ECB Coaches Association links Coaching Insight 2019 | Page 29

Constraints C onstraints is a word that can feel quite clinical. But what I mean by it is a boundary that shapes and forms our skill. So if you’re brought up in Bangalore, guess what’ll probably happen? You’ll be good at playing and bowling spin. Just as if you’re from Perth you’ll be good at playing the short ball, and if you’re brought up playing cricket at Headingley you will be good at playing on the front foot. Similarly, Hashim Amla developed his famously angled backlift not through coaching, or by experimenting to improve his technique. He learned to play in a small room with his brother, where to give himself as much time to see the ball as possible he backed right up to the wall. In that situation, the only place for his backlift to go was towards gully. That specific setting shaped the entire way he played the game. The point is, your environment shapes the player you become. But environments can be manipulated, and as coaches we should have the ability to manipulate in our toolkit. This idea isn’t new – it’s the kind of approach Don Bradman had – and can be summed up by saying “tell players what you want them to do, not how to do it”. Set them a target, don’t tell them how to reach it. 27