Cricket is not only about skill, intellect is also required to play cricket. It’s not a brainless sport, in fact it is the most ‘scientifically technical’ sport in the world. So if you have to have perfect technique and an intelligent brain to play cricket, you have be to step ahead to become a good coach. Here are some tips you can find useful while coaching cricketers:

1. Constructing the Mental Attitude towards the Game

This is a first step in any form of the coaching. Motivate your players into playing cricket passionately. If he doesn’t bear love for the game, he won’t be any good at it, no matter what you do. It’s the coach’s task to develop a positive attitude and mental strength. A good coach always has a “yes, you can do it” approach.

2. Control and Discipline

No player is bigger than the game. A trouble-maker should be off the team no matter how good a player he is. A good coach will make it clear that performance and teamwork are required. Your training routine should be strictly followed and if a player is violating your code, he needs to be controlled.

3. Teaching a Beginner

Tying a ball with a string and attaching it to the ceiling is an effective old-school technique. Ask the child to hit the ball from the middle of the bat in different directions. This could open up his hitting the ball skills. Next you can throw simple catches at him. You can put a mark on the ground and ask him to try and pitch the ball on that mark, or get him to use PitchVision to track his accuracy. Such exercises can develop basic skills in the earlier stages of a cricket player’s life.

4. Video Demonstrations

It’s powerful to show demonstrational videos of excellent batting, bowling and fielding to your players. A player can learn a lot when you are explaining a video of Sachin Tendulkar batting, Wasim Akram bowling and Jonty Rhodes fielding.

Another use of video is recording the performance of your team and showing it to them later. This way they are given a chance to rectify any errors in their techniques. On the other hand as a coach you can observe each player’s performance very minutely through videos.

5. Batting techniques

It is crucial that a coach picks out any flaws in a batting technique at young age and sets it right. The stance, getting on the front foot, moving to back foot, gap between bat and pad, position of the bat while playing different strokes; are a few things you should pay attention to. A good coach would always know what a player is doing wrong when he sees him play.

6. Bowling tips

Bowling is an ever changing phenomenon in cricket world today. If you are a bowling coach, make sure that you observe the bowling action of a fast bowler. An inccorect action is devastating for a bowler later on. Give the bowler tips about swing, seam and spin depending on the type of bowler you are coaching. Finally make bowlers put in extra effort in the nets, bowl lots of overs in the nets. This not only helps with stamina but also control and skill.

A team with poor fielding simply  their games. But fielding is not one of the most pleasurable things your players would like to do. Fielding is tiring and feels boring, it’s up to you to keep them motivated throughout fielding sessions. Fielding is a very unselfish act and being good at it is crucial in winning games. Make sure you give it the deserved importance.