failing to plan is planning to fail Training sessions, Yearly Planners, Statistics, Equipment, Venue booking, Resource management, Whiteboards, Speaking to players/groups of players, Players and the Club have to believe that you are in control, don t give them a reason to doubt this
Commandment 6 Thou shalt communicate effectively You may have all the cricket knowledge in the world, but if you cannot get it across to your players it is useless Communication effectiveness is less about how you deliver it and more about how the listener receives it There are many different types of Communication (verbal, electronic, non-verbal, written, visual, Understand how your players communicate (email, SMS, facebook, twittering etc)
Commandment 7 Thou shalt remove any excuses to failure If there are any excuses to which failure can be blamed on, when the game gets tough they are likely to use those excuses to not push as hard as they possibly could If they are removed, they keep pushing as failure can only be on them Well prepared, well resourced, well analysed, well lead, well supported
Commandment 8 Thou shalt sell hope and belief Players must all feel important Players must all feel they have some worth within the group Players must all have light at the end of the tunnel no matter how bad the news Players must believe that they are successful to be able to be successful
Commandment 9 Thou shalt ensure that everyone operates to the benefit of the Club/Team Ultimately, it is a team sport All decisions and actions must be for the benefit of the Team/Club These decisions/actions can be made at any stage of a training session, match day, social event Always be looking to make someone else s job in the club easier (playing/non-playing) Look at ways for players to take ownership of the club and feel that they belong
Commandment 10 Thou shalt make it fun Whether playing socially or professionally, players must enjoy what they are doing If they don t, where is the incentive to actually play This should occur at training, matches and socially It is more fun when you are winning
Make your club a place where players have a sense of ownership and grow, as a group and as individuals.
Any Questions?