Malcolm Marshall coached a team I played in as a pro. We had played badly for the 3rd game in a row. The great man asked us if "our attitude was worth catching?"

We were being challenged because our professionalism and character had been lacking. It was a great question which made most of us reflect and - ultimately - turn our season around.

As coaches, we should have a good attitude. We are leaders whose role is to inspire and shape teams and environments.

So, the question that I ask of coaches is not about attitude: I ask "is your culture worth catching?"

The World Cup cultural microscope

Early in the World Cup, both England and the West Indies came under the microscope. Experts speculated about rifts, questioned the methods of coaches, and the merits of captains and cultures were judged publicly.

Often, this scrutiny results in:

• key spokesmen becoming more and more defensive
• siege mentalities developing
• players and coaches focusing on irrelevant details

Ultimately, the pressure mounts. And rarely does performance improve.

You know what's missing?

Fun, balance and perspective.

The Tom Maynard Academy experience

Recently, I have been working in Spain with the Tom Maynard Trust Cricket Academy.

The Academy is one arm of the Tom Maynard Trust that supports the development of young sportspeople within the UK. The Trustees aim to help each person to reach their goals whilst leading a balanced life inside and outside of sport. It's a wonderful trust which I am very proud to be associated with.

It also provided the opportunity for a few of the old England support staff to work together again, and help the new breed of talented English cricketers to practice and prepare for the upcoming season.

Matthew Maynard, Director of Cricket at Somerset CCC, led the programme with ex-England Physio, Dean Conway ably assisting alongside England keeper, Paul Nixon and Australian World Cup Winner Ian Harvey. I did whatever I could to add value wherever I could.

Matty has so much experience at coaching, managing and developing cricketers. His calmness, ability to keep things simple and his wealth of cricket knowledge provided the leadership for us all to follow.

The aim was to work hard in gym sessions and at the nets with an emphasis on building greater responsibility in each player. They were encouraged to make their own decisions around their practice, their diet, their down-time and their behaviour around the training camp.

The other thing that we did was have lots of fun.

We went cycling, had group dinners where the coaches asked lots of non-cricket questions to find out more about the players, we played some golf, went swimming and had races on the beach. We told stories and jokes and had the odd beer whilst doing so.

What I reconnected with this week is that it's essential that our cricket cultures are also fun, balanced and are full of perspective. The Tom Maynard Academy culture is defiantly worth catching.

Is your club, school, district or state culture as contagious?

Let me know.