Cricket coaching: it's not just cricket

During November I've completed UKCC1, a short course for cricket coaches. The whole experience was impressive and really worthwhile. The standard of tuition for one thing - as delivered by Hampshire Cricket Board in my case - was outstanding. The tutors were passionate and knowledgeable about their cricket, and skilled communicators to boot.

The course content was spot on too. It went right back to basics. So we looked at some fundamental skills for young batters, bowlers and fielders. However, most of the time was spent working on the best ways to explain, demonstrate and impart such skills. All of which helped to remind me of some inescapable rules around effective communication and learning, such as:

• Keep it simple - a young audience can only take in so much in one go, so it's best to focus on a single aspect of a technique (the position of the hands, for example) rather than trying to get everything across in one go
• Sometimes you need to talk a lot less than you might think - keep explanations concise and when demonstrating a technique, keep your mouth closed and let the kids take it in
• Plan and prepare for a coaching session even more than you think is necessary
• Make it fun, obviously
• Make sure everyone is involved and can learn and enjoy, regardless of ability.

First and foremost, I took the course as a first step in learning how to coach young cricketers and get them excited about the game. But I must say that, as you might guess from the list above, I got a useful refresher in how to communicate with any group, no matter the age and no matter the topic in hand.