Unless you are very lucky, you will have coached a cricket session with a problem: Lack of focus.

Players who lose focus on the session don’t enjoy it, and they don’t improve. Even worse, some players actively try to disrupt the session by distracting others or refusing to take part.

I have even seen adults act like this in the heat of the moment, so what chance have you got with a group of unruly 15 year old boys who can’t put their phones down?

Don’t fear, there is a solution.

The cricket enjoyment veto

This idea was first proposed by the Drowing in the Shallows website, run by a UK-based Physical Education teacher.

It’s brilliant.

If you coach cricket at almost any level from beginners to highly-skilled adults you should give it a go.

The “enjoyment time out” is aimed at giving responsibility for players to their own enjoyment. As a consequence it gives them responsibility for their own development and their own focus.

If anyone in the session - at any time - wasn’t enjoying themselves, they get to call a time out.

1. Player calls a time out.
2. Player clearly explains the reason why they are not enjoying the practice
3. The group comes up with some ways to change the game or drill to make it more fun.
4. Put the new game into action.
5. Afterwards, review the new drill and decide if it was both fun and worked to improve skills.

That’s it!

I got 99 problems

Can you hear the dissenting voices to this idea?

Don’t worry, you are not alone. There are plenty of reasons why this might fail: Kids might use it as a reason to stop every two minutes. The drill might lose it’s original reason. You can spend more time arguing than playing cricket.

I get it.

The real reason for most coaches will not be any of the above. It will be fear of handing over control to someone else.

The coach has worked hard. They have made a plan and they know how to manage a group of players. They don’t trust the kids to do the right thing.

I want to challenge that idea.

But more important that the challenge is a call to say; give it a go.

What’s the worst that can happen?

Lose one session to the experiment then you go back to your trusted way. That’s worth it because it also might work to make the session more fun, focused and developmental.

So let’s go back to the logic.

I think this method is powerful because it puts power in the hands of players. They might mess it up, they might nail it. Whatever happens, the session is all about the players and their learning, not the coach and their brilliant drills.

We already know that self-sufficient cricketers are better. Handing over control in this way is a great way to encourage responsibility. Let’s go for it!