ECB Coaches Association links Inside Edge 6 May 2018 | Page 54

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S T AY I N G F I T F O R C R I C K E T
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A C OAC H ’ S G U I D E
ST E WA RT DAV I S O N
A fortunate few will be able to delegate to a specialist, but most
of us need to have at least a working knowledge of Strength
and Conditioning. Every coaching intervention we make
needs to factor in the physical impact on the body. This is
most obvious when looking at the action of a fast bowler, but
is also relevant in all the other disciplines. Stewart Davison is
a Level 3 coach, a county wicketkeeper, and an S and C guru.
He is Pathway Manager and Head of Athletic Development
at Berkshire CCC. He is currently studying a Masters Degree
in Strength and Conditioning at St. Mary’s University,
Twickenham. He outlines the rigours of cricket from a strength
and conditioning perspective.
England player Mark Wood in
action during a Fielding drill.
“If you watch even a small
passage of a match, you’ll see
multiple movement skills and
strategies being adopted.”
Well designed Strength and Conditioning (S&C) programmes will allow
athletes to develop strength, power, agility and speed and apply these qualities
to their sport. Appropriate S&C programmes allow cricketers to become more
durable and better utilise their physical attributes, and enhance both skills and
capacities. In order to effectively design and programme for our athletes, it is
important that we understand the rigours of cricket and its component skills.
Once we have ascertained the demands that our cricketers are subjected to,
we are better able to go about enhancing the physical attributes that allow
them to be successful. This article will briefly discuss the demands that
different skills impose on cricketers.
If you watch even a small passage of a match, you’ll see multiple
movement skills and strategies being adopted: the squat stance of the wicket
CONTINUE
Staying fit for cricket
A coach’s guide