You write brilliant coaching plans. The players you coach are engaged and enjoy your sessions. Parents couldn’t be happier with you.

The coaching world is shifting towards real evidence. Being a great people-person is no longer enough for the coach who wants to develop players to their highest potential.

It doesn’t matter how good someone looks in nets or which team he plays for. Young cricketers are falling behind if they can’t show precisely how they are effective.

You are not a good coach if players walk away from your sessions feeling warm and fuzzy. You are a good coach because you helped a seamer improve his accuracy by 33% or because your coaching has increased a batter’s boundary hitting by 12%

Coaching is now objective and measureable. You should be looking to get data behind your soft skills if you want to be a success.

Here are the reasons data-driven coaches are winners while those who ignore data are going to be left behind.

Data improves your coaching ability

Good coaches learn as they go along. They try new things. They do more of what works and less of what fails.

How often does that young seamer hit a yorker length then bowl a half volley next ball? Is it just an occasional thing or does it need serious work?

Unless you are tracking and recording balls bowled you can’t be sure. But when you do record this you can try things and find out exactly what works. And that makes you a better coach.

Data gives you the analyst’s advantage

Coaches who produce the best players and teams are not just technical experts. They know how be analysts.

Instead of working on gut feeling you can make a case for working on, for example, stealing more quick singles because you have the data to make an educated decision.

Compared to most coaches, just trying this approach will make you better; even if it doesn’t work (and if it doesn’t you can always adjust and try again).

You go from the guy barking orders at the back of the net to someone who is strategically crucial to player and team development.

Data has a better memory than you

Human memory is a notoriously tricky creature. We think we remember things but even those with the best memories are able to fool themselves to make the facts fit their subconscious opinions. That’s why player’s often don’t believe you when you point out a glaring technical error. It’s also why you work on the wrong things when you rely on memory alone.

The data is inescapably great at remembering everything. Either you hit the target or you didn’t. Either you hit the gap or the fielder. Over time, with your analyst skills, you can spot trends that memory-based coaches miss.

A bowler, for example, gets tired after a long spell. Using the data you can pin down when his accuracy starts to fall away or the pace drops off. Then you can develop a coaching plan that works on improving bowling specific stamina.

Data will get you a job

For a lot of coaches, even at a decent level, coaching doesn’t pay the bills. You might dream of a day when you can coach full time but competition is high and opportunities limited.

Data is still a unique selling point. It demonstrates success in a way that is reliable at every level. You may not have a team of potential international cricketers but you can show how you developed even the most average bowlers and batsmen with measureable information like:

• Bowling accuracy
• Bowling pace
• Amount of turn
• Batting footwork
• Batting power and shot placement
• Fielding accuracy and speed
• Cricket-specific fitness
• Identifying trends and eliminating tactical and technical flaws

A portfolio with information this impressive will put you streets ahead of other coaches.

And what better way to gather this data than using the PitchVision system? Save the embarrassment of being left behind and make sure your club has one this summer. It's essential for any coach who wants to be more than a drill instructor.