Can you visualise the future of your cricket to help build on the past?
This is a guest article by Daniel Maddocks of T20Kids.com: Promoting Cricket for Kids. Daniel is an ECB Coach with experience in coaching young cricketers in the North West of England.
Ability in cricket is largely developed through past experience.
Take the batsman. When the ball is delivered, subconsciously the mind and body says “ooh we’ve been in this situation before” and without hesitation the right shot is played.
This all sounds like common sense, and it is, but people tend not to think about it in that way. Take driving for instance, in what sequence do you prepare yourself and your car before moving off?
So you know the sequence, but I bet it took you more than a few seconds to think about it.
In reality the process of checking the handbrake, neutral, seat belt etc becomes subconscious by the fact that you’ve been through it many times in the past.
This is no different in cricket. Our ability to subconsciously relate to the past allows us to make split second decisions in the present: Footwork, body position, shot selection and so on.
How to think forward
It is very easy for players to look at the past and also the present, as there is something to relate to. But we can’t relate to the future.
Future is a mystery; nobody knows what’s going to happen.
That's why, as adults we use a ‘vision’ of where we want to be in the future.
Those who have the clearest of visions are most likely to succeed. So ask yourself, “how good do I want to be?” And then think, “what do I need to do to become that top batsman, that consistent bowler or that the reliable fielder?”
As adults we can make targets and plan a strategy for achieving our visions.
However we can’t take this approach with children. Whilst coaching kids I often help them to visualise their potential indirectly. An example is referring to the names of world-class players when teaching a discipline.
When I’m coaching spin I'll ask “Can you name a famous spin bowler”.
More often than not they will reply with the answer of Shane Warne. Their reaction to this is “Wow I’m learning to bowl like Shane Warne, maybe I can be as good as him one day”. This is creating a vision for those young players who may have no other way of visualising their potential.
Everybody needs a vision in order to head in the right direction.
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Comments
Great article, I was facinated to learn about motor programs and schema the other day, always thought that it was just reactions when batting never considered that previous situations had been stored.
Thanks Leo. I don't claim to know an awful lot about the theory behind it, but I still find it fascinating. From my understanding, when players take part in a practice session their brains store information about the schema (such as feel, muscle movements, outcome etc). In a match situation this information is recalled and adapted to suit the situation.